Essex, San Bernardino County, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Essex
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Essex water tower in 2006
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 Essex
Location in California
Essex
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | San Bernardino |
| Developed | ca. 1915 |
| Elevation | 1,732 ft (528 m) |
| Population
(2000)
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| • Total | 111 |
| • Estimate
(2013)
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~10 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes |
92332
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| Area code(s) | 442/760 |
| FIPS code | 06-22874 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1656508 |
Essex is a tiny community in California, located in San Bernardino County. It's not a city with its own government. Essex sits along the historic Route 66, a famous old highway. You can find it in the middle of the hot Mojave Desert, just south of Interstate 40.
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The Story of Essex: A Desert Stop
Essex used to be like an "oasis" for travelers on the famous Route 66. People say it started when a driver got a flat tire and realized there were no repair shops nearby! The town also grew up along a major railway line, which is now called the BNSF Railway.
Busy Times in Essex
In its busiest times, Essex had many important places for travelers and local people. These included:
- Bell's Towing, for car troubles
- The Wayside Cafe, where people could eat
- The Essex Post Office, for sending mail
- Essex Elementary School, for local kids
- Essex Shell Tire Shop, for fixing tires
Essex was well-known on Route 66 for giving free water to travelers. This was thanks to a special well built by the Automobile Club of Southern California. More than a dozen homes also served the small community.
No TV? No Problem!
Believe it or not, Essex had no television reception until 1977! The TV signal from Los Angeles, which was 150 miles away, was too weak. Signals from Las Vegas, 110 miles north, were blocked by hills. The town could have bought a special device called a translator to get TV, but they voted against spending the money.
The famous TV host Johnny Carson found this very interesting. He invited everyone from Essex (about 50 people at the time) to be in his show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, on March 25, 1977. He talked to five different townspeople about life without TV. Almost everyone said they preferred it that way! Soon after the show, a company that makes TV transmitters gave the town a translator for free.
Essex Today: A Quiet Place
Today, Essex is becoming like many ghost towns in the Southwestern United States. These towns often become quiet after new highways like Interstate 40 are built, making the old routes less busy.
Changes in the Community
Essex Elementary School, which opened in 1937, has now closed. It once taught children from both Essex and its neighbor, Goffs, and sometimes had only one teacher. Even with today's technology, Essex is very remote and doesn't have many modern comforts. As you learned, it didn't even get television until late 1977.
Many of the old homes and buildings in Essex have disappeared. Almost 50 buildings are now abandoned. What was once a busy roadside stop now has only a few things still working: the post office, a Caltrans maintenance yard, the old school house, and an outdoor telephone. There are no other services in town.
Essex's only close neighbor is Goffs, which is also mostly abandoned. It's located north of Essex, just across Interstate 40.
Old Airfield Remains
About three miles northeast of Essex, you can still see the remains of Camp Essex Army Airfield. This old airfield had two parallel runways and twelve "hardstands," which were places where aircraft could be parked.
How Many People Live in Essex?
The number of people living in Essex has changed a lot over the years.
- In the year 2000, there were 111 people.
- By 2005, it was estimated that the population had dropped to 89 people. This was a decrease of almost 20%.
- In 2013, the population was estimated to be only about 10 people. This was a huge drop of almost 89% since 2005.
Overall, the population of Essex has gone down by more than 90% since 2000. It seems the town is slowly becoming completely empty.
Essex in Pop Culture
Essex has appeared in a couple of TV shows!
Mission: Impossible
In an episode called "The Town" from the second season of the original Mission: Impossible TV show, a car with two characters is shown leaving a gas station in Essex onto old US 66.
The Johnny Carson Show
As mentioned earlier, the entire population of Essex was invited to be on The Johnny Carson Show on March 25, 1977. Most of the townspeople showed up, and many of them were interviewed during the episode.
