Calico Ghost Town

Calico was founded in 1881 when silver was discovered in the mountains at the edge of the Mojave Desert. Within a few years, the town grew to more than a thousand residents and more than 500 mines. It was a place of quick fortunes and quicker departures, its economy tied entirely to the price of silver. By the mid-1890s, when that price collapsed, Calico emptied almost overnight. By 1907, the town was abandoned.

At its height, Calico had schools, saloons, a Chinatown, and even its own newspaper. The buildings followed the logic of boomtown construction: wooden facades meant to look solid from the street, boardwalks to lift boots above the dust, and miner’s cabins scattered against the hills. Nothing was designed to last more than a generation, which is why it is surprising that any of it is still standing at all.

In the 1950s, Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm purchased the town and began restoring it. He rebuilt several structures from photographs and records, blending preservation with re-creation. What remains is part original, part reconstruction, and part performance of itself, like a town telling you its story with a bit of rehearsal.

The haunting stories arrived alongside the restorations. Lucy Lane, who grew up in Calico and later returned, is said to linger in her family home. The schoolhouse has its own reputation, with visitors claiming to hear lessons recited in an empty room. These stories are impossible to prove but hard to resist. They add to the feeling that Calico is still in motion, even if most of its residents left more than a century ago.

Today, Calico is a San Bernardino County Regional Park with mine tours, souvenir shops, and the occasional staged gunfight. The desert presses in on all sides, reminding you why this town never had a chance at permanence. Calico looks like it was built to disappear, yet here it is, telling its story again to anyone willing to listen.