Calico Ghost Town California History
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ส.ค. 2024
- In 1881, four treasure hunters left a place called Grapevine Station, now known as Barstow, California. They went northeast towards a mountain that looked very colorful, like calico fabric. They named the mountain, the area around it, and the town they started "Calico" because of its colors. They found silver in the mountain, and this discovery led to the creation of the Silver King Mine. This mine became the top silver producing mine in California in the mid-1880s. John King, who helped these treasure hunters and after whom the mine was named, was also related to Walter Knott, who started Knott's Berry Farm. John King was in charge of keeping the peace in San Bernardino County from 1879 to 1882.
By early 1882, the town of Calico had grown enough to get its own post office and start publishing a weekly newspaper called "The Calico Print." The town quickly grew to have many places like three hotels, five general stores, a place to buy meat, bars, brothels, and lots of restaurants and places to stay. The local government set up a school area and a place for voting, which helped the community grow stronger. Calico wasn’t just a place for miners; it also had police with a deputy sheriff and two constables, legal help with two lawyers and a judge, people to run the town with five commissioners, and two doctors for health care. The town also had a Wells Fargo office and services to send messages or talk over long distances.
I have been yo calico about twice a year for over 30 years . I got married in the school house wearing clothes of the time. People thought we were part of the show and many turned around and followed us to the schoolhouse as if they had been invited. Also my now 50 year old son won the greased flagpole climb when he was 10. Thousands of memories. I recommend it to everyone.
My mom grew up in Barstow. When she married my dad, they moved back to Chicago, his home town. Every summer, my mom would take us (eventually 4 of us) on the Santa Fe train from Chicago to Barstow for 3-4 weeks. Our favorite place to go was Calico. We usually went at least twice each trip. Our grandfather would give us nickles so we could watch the nickleodians and we got sasparillas at the saloon. We rode the train and the mining cars and the donkeys. We explored the bottle house and the mystery house where water ran uphill! Amazing to see for little kids who thought it was magic! I think there was even a spot where we could pan for “gold,” even though that was NOT a thing at Calico mines. This was back in the late 50s to the late 60s. Lots of great memories brought back watching your video.🌸
Visited Calico as a child back in the 1950's. It made quite the impression as I still remember snatches of places there! Very interesting!😂
Certainly you're now 80 tear old ?
I lived in Barstow from 1950 to 1968, when I graduated from high school. I have not been to Calico in for 30+ years. Great video brought back many fond memories. They have fixed up the place a lot, I remember that many of the buildings were really run down. When I lived there they didn't have the plaque by Wallter Knott, this is the first time I've seen it.
Have you been to "Pi Town" yet? Nickname for Pioneer Town, close to Joshua Tree, north of Yucca Valley, California. An old cowboy movie set.
I went today it was amazing! Calico Ghost Town it’s the best place! ❤
Always ✋️ stopped in Yermo Ca. At 💕 HEARTS CAFE on the way to Las Vegas. And of course Calico Great memories. Had my first TUNA FISH SANDWICH at 💕 Hearts in 1965. My Family and I will always remember ❤️ Hearts, Calico, and of course 1960's Las Vegas.
I was just there yesterday. Neat place with lots of history. It was 98° 🥵
Is a tourist attraction like tombstone az?
108 there on this past Saturday 🥵 yeah touristy but pretty reasonable and interesting
@@SpaceCadet86d thank you for the info I was gonna take the family on Saturday but gonna hold off till it cools down
I remember back in the late 70s early 80 going to calico staying in the camp ground numerous times at night we would walk up to town it was a crazy feeling lol 95 was the last time I went there
We camped there in the early 80s as well. My parents had an old school camper in the bed of my dad's 69 chevy long bed. I was maybe 10 years old. I found a rock behind our camp site that I have to this day in my office on a shelf because of the linear colors in it and had black from whatever that over time slowly permeated through the stone and looked like trees. That rock means a lot to me and memories of my childhood. We would go from Antelope Valley to Las Vegas almost every weekend through Barstow on the 15. Made many trips to Fort Irwin proving grounds with my dad due to the contractor he worked for. That road between Barstow and Fort Irwin that has all the white crosses at every site someone died on that two lane road.. So many white crosses. Some of them is just one cross. Some are a group of up to 5 crosses one for each person who passed away. It's a very somber road.
We went to Calico when I was younger and this video brings back a lot of memories. The history was neat. But haven't heard from anyone else about the Boysenberry pie, and many other, edibiles made with boysenberries?
Looks like a lot of research went into this video, a trademark of yours. Calico has such rich history, probably the best ghost town I watched of yours, thanks Steve as usual well done😊
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
This is Great day trip, great shows and food. Highly recommend it!
It really is!
This place rocks.
Great video 😊
The novel Calico by Lee Goldberg is fun book to read (time travel back to Calico's heyday).
The greatest place to be one of the greatest places to be on Halloween is calico.
I went there on a school field trip in the early 1970s. Bought a postcard for 5 cents😂
Cool content 👌.
Glad you liked it
Thank you. Been here a few times.
Great video! I would love to go see it
Thanks!
Thank you so much! 👍
The whole town is rebuilt. It was built by Walter Knott, founder of Knott's Berry Farm as an added attraction. Only a handful of original buildings were actually restored. The schoolhouse, for example, is just a total reproduction.
I think they did a great job by rebuilding it!
bro , people were buried in the 1800s there. ive gone through that whole cemetery
That must be scary I think
I'm 65 years of age, back in early 1960's I was a little kid, we visit Calico ghost town, my parents met an elderly lady who happen to be long time resident since she was a young lady come to Calico ever have been. My father having conversation with her and she talk about something about this area, as a kid I don't remember exactly what she said. I believe she later died in late 1960's or early 1970's.
Quite a sad memories you have when memorizing about the past in that town. How are you now?
@@Qz3sv7rgb Well, I'm hanging on and trying to recover from a stroke since November 2015.
I didn’t see no horse a they should have someone riding around on a horse to make it look more original like it would have been back than
Wooooow
In the 1990’s! Went there for a competition 😳Cowboys, without Indians 🤨stuntman show 😬
I used to be there once 😊👍
Please tell us something in your memories while you were there? How you live what you did, some like that. Thank you.
Now it's absolutely nothing but a dust bowl.
I would think there’s plenty of silver left there?
😮😮
I camp with my boys just outside of Calico and walk in for free.
Silicone valle is next
😂😂😂😂😂
Good idea 👍
Its bow-die
The cabins are nice to rent out!