TEN MILES FROM BARSTOW, DOWN INTERSTATE 15 IN SOUTHERN California, Calico Ghost Town rises like a specter from the sands of the Mojave Desert. Calico boomed from 1881–1896, when silver and borax mining swelled the population from a handful of souls to approximately twelve hundred. Along with an assortment of saloons and gambling halls, Calico supported a school, a church, and a local newspaper called the Calico Print. In the mid-1890s, a drop in the price of silver and the end of borax production in the region made mining in Calico economically unviable. By 1904, the town was completely abandoned.

In 1951 Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm purchased the town and began its restoration. He donated the town to San Bernardino County in 1966, and today, Calico is a regional park with attractions such as mine tours, Civil War reenactments, and an annual Heritage Fest. In 2005 Calico was designated the “official state silver rush ghost town” of California.

Elizabeth Ludwig