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Garlock Road and the Garlock ghost town

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Garlock Road is located in the Mojave Desert of eastern Kern County in Fremont Valley.  The corridor originated in 1873 as part of the Searles Brothers stage road between Mojave and their Borax plant in Searles Valley.  The modern roadway is named for the Garlock ghost town which was a stamp mill community founded in 1896 to service ore from the Yellow Aster Mine.  Garlock Road begins at Redrock-Randsburg Road and terminates 8.3 miles to the east at US Route 395. 




Part 1; the history of Garlock Road

What is now modern day Garlock Road was part of the western Searles Brothers stage road.  Said roadway connected from the Searles Borax Plant at Searles Valley west to Mojave beginning in 1873.  The road utilized a passage through Fremont Valley wedged between the Rand Mountains and El Paso Mountains.  The western Searles Brothers stage road can be seen on the 1882 Bancroft's map of California. 


In 1896 Eugene Garlock constructed a stamp mill in Fremont Valley to crush gold ore from the Yellow Aster Mine in the Rand Mountains.  A small town would begin to develop around the Garlock property.  Garlock would lose much of the importance it had when the Kramer-Randsburg Railroad was completed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway circa 1898.  Despite Garlock being bypassed in favor of Randsburg it initially had Post Office service from 1896-1904.  

Rail service would come to Garlock in 1908-1909 when the Southern Pacific Railroad constructed a line from Owens Lake south to Mojave.  The Southern Pacific line passed through Fremont Valley and was directly accessible from Garlock. 

Garlock can be seen along Garlock Road and the Southern Pacific Railroad on the 1915 United States Geological Survey map of Searles Lake.  Garlock would begin to see a boom after receiving rail service which saw Post Office service resume circa 1923-1926.  Garlock has since declined to a ghost town with numerous ruins which can be found along Garlock Road.  




Part 2; a drive on Garlock Road

As southbound US Route 395 descends from the El Paso Mountains it intersects the westbound beginning of Garlock Road.  


Westbound Garlock Road flanks the railroad (now Union Pacific Railroad) and approaches the Garlock town site.  







The Garlock town site still contains the ruins of several homes and businesses.  A California Registered Historical Landmark details the early history of the community.  







Garlock Road west of Garlock reaches a terminus at Redrock-Randsburg Road.  

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