View source for Calico, California

{{use mdy dates |date=July 2023}}
{{infobox settlement
| name = Calico
| settlement_type = {{hlist|[[Ghost town]]|former [[mining town]]}}
<!-- Images -->
| image_skyline = Calico_view_from_lookout_point.jpg
| image_caption = Calico in the Mojave Desert
<!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map = USA California Southern
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Southern California
<!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = [[California]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in California|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino]]
<!-- Elevation -->
| elevation_footnotes = <ref>{{cite gnis |id=1660414 |name=Calico |access-date=2015-04-12}}</ref>
| elevation_ft = 2283
| elevation_m = 696
<!-- General information -->
| timezone = [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific]]
| utc_offset = −8
| timezone_DST = {{abbrlink|PDT|Pacific Daylight Time}}
| utc_offset_DST = −7
| coordinates = {{coord|34|56|56|N|116|51|51|W|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code = 92398
| area_code_type = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area codes]]
| area_code = [[Area codes 760 and 442|760/442]]
| blank_name = {{abbrlink|GNIS|Geographic Names Information System}} feature ID
| blank_info = {{GNIS 4|1660414}}
| website = {{URL|https://parks.sbcounty.gov/category/calico}}
| module = {{designation list |embed=yes |designation1=California |designation1_number=782}}
}}
'''Calico''' is a [[ghost town]] and former [[mining town]] in [[San Bernardino County, California]], United States. Located in the [[Calico Mountains (California)|Calico Mountains]] of the [[Mojave Desert]] region of [[Southern California]], it was founded in 1881 as a [[silver]] mining town, and was later converted into a county park named ''Calico Ghost Town''. Located off [[Interstate 15 in California|Interstate 15]], it lies {{convert|3|mi|km}} equidistant from [[Barstow, California|Barstow]] and [[Yermo, California|Yermo]]. [[Hillside letters|Giant letters]] spelling ''CALICO'' are visible, from the highway, on the [[Calico Peaks]] behind it. [[Walter Knott]] purchased Calico in the 1950s, and rebuilt all but the five remaining original buildings to look as they did in the 1880s. Calico received [[California Historical Landmark]] #782,<ref name="CHL"/> and in 2005 was proclaimed by then-Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] to be California's Silver Rush Ghost Town.<ref name="SBCRP"/>

==History==
[[File:Calico Mining Crew Silver King2.png|thumb|left|Original mining crew at the Silver King Mine]]
[[File:California - Calico Mines - NARA - 23934169 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Mining in Calico]]
In 1881, four prospectors were leaving Grapevine Station (present-day [[Barstow, California]]) for a mountain peak to the northeast. After they described the peak as "calico-colored", [[Calico Peaks|the peak]], [[Calico Mountains (California)|the mountain range]] to which it belonged, and the town that followed were all called Calico.{{r|Varney|p=51}} The four prospectors discovered [[silver]] in the mountain and opened the Silver King Mine, which was California's largest silver producer in the mid-1880s.{{r|Varney|p=51}}{{r|CokeL|p=7}}  John C. King, who had grubstaked the prospectors who discovered the silver vein (the Silver King Mine was thus named after him), was the uncle of [[Walter Knott]] founder of [[Knott's Berry Farm]]. King was sheriff of San Bernardino County from 1879 to 1882.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Holmes |first1=Roger |last2=Bailey |first2=Paul |author-link2=Paul Dayton Bailey |title=Fabulous Farmer: The Story of Walter Knott and his Berry Farm |pages=31–35 |publisher=[[Westernlore Press]] |location=[[Los Angeles, California]] |date=1956}}</ref>{{r|Kooiman|p=154}}{{r|Peyton|p=7}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Calico Ghost Town: Southern California's Greatest Silver Camp |page=3 |author=Knott's Berry Farm |author-link=Knott's Berry Farm |publisher=[[Calico Print Shop]] |location=[[Yermo, California]] |date=1959}}</ref>  A [[post office]] at Calico was established in early 1882, and the [[Calico Print]], a weekly newspaper, started publishing. The town soon supported three hotels, five general stores, a meat market, bars, brothels, and three restaurants and boarding houses. The county established a school district and a voting precinct.<ref name="Hensher"/>{{r|CokeL|pp=11-12}} The town also had a deputy sheriff and two constables, two lawyers and a [[justice of the peace]], five commissioners, and two doctors. There was also a [[History of Wells Fargo|Wells Fargo]] office and a telephone and telegraph service.{{r|Varney|p=51}} At the height of its silver production during 1883 and 1885,<ref name="Hensher"/> Calico had over 500 mines and a population of 1,200 people.{{r|Varney|p=51}} Local badmen were buried in the [[Boot Hill]] cemetery.<ref>{{cite web |first=Steve |last=Johnson |url=http://www.interment.net/column/feature/boothill-graveyards/boot-hill-graveyards-of-the-old-west.htm |title=America's Boot Hill Graveyards |publisher=Interment.net |date=2010-10-02 |access-date=2017-07-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Garner |first=John W. |title=Calico Ghost Town Cemetery |journal=[[The Desert Magazine]] |date=February 1941 |volume=5 |issue=40}}</ref>

The discovery of the [[borate]] mineral [[colemanite]] in the Calico mountains a few years after the settlement of the town also helped Calico's fortunes, and in 1890 the estimated population of the town was 3,500, with nationals of China, England, Ireland, Greece, France, and the Netherlands, as well as Americans living there.{{r|Varney|p=52}} In the same year, the [[Silver Purchase Act]] was enacted and drove down the price of silver.{{r|Varney|p=51}} By 1896, its value had decreased to $0.57 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US|value=0.57|start_year=1896}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) per [[troy ounce]], and Calico's silver mines were no longer economically viable.{{r|Varney|p=51}} The post office was discontinued in 1898,<ref>{{cite book |last=Durham |first=David L. |date=1998 |title=California's Geographic Names |publisher=[[Word Dancer Press]] |location=[[Clovis, California]] |isbn=1-884995-14-4 |chapter=Part Eleven{{snd}}Southeast Region (Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) |page=1401}}</ref> and the school closed not long after.<ref name="Hensher"/> By the turn of the twentieth century, Calico was all but a ghost town,{{r|Varney|p=52}} and with the end of [[borax]] mining in the region in 1907 the town was completely abandoned.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} Many of the original buildings were moved to Barstow, [[Daggett, California|Daggett]] and Yermo.{{r|Varney|p=52}}

[[File:Calico Ghost Town, CA (6432318017).jpg|thumb|Restoring Calico was one of Walter Knott's efforts to educate the public and honor the pioneers.]]
An attempt to revive the town was made {{Circa|1915}}, when a [[cyanide process|cyanide plant]] was built to recover silver from the unprocessed Silver King Mine's deposits. Walter Knott and his wife Cordelia, founders of [[Knott's Berry Farm]], were [[Homestead (buildings)|homesteaded]] at [[Newberry Springs, California|Newberry Springs]] around this time, and Knott helped build the redwood cyanide tanks for the plant.{{r|Varney|p=52}}{{r|Kooiman|pp=153-158}}

The last owner of Calico as a mine was Zenda Mining Company. After building Ghost Town at Knott's Berry Farm in the 1940s, Walter Knott, his son, Russell, and [[Paul von Klieben]], who was Knott's art director, made a road trip to Calico. The three of them came back filled with enthusiasm. Now having experience building a fictional ghost town at Knott's Berry Farm, the group believed that it would be possible to restore a real ghost town. In 1951, Walter Knott purchased the town of Calico from the Zenda Mining Company and put Paul von Klieben in charge of restoring it to its original condition, referencing old photographs.{{r|Nygarrd|pp=102-104}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coke |first1=Lucille |last2=Coke |first2=Larry |title=Mining on the Trails of Destiny |pages=184–186 |publisher=[[Vantage Press]] |location=[[New York City|New York]] |date=1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kcet.org/shows/socal-wanderer/where-to-find-the-mojaves-greatest-ghost-towns |title=Where to find Mojave's Ghost Towns{{snd}}5. Calico, California |last=Hemmerlein |first=Sandi |date=2017-02-22 |access-date=2019-10-28}}</ref>

Using the old photos, and Walter's memory and that of some old-timers who still lived in the area, von Klieben was able to not only restore existing structures, but also design and replace missing buildings. Knott spent $700,000 restoring Calico.{{r|Nygarrd|pp=106-108}}  Knott installed a longtime employee named Freddy "Calico Fred" Noller as resident caretaker and official greeter.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oohOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UgAEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2548,5874193&dq=calico+ghost+town&hl=en |title=Long dead silver town returns to life |newspaper=[[Toledo Blade]] |date=1951-05-13}}</ref> In 1966 Walter Knott decided to donate the town to San Bernardino County, and Calico became a County Regional Park.{{r|Varney|pp=52-53}}

==Current status==
[[File:Calico ghost town.jpg|thumb|Entrance to the town]]
[[File:Calico train.JPG|thumb|Calico & Odessa Railroad]]
[[File:Calico Ghost Town 2004.jpg|thumb|Calico in the evening]]
[[File:Plaque Blue Star memorial at Calico Ghost Town.jpg|thumb|Blue Star memorial at Calico]]
Calico has been restored to the look of the [[silver rush]] era when it flourished, although many original buildings were removed and replaced instead with [[Gingerbread house (architecture)|gingerbread architecture]] and false [[Facade#Film sets and theme parks|façades]] that tourists would expect to see in a [[Western (genre)|Western]]-themed town.{{r|Varney|p=53}} Most of the restored and newly built buildings are made of wood with a simple, rustic architecture and a severely weathered appearance. Some structures still stand dating back to the town's operational years: Lil's Saloon; the town office; the former home of Lucy Lane, which is now the main museum but was originally the town's post office and courthouse; Smitty's Gallery; the general store; and Joe's Saloon. There is also a replica of the schoolhouse on the site of the original building.{{r|Varney|p=53}} The one-time homes of the town's Chinese citizens exist as ruins only; only a portion of one rock wall remains of the former "family" residential area on a nearby bluff.<ref>Recorded narration on the Calico and Odessa Railroad ride</ref>

In November 1962, Calico Ghost Town was registered as a [[California Historical Landmark]] ([[List of California Historical Landmarks#San Bernardino County|Landmark #782]]),<ref name="CHL"/> In 2002, Calico vied with [[Bodie, California|Bodie]] in [[Mono County, California|Mono County]] to be recognized as the [[List of California state symbols|Official State Ghost Town]]. In 2005, a compromise was finally reached when the State Senate and State Assembly agreed to list Bodie as the Official State Gold Rush Ghost Town and Calico as the Official State Silver Rush Ghost Town.<ref>{{cite news |title=Only in LA; Wild West Ghost Town's Image in California Gains Bit of Polish |first=Steve |last=Harvey |date=2005-08-03 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |issn=0458-3035 |page=B.4}}</ref>

Today, the park operates mine tours, gunfight stunt shows, [[gold panning]], several restaurants, the historic{{clarify |date=July 2023}} {{RailGauge|2ft6in|lk=on}} [[Narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] [[Calico and Odessa Railroad|Calico & Odessa Railroad]], a Mystery Shack, and a number of trinket stores. It is open every day except Christmas and requires an entrance fee. Additional fees are required for some attractions. Overnight camping is also available. Special events are held throughout the year, including the Civil War Days Historical Reenactment on President's Day weekend, Spring Festival in May, Calico Days in early October, and a Ghost Town haunt in late October.<ref name="SBCRP"/>

The Calico Cemetery, which holds between 96 and 130 graves, has had burials in the 20th and 21st centuries.{{r|Peyton|p=68}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Steeples |first=Douglas W. |title=Treasure from the Painted Hills: A History of Calico, California, 1882–1907 |date=1999 |publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |location=[[Westport, Connecticut]] |isbn=0-313-30836-5 |page=89}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Orawczyk |first=Sarah |title=An unusual funeral: Calico characters find final resting place in town's graveyard |newspaper=Desert Dispatch |date=2012-01-03 |url=http://www.desertdispatch.com/articles/unusual-12196-calico-funeral.html |access-date=2014-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220155632/http://www.desertdispatch.com/articles/unusual-12196-calico-funeral.html|archive-date=2014-02-20}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* Calico is the setting for the 1965 episode "The Book" of the [[Television syndication|syndicated]] [[television series]], ''[[Death Valley Days]]''.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
* ''[[The Ballad of Calico]]'' is the eighth studio album by [[Kenny Rogers and the First Edition]] and was issued in February 1972. The entire double album is a country-rock concept album about Calico, California, and was written by [[Michael Murphey]] and Larry Cansler; the songs tell the stories of individuals who lived in the town. The album reached No. 118 on Billboard, and produced one single, "School Teacher", which reached No. 91.
* In [[Brent Maddock]]'s western horror movie ''[[Tremors 3: Back to Perfection]]'' Calico was used as the set for [[Carson City, Nevada|Carson City]], Nevada.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/ufaqs/where-was-the-carson-city-set-located-im-about-99-9999-it-was-at-the-calico-ghost-town-i-was-stationed-at-the-marine-corps-logistics-base-in-barstow-which-included-the-r/ |title=Where was the "Carson City" set located? I'm about 99.9999% it was at the Calico Ghost Town. |publisher=[[Stampede Entertainment]] |access-date=2023-06-06}}</ref>
* [[Tamara Thorne]]'s 2004 horror novel ''Thunder Road'' was inspired by Calico.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weeks |first=John |title=The news out of Calico Ghost Town is dispiriting |url=http://www.sbsun.com/opinion/20090822/the-news-out-of-calico-ghost-town-is-dispiriting |access-date=2015-04-20 |publisher=[[San Bernardino Sun]] |date=2009-08-21}}</ref>
* Calico is mentioned in [[Joanna Newsom]]'s 2004 song "Swansea", along with other Californian "ghost towns".
* Jennifer Lynn's 2005 romance novel ''New Prints In Old Calico'' was set in Calico.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_product=595&controller=product |title=New Prints In Old Calico |publisher=Champagne Books |access-date=2017-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803013838/http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_product=595&controller=product |archive-date=2016-08-03}}</ref>
* Author [[Lorin Morgan-Richards]] wrote in his 2015 book ''Welsh in the Old West'' of seeing up close the [[White Lady (ghost)|White Lady]] ghost of Calico as it roamed the outskirts of town.<ref>{{cite web |author=Paranormalistics |url=http://paranormalistics.blogspot.com/2012/05/calico-ghost-town.html |title=The Paranormalistics: Calico Ghost Town |date=2012-05-10 |access-date=2017-07-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Lorin |last=Morgan-Richards |title=Welsh in the Old West |publisher=[[A Raven Above Press]] |date=2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://backpackerverse.com/calico-ghost-town/ |title=3 Infamous Poltergeists of Calico Ghost Town |date=January 2016 |access-date=2017-07-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Anthroslug |url=http://sluggosghoststories.blogspot.com/2012/10/calico-ghost-town.html |title=Sluggo's House O' Spookiness: Calico Ghost Town |date=2012-10-29 |access-date=2017-07-03}}</ref>
* [[Gorillaz]] shot the music video for "[[Stylo (song)|Stylo]]" in Calico.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jesusbehindthewheel.com/2019/02/05/how-the-badass-music-video-stylo-by-gorillaz-was-filmed/ |title=How the Badass Music Video Stylo by Gorillaz was Filmed |first=Jesus R.|last=Garcia|access-date=2022-12-11 |website=Jesus Behind the Wheel |date=2019-02-05}}</ref>
* Korean pop co-ed group [[Kard (band)|KARD]] shot the "hidden" version of their music video in Calico for their debut song "[[Hola Hola (Kard song)|Hola Hola]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.moonrok.com/kard-drops-hidden-version-mv-latest-single-hola-hola/ |title=KARD Drops "Secret KARD" Version of MV for Latest Single, "Hola Hola" |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=moonROK |date=2017-08-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211061938/http://www.moonrok.com/kard-drops-hidden-version-mv-latest-single-hola-hola/ |archive-date=2022-12-11}}</ref>
*It was the inspiration of the [[Call of Duty: Black Ops II]] Zombies map "Buried"
*A house in Calico was shown in the music video for [[Robert Plant]]'s "[[Big Log]]".<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxSsol3Zd7k |title=Robert Plant - Big Log (Official Video) [HD REMASTERED] |date=2013-11-08 |last=Robert Plant |access-date=2024-12-30 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Calico Early Man Site]]
* [[California Historical Landmarks in San Bernardino County, California]]
* [[Knott's Berry Farm#Ghost Town|Ghost Town at Knott's Berry Farm]]
* [[Waterloo Mining Railroad]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="CHL">{{cite ohp |id=782 |name=Calico |access-date=2012-10-12}}</ref>
<ref name="SBCRP">{{cite web |url=http://cms.sbcounty.gov/parks/Parks/CalicoGhostTown.aspx |title=Calico Ghost Town |website=[[San Bernardino County]] Regional Parks |date=2011-01-26 |access-date=2017-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531002255/http://cms.sbcounty.gov/parks/Parks/CalicoGhostTown.aspx |archive-date=2011-05-31}}</ref>
<ref name="Varney">{{cite book |first=Philip |last=Varney |date=1990 |title=Southern California's Best Ghost Towns |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |isbn=0-8061-2252-8 |ol=2201101M |lccn=89022742 |oclc=20319644}}</ref>
<ref name="CokeL">{{cite book |last1=Coke |first1=Larry |last2=Coke |first2=Mrs. |title=Calico |location=Calico Camp, Yermo, California |date=1941}}</ref>
<ref name="Kooiman">{{cite book |last=Kooiman |first=Helen |title=Walter Knott: Keeper of the Flame |publisher=[[Plycon Press]] |location=[[Fullerton, California]] |date=1973}}</ref>
<ref name="Peyton">{{cite book |last=Peyton |first=Paige M. |series=Images of America |title=Calico |date=2012 |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |location=[[Charleston, South Carolina]] |isbn=978-0-7385-8905-3 |ol=25346107M |lccn=2011932657 |oclc=756576674}}</ref>
<ref name="Hensher">{{cite book |last=Hensher |first=Alan |date=1991 |title=Ghost Towns of the Mojave Desert |publisher=[[California Classic Books]] |isbn=1-879395-07-X |ol=1282887M |lccn=92140603 |oclc=25187135 |pages=18–21}}</ref>
<ref name="Nygarrd">{{cite book |last=Nygarrd |first=Norman E. |title=Walter Knott: 20th Century Pioneer |publisher=[[Zondervan Publishing House]] |location=[[Grand Rapids, Michigan]] |date=1965}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* {{official website|http://www.calicotown.com/}}
* [http://digital-desert.com/calico-ghost-town/historic-photos.html Historic Photos of Calico at digital-desert.com]

{{San Bernardino County, California}}
{{protected areas of California|SP}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Ghost towns in California]]
[[Category:Mining communities in California]]
[[Category:Mining museums in California]]
[[Category:Museums in San Bernardino County, California]]
[[Category:Open-air museums in California]]
[[Category:Parks in San Bernardino County, California]]
[[Category:California Historical Landmarks]]
[[Category:History of the Mojave Desert region]]
[[Category:History of San Bernardino County, California]]
[[Category:Former settlements in San Bernardino County, California]]
[[Category:Populated places in the Mojave Desert]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1881]]
[[Category:1881 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Protected areas of the Mojave Desert]]
[[Category:Knott's Berry Farm]]
[[Category:Mojave Desert]]
[[Category:American frontier]]
[[Category:Symbols of California]]