Calico, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Calico
Ghost town former mining town
Calico in the Mojave Desert
Calico Location in southern California
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Bernardino
Elevation	2,283 ft (696 m)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP code	92398
Area codes	760/442
GNIS feature ID	1660414
California Historical Landmark Reference #: 782

Calico is a famous ghost town located in San Bernardino County, California. It sits in the Calico Mountains, which are part of the Mojave Desert in Southern California.

Calico started in 1881 as a busy town where people mined for silver. Today, it has been turned into a county park called Calico Ghost Town. You can find it off Interstate 15, about 3 miles (4.8 km) from Barstow and Yermo. If you look closely from the highway, you can see huge letters spelling CALICO on the Calico Peaks behind the town.

In the 1950s, a man named Walter Knott bought Calico. He worked hard to rebuild most of the town to look just like it did in the 1880s. Only five original buildings remained untouched. Calico is now recognized as California Historical Landmark #782. In 2005, it was officially named California's Silver Rush Ghost Town by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

History of Calico Ghost Town

Original mining crew at the Silver King Mine.

Mining for silver in Calico.

In 1881, four prospectors were exploring near Grapevine Station (now Barstow, California). They saw a mountain peak that looked like "calico-colored" fabric. Because of this, the peak, the mountain range, and the town that grew there were all named Calico.

These prospectors found a lot of silver in the mountain. They opened the Silver King Mine, which became California's biggest silver producer in the mid-1880s. John C. King, who helped fund the prospectors, was the uncle of Walter Knott, who later founded Knott's Berry Farm.

Life in the Mining Town

A post office opened in Calico in early 1882. The town even had its own weekly newspaper, The Calico Print. The county set up a school and a place for people to vote.

Calico also had law enforcement, lawyers, doctors, and a Wells Fargo office. There was even telephone and telegraph service. At its busiest, between 1883 and 1885, Calico had over 500 mines. About 1,200 people lived there. People who caused trouble were buried in the Boot Hill cemetery.

The Decline of Calico

A few years after Calico was founded, a mineral called colemanite (used to make borate) was found in the mountains. This discovery also helped the town grow. By 1890, about 3,500 people lived in Calico. They came from many different countries, including China, England, Ireland, Greece, France, and the Netherlands.

However, in 1890, a law called the Silver Purchase Act was passed. This law caused the price of silver to drop sharply. By 1896, silver was worth very little. It was no longer profitable to mine silver in Calico.

The post office closed in 1898, and the school soon followed. By the early 1900s, Calico was almost a ghost town. When borax mining also stopped in 1907, the town was completely empty. Many of the original buildings were moved to nearby towns like Barstow, Daggett, and Yermo.

Walter Knott's Restoration Efforts

Restoring Calico was one of Walter Knott's efforts to educate the public and honor the pioneers.

Around 1915, there was an attempt to restart mining in Calico. A special plant was built to get silver from old mine deposits. Walter Knott, who later created Knott's Berry Farm, even helped build some parts of this plant.

After building a "Ghost Town" section at Knott's Berry Farm in the 1940s, Walter Knott and his team visited the real Calico. They were very excited by what they saw. Since they had experience creating a pretend ghost town, they believed they could restore a real one.

In 1951, Walter Knott bought Calico from the Zenda Mining Company. He put his art director, Paul von Klieben, in charge of bringing the town back to life. They used old photographs and memories from people who used to live there. Knott spent about $700,000 restoring Calico.

He hired a long-time employee, Freddy "Calico Fred" Noller, to live in the town and greet visitors. In 1966, Walter Knott gave the town to San Bernardino County. Calico then became a County Regional Park, open for everyone to enjoy.

Calico Today

Entrance to the town.

The Calico & Odessa Railroad.

Calico in the evening.

Blue Star memorial at Calico.

Today, Calico looks like it did during the silver rush era. Many original buildings were moved or replaced. The new buildings are made of wood and look old and rustic, like a real Western town.

Some buildings that are still standing from the town's early days include:

• Lil's Saloon
• The town office
• The main museum (which used to be Lucy Lane's home, the post office, and courthouse)
• Smitty's Gallery
• The general store
• Joe's Saloon

There is also a copy of the old schoolhouse built where the original one stood. You can still see parts of rock walls from where the town's Chinese citizens used to live.

Official Recognition

In November 1962, Calico Ghost Town was named a California Historical Landmark (#782). In 2002, Calico competed with Bodie to be named the Official State Ghost Town. In 2005, they reached a compromise. Bodie became the Official State Gold Rush Ghost Town, and Calico became the Official State Silver Rush Ghost Town.

Visiting Calico

Today, Calico offers many fun activities for visitors:

• Mine tours
• Exciting gunfight stunt shows
• Gold panning
• Several restaurants
• A historic, 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge Calico & Odessa Railroad train ride
• A "Mystery Shack"
• Many souvenir shops

The park is open every day except Christmas. There is an entrance fee, and some attractions cost extra. You can even camp overnight there. Calico also hosts special events throughout the year, like Civil War Days, Spring Festival, Calico Days, and a Ghost Town haunt around Halloween.

The Calico Cemetery is still used today and has between 96 and 130 graves.

Calico in Popular Culture

• Calico was the setting for an episode of the TV show Death Valley Days in 1965.
• The Ballad of Calico is a 1972 album by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. The songs tell stories about people who lived in Calico.
• The town was used as a filming location for the movie Tremors 3: Back to Perfection.
• Author Lorin Morgan-Richards wrote about seeing the White Lady ghost of Calico in his 2015 book Welsh in the Old West.
• The music video for the song "Stylo" by Gorillaz was filmed in Calico.
• The Korean pop group KARD filmed a version of their music video for "Hola Hola" in Calico.

See also

In Spanish: Calico (California) para niños