Ghost Town of Calico

Early this morning, before we took off for Vegas, we stopped at the little ghost town of Calico.   We figured that we might as well check it out since we're here and who knows when we'll be back.

Calico is ready for Halloween.

 Calico produced $86 million in silver, $45 million in borax between 1881 and 1907.  It had a town population of 1,200 with 22 saloons, China Town and a red light district.  There were over 500 mines, including the legendary Silver King, Oriental and Bismarck which were the giant engines that drove Calico's great wealth.  When the price of silver dropped from $1.31 an ounce to $.63, Calico became a ghost of it's former self.

Calico remains one of the few original mining towns of the western U.S. and owes this to Mr. Walter Knott, founder of Knott's Berry Farm.  Calico was born in March of 1881 and restored in 1951 by Mr. Knott and he donated it to San Bernadino County in 1966 to operate as a County Regional Park.

The only buildings that remain that are original to this town are:
Lil's Saloon
Calico Park Office
Lucy Lane's House
Zenda Mining Company
Lane's General Store

Outhouse.

Reflection of the Calico Mountains.

The friendliest little doggie, look how sweetly he posed for us.

The population since founding:
1881 - 40
1882 - 300
1887 - 1,200
1888 - 500
1889 - 800
1890 - 80
1893 - 300
1951 - 10
1981 - 15
2001 - 8

Calico Mountains Sunset