Calico, The Once-Booming Silver Mine In The Mojave Desert
Mojave River Valley Museum/Wikimedia CommonsMiners at the Silver King Mine, which operated near Calico, California.
Calico, tucked in California’s Mojave Desert, was named for the “calico” color of the surrounding mountains. But it prospered because of the silver nearby.
After the discovery of silver in the mountains in 1881, prospectors opened the Silver King Mine. And as precious metals flowed from the earth, hundreds of eager miners descended on Calico. The town soon boasted a school, church, telegraph office, and newspaper. Like any good mining town, it also had a red-light district with saloons, brothels, and gambling halls.
Its population quickly grew, first to 1,200 in 1886 and then to a peak of 3,500 in 1890. But when the price of silver crashed, so did the town’s fortunes. By the dawn of the 20th century, Calico was a ghost town.
Public DomainToday, the Calico ghost town is a tourist attraction.
Like other ghost towns on this list, Calico was revived in the 1950s as a tourist attraction. Then, it was purchased by Walter Knott — the founder of Knott’s Berry Farm, whose grandfather funded the original prospecting mission to Calico — with the goal to restore the town.
Today, visitors to Calico can take a step back through history by exploring old mines, taking railroad rides, gazing up at the Calico Mountains, and learning about prospecting for gold.
Those brave enough can also sign up for this ghost town’s ghost tours, which are described as true accounts of “history and hauntings.”
