Plaster City, California facts for kids
Plaster City, California is a special kind of town called a company town. This means it was built mainly for the workers of a big gypsum quarry and factory. The factory is owned by a company called United States Gypsum (USG). Plaster City is located in Imperial County, California.
It is about 17 miles (27 km) west of El Centro. The town is 105 feet (32 meters) above sea level. You can drive there in about two hours from Palm Springs or 90 minutes from San Diego.
History of Plaster City
The gypsum quarry and a railway to support it started in 1920. They were begun by Samuel Dunnaway, a pharmacist from San Diego. His company was called Imperial Valley Gypsum and Oil Corporation. Later, in 1945, United States Gypsum bought the company.
Plaster City is important because it's the end point (called the "terminus") of the last industrial narrow gauge railroad in the United States. A narrow gauge railway has tracks that are closer together than regular train tracks. This 3-foot (0.91 m) wide railway brings gypsum from another quarry. That quarry is about 22 miles (35 km) to the northwest. The gypsum is then brought to the factory in Plaster City.
Other railways also serve Plaster City. These include the former San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway. Part of this railway is owned by Union Pacific Railroad. Another part is owned by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System. However, the route to the west is not currently used.
The first post office in Plaster City opened in 1924. The town's ZIP Code is 92251.
Fun in the Desert
Plaster City is surrounded by two areas where people can ride off-highway vehicles (OHVs). These areas are managed by the Bureau of Land Management. They are called Plaster City West Off-Highway Vehicle Area and Plaster City East Off-Highway Vehicle Area.
The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail also goes through these OHV areas. This trail follows the path of an old Spanish exploration route.
Plaster City in Movies
Plaster City has even been mentioned in a movie! In the 1963 film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, a character played by Ethel Merman talks on a phone. She tells her son that she is "in a place called Plaster City."
In 1993, a famous old steam locomotive called the Eureka was briefly in Plaster City. This locomotive was one of the last narrow gauge steam trains from when railroads were first developing in the western United States.
