Ghost Town Tuesday; Calico, CA

This week I look back at the Calico ghost town located near Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County California.

I visited Calico back in 2012 after exploring the Mojave National Preserve to the east. Oddly enough this was the time I found out you could bypass the agriculture station on I-15 by getting off on Yermo Road (Old US 91/US 466). Calico specifically is located north of Yermo Road and I-15 at the junction of Calico Road/Ghost Town Road.

Calico was opened as a silver mine camp in 1881 after the discovery of the Silver King Mine. The Silver King Mine was the largest producer of silver in California in the 1880s despite being located in the Mojave Desert. At it's peak Calico probably had a population of about 3,500 before silver prices dropped in the mid-1890s leading to the town's decline. By 1907 Calico was a ghost town but the mine were reopened in 1915 which led to a short term revival. Calico was purchased in the 1950s and under went a restoration process before being donated to San Bernadino County in the 1960s. The town of Calico today is a County Park which can visited for a small fee much like Bodie in the Sierras.

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Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80. This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail. Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range. The first documented wagon crossi...

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California. Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada. The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926. Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938. A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947. Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association. Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe. Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the September 1950 California Highways & Public Works during its Centennial Edition. The or...

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River. Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207. Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road. The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939. Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune . Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903. The postal name was sourced...

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