Trona, California Abandoned Desert Town Documentary with Train "Balloon"
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2023
- The struggling town of Trona, Ca/California in the Desert near Death Valley National Park in San Bernardino County just South of Panamint Valley and the Ghost town of Ballarat. We check out abandoned homes, the earthquake damage, the Searles Valley Mineral Plant, the Trona Cemetery, The Trona railway railroad balloon loop train tracks and the world famous dirt playing field of the Trona Tornadoes High School Football Team! Trona is NOT a Ghost Town. Trona Pinnacles is covered in this separate video: • Trona Pinnacles Campin... . Ridgecrest is the nearest larger town about 20 minutes away. Trona is a stop en route to Death Valley National Park from the South.
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I just moved to trona from growing up in one of the most beautiful parts(Nob Hill) in San Francisco, and let me tell you, I have never seen such beautiful skies, at all times of the day its beautiful and I would rather live here with the heat and desert and somewhat desolate town than ever live in SF ever again.
Not to mention the bats in the summer nights. All year long, the sky 🌌 at night is gorgeous.
Cool 😎 docu style video. I would have liked to see some focus on thing that are open. Yes, there are two gasoline stations closed, but there are also two gasoline stations open: Kwik Serve and TIS the general store gas station. Plus, there is the library and the Trona Clinic. However, the Trona Clinic (a service of Ridgecrest Rural Health) is only open once a week and do not see kids.
And recently a restaurant open near the Kwik Service gasoline station. It is called Esparza Restaurant. It is pretty nice and really good food.
Also, I noticed you didn’t mentioned we have a fire station. Plus, I noticed you did not mentioned Pioneer Point. There is a fast food style restaurant there plus a mini mart.
Overall, yes the town has abandoned houses. However, a good number of houses are not abandoned and have families raising kids or even retired people. There is also an affordable housing complex next to those cemetery you filmed. The apartments are down the street from those cemeteries.
I think you can really make an awesome docu style video. Ask for short interviews from people. Even the librarians will probably say yes to a short interview.
Likewise have a getaway property in Trona. Born & raised in San Francisco. Still live in the Bay Area in a City too that sadly has a bad reputation. Then too many focus on it's negatives not it's positives too. I thought for the most part this was one of the better produced short videos of Trona. Nice to know there is another recent SF Bay Area transplant! LOL!
Thank you for the comments, constructive criticism and information. So much more to cover in Trona and so much I missed. I did stop at the Kwik Serve for gas and supplies and enjoyed the experience. I tried to check out the library but it was closed... hours are somewhat limited.
Pretty cool. That house you chose to cheer everyone up with the decorations and blue car in the front yard, is actually my house.
OMG, so nice to hear from you. Your home is a great example of some of the positive thoughts I was trying to convey. Thank you so much for checking in! Your place is lovely and the holiday decorating was fabulous to see!
@fiestaadventures Thanks. I'm one of the few left that was actually born here back in 83. My dad was a metal fabricator in the plant for close to 30 years. Now I work there as well as a power plant technician.
Cool!
I just sent this video to Chris and Gerri because I recognized the blue berry.
You know jayshawn?
I went to Palmdale High school in the mid 1960's, we played against Trona on that field. I remember them throwing dirt in our eyes, how do you forget that. Good old memory for this old guy.
Wow!
🤣😂
Palmdale is like trona but you have scumbags
I raised my kids in California City in the 1990s and they played youth football. The kids on the team loved playing against Trona but would groan when it was Trona's turn to be the home game because they had to play on "The Pit!" Thanks for bringing back some memories!!
Drove through Trona about a year ago on the way to Death Valley. We stopped at the High School and watched them play football. They play football on pure gravel desert dirt - and they love it!
Nice!
Nice video. I was born in Trona, at the company hospital. So we're my sisters. The hospital was bulldozed many years ago. My father worked at the plant for about 6 years. We moved away in '65. I visited our old house in '98. Life is weird. The desert is beautiful.
I'm retired aerospace engineer. Work took me frequently for test activities at China Lake decades ago. I spent free time exploring all around the base and continue to visit that area and the Owen's Valley. Experienced Trona in it's better times as well as a far less developed Ridgecrest. Sad to have witnessed the decline of Trona and the loss of a local economy that supported so many hard working families. Thanks for this YT story.
Thank you for your service and glad to hear you still enjoy the area!
I lived at china lake when I was a kidd, my dad was in the navy
I lived in Ridgecrest for almost 15 years. My best friend went to school in Trona. The high school team is one of two schools in the USA that play on dirt. The only other one is in Barrow Alaska. I moved from there in 2017 and it’s sad to see how much has changed in just the last few years. The highlight of Trona is the Gem show in November it’s always a fun event that teaches visitors and children about the minerals found in the area.
Thanks for sharing this in the most kind way, a lot people rag on these smaller “pseudo abandoned” places. Darwin and Olancha both are quite similar towns not far from trona up 395 who have seen their glory days long ago. I know from personal experience having grown up in the Owens valley the people who live in these communities take a great deal of pride in where they are from.
Thank you so much for a very meaningful and understanding comment. 🙏
Boron HS plays on rocks.
Superior High School in Superior, Arizona played on dirt until the 1990s.
Thank you for mentioning the November gem show…we did Tucson recently…a great excuse to visit….
how do you know one of two play on gravel... seen atleast one in rural nor california
I was coming out of Death Valley 2 years ago and heading through Panamint Valley. Came across Trona at dusk. It was the creepiest, eeriest place I'd ever seen.
my dad, Dick Kuhlman worked at the factory back in the day. He owned the junk yard. his widow Elaine Kuhlman still lives in Trona. I also lived there for a short time...went to school there in 7th grade. I am now 66 years old.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. It’s so nice to hear from locals about this fascinating place. Your mom must be quite elderly at this point, and I wish her a good health and I hope she is enjoying Trona in her twilight years.
I grew up here. It was a thriving town. A wonderful place to grow up and receive an excellent education. It’s still “home” to me. I love going to high school reunions … it’s about the people. We have a special relationship! You should have filmed some of the houses in Westend and Pioneer Point that have people living in them. Still looking good. Not just the abandoned ones.
Will do, next time!
Do you remember a guy named Bob Coberly?
He was from Trona.
Are there any real good restaurants in Trona?
Hey still going strong in this Trona Town. Trona may be short and Hot but we Got heart
I have fond memories of Trona. Every October for twenty five years myself and a whole lot of other motorcyclists did a 1,000 mile loop from the San Francisco Bay Area, to Death Valley and back through Trona. We would often stop to regroup in Trona and get gas. One time two young teenagers came up to us to look at our bikes. We got to talking with them and somehow it was asked how long before each graduated high school. Each blurted out the exact number of days till they graduated, and could leave Trona. Those kids are now middle age adults somewhere.
I'm from Trona went to school there from pre-school to high school. Had some good times and yes, Trona had some of the best people there. Love all my Tronite families. Thank you for the documentary....brought back some good ol memories.
Thanks for the comment. A positive opinion from a local means a lot!
Around 1918 my grandparents migrated to California. My grandfather had a job painting train stations, and they worked their way west. One of the locations they talked about was Trona, which was getting a train station at the time. What my grandmother recalled was the heat of death valley. She said my grandfather and the other men on the crew were given salt tablets daily to help them cope with the heat, and that it was so hot that she had to soak the bedsheets in ice water so they could sleep at night. It was nice to see your video and see what it looks like today, and thrilling to see the actual train tracks.
My wife likes drying our wash on the line. I have always found it humorous that as soon as the last item is hung, you can begin removing the first item as it was already dry. You get that warm dryer effect in your laundry just from hanging it on the line, too. Like death, Valley, Ridgecrest and Tara are extremely dry due to rainshadow effects from the nearby mountain ranges. after years of observing, I personally believe it is drier in Ridgecrest, and then even death valley because of this. By the time the clouds get over to death valley, they have descended enough to start raining again.
I lived at nearby Ridgecrest, CA and worked at the Kerr McGee plant as a mechanic on its vehicles. It was a lot different then. (1990s) I went on active duty shortly after :) The "Trona Pinnacles" (rock formation) was featured in a Star Trek movie :)
Planet of the Apes 2001
My uncle & aunt along with my parents opened La Fiesta in the early to mid fifties. My parents moved to the Bay area and my aunt and uncle sold La Fiesta sometime in the '80s, if I remember correctly. The original place was just a small walk up stand. We lived in China Lake. B Mountain!
And lost in Space, and, and ;-)
Top gun
Wow, small world. My dad's friend Big Al worked at that same plant in the 1980s. His wife's parents live in Trona.
I went to high school in Barstow, California and we played Trona high school in basketball every year. Fortunately, we weren’t playing basketball on dirt. It was very noticeable that there was no grass growing in the entire town. My understanding was that the soil would prevent grass from actually growing and thriving. Trona is so out of the way as no busy highway actually runs through it. Highway 395 is about 15 or 20 miles away and that is a heavily traveled route for people that are heading north to Mammoth to ski or to vacation in Bishop and other areas in Mono county. Sad to see the condition of this town because I remember it being quite busy and normal except for the lack of grass when we would go there to play our basketball games.
My dad retired from Kerr McGee in 1987. My sister and I would take our kids to the salt pools. Its a great stop coming out of Death Valley and we use Hwy 190 to 178 to go home to Ridgecrest. The little fast food place called the Trails in Pioneer Point has great food. Be sure to stop there coming from or going to Death Valley. My nephew still works in Trona.
Will do, thanks!
Trails Drivein. Wonderful place to grab a burger and visit
I remember our dad taking us out to the salt pools from ridgecrest …the water was weird and the slippery moss coated the sloped sides…
The last time my husband Karl and I drove through Trona, we were living in Death Valley. I still remember the strong chemical smell going through. When the earthquakes hit that area, my sister and I, who live in Fresno, felt it all the way up here. I remember hearing about broken water and sewer pipes after the quakes.
It is the borax plant, natural potash, smells like rotten eggs. After awhile, you get use to it. - It is where my family lives, so I associate it with joy.
@@rainrabbit9209 that makes sense. My late husband Karl and I lived at the Furnace Creek Ranch in 1979 and 1981, and I remember the Borax miners that lived down there back then. After 1994, Death Valley became a national park, so the mines closed.
@@diane1390 did you know Charlie ?
@@JohnDoe-bk5hf no, did he live in Trona or at the Furnace Creek Ranch. My husband Karl and I only drove through Trona.
@Joe Vogue I've lived in Fresno since 1972. I rarely went to many places. I do remember the Wild Blue Yonder, the one that was in the Tower District, it wasn't too far from Fresno City College. In 1969, I was living in Madera California and attending Madera High School. My dad worked for Pacific Gas and Electric, so we moved from Fresno to Madera in 1959, when he transferred to a job up there. After a year there, we moved back, and I went to Ernie Pyle Elementary School from the 1st to 3rd grade. In 1963, my father got another job promotion, and we moved back to Madera again. We stayed there till 1972, when my father had another job promotion. Since then, I've lived in Death Valley California from February to October 1979 and from March-July 1981. I had some cousins who lived in Clovis for awhile. My Uncle Danye Scharton lived in Clovis and worked for Bank of America. Eventually he moved to Tivy Valley. He had a nice piece of land there. My sister Brenda went to the Wild Blue Yonder back in the day, but for some reason I never went there. Next to my sister's life, I guess mine seemed rather mundane. I wish now, that I'd have gone out and done more. Maybe I was too quiet and reserved than I needed to be. Looking back on things, I'd likely do things differently if given the chance.
Passed through here and camped at the pinnacles on our way to death valley. Such a cool spot, I appreciate you making this video and showing me what could have been if we stayed a little longer.
Thank you for the comment.
People may recognize the Pinnacles from the "Lost in Space" tv series.
The population of Trona never hit above 5 or 6 thousand. Even in the old days, a lot of the workforce lived in Ridgecrest. Great video, thanks for the memories!
Documentaries say the population hit 20,000 in heyday of mines.
Thanks for this, visited Death Valley a few years ago and passed through Trona, this semi-ghost town resonates more than other tourists sights nearby. I never knew about Borax, but now buy a box of Twenty Mule Team just about every other month!
My cousin maintains the graveyard, where many of my family lay to rest. The cemetery could have it's own documentary. Actually, the Martin family could. - Stop at the only food in town; that's the Martin's too. Hope you meet one. They are keeping it together, and smiling too.
So true and great comment!
@@fiestaadventures Someone should interview the cemetery caretakers. There is a lot of the town there, in stories and those that rest. They have traditions, not typical of other places. You will see it, when you get there. It just is different.
@@rainrabbit9209 The Searles Valley one, or the one in Argus? Argus would be of interest to me. Hub's grandfather buried there in 1939, and I'm not sure I'll ever make it out there to take a photo.
I remember that The trails drive in was so good back in the early 2000s
This is such a fabulously informative and beautiful video. Thank you! Trona can use our support for sure!
Thank you so much! Cheers, Paul
I worked at SVM from 2006 to the end of 2013. Their big product is soda ash. They ship over a million tons a year in product. Trona is just one of two places in the world where natural soda ash is produced. The other is in Wyoming. I've worked in both places.
I love your video. ❤ Good historical info. Your town seems hearty. Keep up the fight to keep your town alive! 👍🏾❤️
Thank you. I enjoyed this video. My best friend, who died in 2019 grew up in Trona with his family.
Great info on Trona. Super drone footage too! Going to do a drive through there next time we're out in Death Valley. Thanks!
I subscribed ! This is an awesome video. And the comments and memories shared by so many folks are wonderful testimony to the history of Trona. I would love to drive thru Trona now. I came thru Death Valley and Barstow about 1977 but did not pause to see anything along the way ... was middle of July and just too hot to even slow down.
Thanks for the comment! I agree that the contributions of others who have experienced this great town in the past have been extremely valuable and I’m so glad that you enjoyed reading them.
I spent my whole childhood here and it was a very free place to grow up. Thank you for being positive about a currently dieing town.
Very good video. Thanks very much. Trona is now on my list.
Love this, thank you for sharing!
You are so welcome!
I was raised in Trona in the 1960s as a small child most of my family the Hodges family was there too, my grandfather Cecil Hodges work throughout Trona My mom Rose Mary Duque at the time was the Prom
Queen at that High School and I too remember the huge public pool it was a vary large storage tank painted aqua blue if I recall correctly. I also remember climbing and sitting in the mountains and watching the most beautiful sunsets! Back then the Manson family wander all throughout the area. Trona was a wonderful little town at that time and it will always be in a very special place in my heart and mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So cool, thanks for sharing!
Do you remember Bob Coberly?
Did you know the Miller family? My father worked in Trona and then China Lake. Trona was before my time but your name sounds familiar. Still have family living in Ridgecrest.
My aunt Peggy and aunt Nell are still there!
My dad was Don Dennis Hodges
One of my good friends grew up in Trona. I delivered product to that refinery for a year. I like the solitude of the town. That Shell station have some great chili verde burritos !!
Thanks for sharing
I'm always down for a good Chile Verde burrito!
😋
I am familiar with Trona California. I drive through Trona on my way to Death Valley National Park and coming home from Death Valley National Park. Trona looks like a town that was prosperous in times past when when the mineral mining business from Searles Dry Lake was really booming. However as the mineral mining business was cut back a lot people moved out and the homes were abandoned. So now with a lot of abandoned homes and businesses Trona has a run down appearance.
Thank you for giving us a fascinating tour!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Interesting and beautiful video, thanks!
Subscribed! Went through there 25 years ago. Good overview of the town and history.
I remember stopping by to photograph the Trona Towers.
Thanks!
I very much like your videography. You have some style for real.
Thank you so much 🙂
In 1976 my Wife and I were coming back to Fresno from Death Valley and filled up with gas in Trona. After that we had to stop about every 40 miles to change gas filters because the gas we received was polluted with a black tarry substance. We had two filters on our Jeep, a big one inline and a ROC sintered bronze one in the Carb, both of which got plugged. After we got home, I had to have my carb cleaned. What a mess! I don’t care what happens out there, as I will NEVER stop there again.
Thank you so much for a great video of Trona. I was born and raised in Bakersfield, CA, Kern County. I learned a lot about Trona in my early twenties when I worked for Laura Scudders. We delivered chips and products there. What an education I had then. Later, in my late thirties, I worked part-time in Ridgecrest, CA., and heard all about Trona. So much history in that lonely desolate desert.
Thanks for the comment! It’s so nice to hear from those who have had experience in this interesting place!
Nice drone video showing the beautiful desert sky. Passed through here a couple of time after off-road trips at the Trona Pinnacles.
Glad you enjoyed it
Awesome video! Really love the desert cities. The furthest I've been is Ridgecrest. I felt the Trona earthquake a few years back in Lancaster And boy that was the biggest strongest earthquake I felt.
Very interesting, informative and kindly take on this historic town. Loved the drone photography, and music.❤
Trona holds a certain charm to us railfans and model railroaders. As far as I know, the multi-track balloon is the only one in existence. Usually a balloon is a small, single track used for turning locomotives and/or very short trains. In the '70s, I rode a short excursion passenger train that reversed itself on the Barstow balloon track. And recently, I saw a balloon track that was used to load a full-length grain train without any switching required. Trona took that concept and expanded it into a complete arrival/departure yard as well. How cool is that?!😊
Thank you for sharing this wonderful video. Long live Trona! Lawrence🚂
So nice to hear from a tail fan. Trona railroad is very intriguing.
What a wonderful town. So sad to see dreams abandoned and shuttered.
Thanks for the tour. Sub’d.
🙋🏼
Loved the video. I recall the the town my son's competed High School sport Mojave n Trona High School.
It was a long drive but worth the effort and fun to watch. The town was lively and people were friendly.
My son in law worked there for many year's.
The town has meaning and history to me.
It's nice to know they still have their Trona High School. ❤😮😊
Thanks for sharing!
Great video by the way bri is back old memories for me as a kid
There was a golf course that only had grass around each hole! Very hard on the clubs! It was up by the airport. Maybe it's still there. The municipal swimming pool was very big, maybe olympic sized with tall salt cedar trees around it. I didn't know about the big railroad loop! Drone footage is really great. I lived in Ridgecrest but got to know many folks from Trona. They always had terrific turnout for their homecoming at the high-school each year. As the plant cut back on production over many decades, the town lost workers, houses got abandoned or sold to investors who rented them out. Drugs became a huge problem there. There are still some streets with maintained homes which are east of the plant at Pioneer Point. I've enjoyed watching this video. Sure takes me back to 50 years of knowing Trona folks and spending time there. Thanks
Great program. I love your momentary and not being negative about the condition of the Town. Instead your very supportive. 😁 I've never been there but I like how quiet the place is. I'm a California native but live in Utah. I'm tired of my City and would love some peice and quiet.
Thank you! 😃
Nice video my friend. Looks peaceful out there.
It was!
I grew up in ridgecrest the next larger town from trona. Sadly this whole area was our playground and just like trona a lot of young lives were taken by booze, car accidents, violence and drugs or stupid behavior as witnessed. I considered myself lucky to have joined the navy at 17 1/2 and survived. Just like trona there’s a ghost like feeling when I pass by to visit family members that are no longer with us.
I grew up in Lancaster in the 70s and Ridgecrest seemed a million miles away when we played them in youth football.
In 1987, an uncle showed us a back way into Death Valley and we went through Trina. Stopped at Circle K for gas, only 90 cents per gallon. Paid at the counter, next to a pyramid of gallon water jugs. The water was $1 a gallon.
I lived here about 3 years ago, we moved a little bit after the earthquakes and man is this video nostalgic
So interesting, thank you for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you. I enjoyed it and didn’t know about this town.
Glad you enjoyed it
I was born there back in '46. I've ridden through many times on my motorcycle since then. It's sad to see the town deteriorate over the years.
Been to Trona many times and yes that city is dwindling but hanging on. Thanks for sharing
Agreed, and thanks for the comment!
The video is very interesting when I drove through the valley of death. I didn't have time to visit this city. And I really liked what you are doing.✅🇺🇲👍
Thank you for the comment!
I enjoyed the information on this town. ✌🏽❤
subscribed. I love geography & history. Thank you
Awesome, thank you!
Hi 👋. I was born in Trona but lived in Argus. My mom and the rest of my family left in 1965 and moved back to Ohio. This documentary is awesome 👌
Thank you for the comment!
Really cool video! btw I love your hat!
Thank you for the comment. My hat gets noticed quite a bit in my travels, but only by people who know their way around the Sierra Nevada. And most people know that there are two separate Kennedy Meadows locations in the High Sierra.
I played Trona my senior year in football (1990's). We were an opponent and it was our first game of the season. The home field advantage was real. they knew how to run in that sand/dirt and they whooped us. I had dirt caked into the inside of my helmet for the rest of the season.
Trona looks like a larger version of Keebler. I rode through Trona on my motorcycle about 10 or 15 years ago and stopped at that Shell station for a break. There was an attractive Latina working the counter and I remember thinking what in the hell are you doing here. Towns like Trona are fascinating places. Great video.
Great video, and interesting narration, thank you!
👍🙏
Thank you so much for that video. I love it Trona what a fantastic town in history behind it. I recently moved from Northern California to Arizona and I live in a small town also by the west rim of Arizona and there's a lot of banded homes but this town is starting to grow but there's no commercial restaurants or anything like that I'm between Kingman in Las Vegas nearest town is chloride. Anyways all these abandoned towns have a lot of history. I look forward to your next video God bless they safe Joe Dirt west rim Arizona
some amazing mines to explore around Trona as well. I see you are close to 1000 subs. i subbed
Thanks for the sub!
@@fiestaadventures you should go back and make a film of all the cool old cars and trucks, buses
I will, also heading to Nelson Nevada soon, so that should be really fun. Lots of old cars and trucks there.
Great video!!! Sad to see places where everybody goes out of the town to look for better lives and opportunities.
I love Trona the way it is. So peaceful.
Very interesting so thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
Great video.
Thank you ❤
You're welcome 😊
Great vid this is my parents hometown. My dad use to talk about the football field. I’ve only visited once sadly
Thanks for the comment. I hope you get to return sometime.
I was born in Trona 75 years ago. my dad worked there. guess you could say it is my home town.
Thanks for the comment!
I’ve been through Trona on a few occasions on the way to Ballarat on camp trips and check out the Manson hideout at Barker ranch. Great place to visit and explore but can’t imagine how people live out there.
I used to haul potash and salt cake out of Trona, and Soda Ash out of Argus . I've seen 126 degrees at Argus in the summer. I hauled out of there for seven years. Thanks for the tour. 😊
I was a kid when I first went through Trona on one of my father’s Sunday drives that was common way back in the day. He was an employee of the County of San Bernardino and knew every foot of every road in the county. One day our family piled in the car and went on this really long drive that went through Victorville, Barstow and Baker before going through Death Valley, then over the pass into Trona. Several years later I was on a few teams in a bicycle race called The Furnace Creek 508 that started in Valencia near Magic Mountain and finished in Thousand Palms. But in between those places, the race went through Antelope Valley and eventually Trona before going through Death Valley and Baker before heading through the sand dunes down to Thousand Palms. It was 508.5 miles long and one of the toughest bike races in the world. It was a really great race until problems with the Park Service in Death Valley stopped it about 15 years ago or so. I hope it comes back someday, because it was a great race and it brought lots of business to Trona, because you had to stop and get gas there since it would be a long time before you could fill up again. Thanks for the video!
I am a Furnace Creek 508 Hall of Famer. 3x solo and twice 2x Relay. Many memories. It started in Santa Clarita and finished in 29 Palms. We always stopped at the Shell station for gas in Trona. The race lives on. It’s now the Silver State 508 traveling Hwy 50 from Reno to Eureka, NV and back. I did that route once. The Furnace Creek route is much better.
@@fiestaadventures Sorry I got some 508 details wrong, but it’s been a while. Last time for me was 1998 when I crew chiefed for Nancy Dankenbring who almost won the women’s race but had to settle for second because she made a couple rookie mistakes. Despite that, she left quite an impression on everybody because of her aggressive style of racing and I’m pretty sure she would’ve come back to win if she hadn’t passed away unexpectedly at such a young age. But Furnace Creek is a great race and I hope somebody can figure out how to bring it back to its former glory someday.
excellent video
Thank you!
I considered buying a house in Trona about 20 years ago,since they were all DIRT cheap. So I came through in early summer on the way to Death Valley in early Summer.
Yikes!
I did, however, witness (through all the dust) the underlying resilience of the place you showcase here and the spirit of the people. The house I was considering (I'm almost 100% sure) was the small stone one you drive by here though it still had a roof at the time. $3000!
Dust seemed to coat everything however, and I got the impression that any local industry had entirely ceased . . . my main take away was that it was an (abandoned sulphur mine community / potential Superfund site?) I was very concerned about the water / air quality. Also, the realtor mentioned the lack of any retail operation in town aside from a roving Schwann's truck. This seems difficult to believe considering the factory, etc.
It appears that things may have improved a bit in 20 years and, depending on the time of year there is that desert beauty you mention that we lack here in the northern San Joaquin Valley.
And the enormous slag heap just behind the little stone house has been removed, so perhaps I'll return in the coming fall, and thanks for taking the time to post this!
They used to mine potash and soda ash.
What a bunch of heartbreaking images.
Interesting. I used to live in Ridgecrest and we would go through Trona often to get to Death Valley and points East. Sorry to see it has shrunk so much.
I learned about the 20 Mule teams in Elementary school. Now I know why, Thank you.
it's very nice to watch this kind of videos thank you for sharing
Thank you, I appreciate the comment!
This is so neat to see, although it does break my heart to see so many places and homes abandoned. There are no skies like the Trona sky, the blue is like no other. The Trails was my favorite place to get ice cream, and Valley Wells will always be the best pool on earth in my eyes.
Right on! Thanks for the comment.
That water on the lake is called Slurry. I worked at the main plant ( Kerr McGee Chemical Corp) in the 70s. Those two big stacks with the four smaller ones is the Power House (boiler plant) where I worked. I also worked at Potash for a while. There was no place to park in those days. In 1980 they laid 500 people off. Shut down the main plant. They're were a constant stream of welding trucks to keep it going. Kerr McGee sold to another company.
I did a demolition job at the high school in the 70s when I worked for Penhall Company out of Anaheim. Yes, it seemed like being in the middle of nowhere then, but the air was clear and the people were easy to get along with.
Nice! Thank you for sharing.
Good job. When I lived in the Coachella Valley, I had a colleague who married a guy that worked there. She used to talk about Trona and Kerr-Mcgee. This was in the mid to late 1970's. I had no idea what she was talkin g about never having been anyehere near there. I only wen through there some years ago in the 21st century on my way to Death Valley. Looked then as it does in your video. Never knew hat happened to her and her husband, might be buried in that cemetary.
Funny story I heard that exemplifies Trona grit: Trona High School proudly plays (tackle) football on their dirt and gravel field. Years ago, a well-meaning benefactor had installed sod on the entire field. Folks were not happy with their new "nerfed" football field, so they burned all the sod off, and the field remains dirt and gravel to this day.
great video.
Thanks for this video. I was born in Trona, in 19FU. My mom grew up in China Lake, and she didn't like ole' Doc Drummond in Ridgecrest. She had all three of her children in Trona, which was in it's heyday back then. What a funny place to be born. That was always kind of a handicap growing up, but I laugh about it now.
Thanks for the story!
i been in Ridgecrest for my whole life and one of my mom best friends lived in trona and it cool to back there to see him but now been 5 years when i last see him. and it sad to see trona like this
Thanks for the comment.
That train loop is awesome!
Thanks for the comment!
We lived in Trona in 1978. My youngest was born in Ridgecrest, my late husband worked at Kerr McGee Chemical. We lived in a little one bedroom Apt on the other end of town from the plant.
Whew! Worked at K-M in 78-79. First "job" after the Navy. 9 months or so, I was done!
Nice place to visit!
Trona was the 'big' town in the area for many, many years. During the 70's and 80's the nearby community of Ridgecrest grew a great deal, enticing many Trona residents and business to move west. A byproduct of chemical processing was a strong sulphur odor and many residents enjoyed living near enough to commute but without the odor. During this time the plant also went through modernization and automation, reducing the need for a vast workforce. In the early 90's the State of California restructured how taxes were distributed. Prior to this, a percentage of taxes collected from businesses were required to be reinvested in the business's community. The State changed this, requiring all tax revenue to be sent to Sacramento, where politians and bureaucrats would decide where it would be distributed. Searles Lake contains pretty much the entire periodic table and is very lucrative. The chemical plant was able to help maintain excellent municipal facilities, recreation areas, and schools. Overnight that money was sucked away from the community, leaving it with no money and everything began falling apart in earnest. Most recently restrictions on coal power plants forced the closure of the local power plant, losing more jobs. Devastating twin earthquakes in 2019 caused massive damage and more business closures. Trona was largely ignored by Federal, State and County emergency management - too small to care about and not enough positive press to make it worth their while. Recent State water restrictions and regulations threaten to take the chemical plant's source of fresh water (which it also makes available to residents). If a compromise isn't met, the plant may close and the town will die. Trona at its core is still a nice town, with many great people calling it home. One consideration is, the chemicals processed in Trona are widely used in homes, industry, and even the military. Should it close it will increase the costs of a wide range of products and negatively affect the country's security.
Thanks for the comment, and all the great information! Really useful and appreciate it. Cheers!
My brother worked at that plant in the 70s. Dreary. But, I admire anyone who can try to make a living or live in the area.
I drove through Trina for the first time in 1980 on the way to Death Valley. As I remember, it seemed to be somewhat run down but very busy. My primary memory is that everything was covered in Trona dust.
Great video make one of cabazon California
I miss the burgers and milk shakes on the way to butte valley .Its been 20 yrs for me it has really gone down hill since the 90s .good video .Are all the gas stations closed?
My Dad worked at the borax mine in Trona for a short time in around 1956, we lived in an Airstream in Inyo Kern. Very strange to see all the abandoned buildings, makes me feel old. :)
The Shell station closed because it had severe damage from the recent earthquake. I usually drive through there almost every weekend driving test vehicles. 15 minutes break, then on to Death Valley!