Cerro Gordo is a former settlement in Inyo County, California, United States, and was primarily a silver mining town based around the Cerro Gordo Mines. At its height, hundreds of dwellings dotted the landscape, while miners sought their fortunes.
Cerro Gordo is a former settlement in Inyo County, California, United States, and was primarily a silver mining town based around the Cerro Gordo Mines. At its height, hundreds of dwellings dotted the landscape, while miners sought their fortunes.
Cerro Gordo ("Fat Hill" in Spanish) got its name from Mexicans, who regularly searched the area for silver. Mining officially began in 1865 after its discovery by Pablo Flores; by 1867 the word had spread, and scores of prospectors had arrived seeking fortune. In 1866, local businessman Victor Beaudry had opened a store, as well as acquiring several mining claims, including partial interest to the lucrative Union Mine. By 1869, Cerro Gordo was the largest producer of silver and lead in the nation; teams of mules would travel between Cerro Gordo and Los Angeles, California. In its peak, the town was home to several mines, hundreds of structures (most were of the ramshackle variety), bars, a general store, and hotel. The isolated nature of the town led to much lawlessness, as gunfights were recorded in its time. [1]
The prosperity of Cerro Gordo was short lived; by 1877 a fire raged throughout the mines, burning down much of the infrastructure. [2] Falling silver and lead prices were the final straw, and most of the inhabitants left as quickly as they came. The town briefly came back to life for a few decades, starting in 1905, as it was used for zinc processing. [1] The town was left mostly abandoned, save for a few caretakers who stayed behind.
The ghost town of Cerro Gordo was purchased for 1.4 million dollars in June 2018 with the intent to turn it into a tourist attraction, accessed by special permission. At that time, it had several vintage buildings, including the general store [3] [4] [5] and 336 acres (136 ha). [6] The buyers, Brent Underwood and Jon Bier, purchased the property with additional Los Angeles-based investors. [7] The American Hotel, an icehouse, and a residence were destroyed in a suspected electrical fire on June 15, 2020. [8] Despite these challenges, in 2021 Underwood said he was still committed to the project. [9]
Cerro Gordo is accessible by an 8-mile dirt utility road; use of a 4WD vehicle is recommended, but the road can be navigated in a 2WD vehicle. [10]
Keeler, formerly known as Hawley, is an unincorporated community in Inyo County, California, United States. Keeler is located on the east shore of Owens Lake 11.5 miles (19 km) south-southeast of New York Butte. The population was 71 people at the 2020 census, up from 66 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Keeler as a census-designated place (CDP).
Owens Lake is a dry lake in the Owens Valley on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in Inyo County, California. It is about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Lone Pine. Unlike most dry lakes in the Basin and Range Province that have been dry for thousands of years, Owens held significant water until 1913, when much of the Owens River was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, causing Owens Lake to desiccate by 1926. In 2006, 5% of the water flow was restored. As of 2013, it is the largest single source of dust pollution in the United States.
Calico is a ghost town and former mining town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the 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, it lies 3 miles (4.8 km) equidistant from Barstow and Yermo. 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, and in 2005 was proclaimed by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to be California's Silver Rush Ghost Town.
Swansea is a former settlement and unincorporated community in Inyo County, California. It is located 8.5 miles (14 km) south of New York Butte, at an elevation of 3,661 ft (1,116 m).
Rhyolite is a ghost town in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is in the Bullfrog Hills, about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Las Vegas, near the eastern boundary of Death Valley National Park.
Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain".
GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It is located in the Ghost Town section of the park, south of the main entrance. Manufactured by Custom Coasters International, GhostRider is the longest wooden coaster on the West Coast of the United States, measuring 4,533 feet (1,382 m) long and 118 feet (36 m) tall. The ride follows an L-shaped double out and back pattern, with a station themed to a mining building. There are three trains, each themed to a different precious metal, though only two are in use at any given time.
Eagle Mountain is a ghost town in the California desert in Riverside County founded in 1948 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. The town is located at the entrance of the now-defunct Eagle Mountain iron mine, once owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad, then Kaiser Steel, and located on the southeastern corner of Joshua Tree National Park. The town's fully integrated medical care system, similar to other Kaiser operations in California, was the genesis of the modern-day Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization. Eagle Mountain is accessible by Kaiser Road from California State Route 177, twelve miles (19 km) north of Desert Center, midway between Indio and the California/Arizona state line along Interstate 10.
Goldcorp Inc. was a gold production company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company stood among the largest gold producers in the world, employed about 15,800 people worldwide, engaged in gold mining and related activities including exploration, extraction, processing and reclamation. Goldcorp’s operating assets included eleven mines in North and South America.
Freeman Junction, a ghost town in Kern County, California, USA, was first homesteaded in the early 1870s. Freeman S. Raymond built a stage coach station here to accommodate travelers between the desert mines and Los Angeles. A group of Native Americans who were defending their homes and families in 1909 killed off the homesteaders and burned the stage station, after which the property lay dormant for several years. It was re-homesteaded in the 1920s by Clare C. Miley, who was born in 1900, and his wife. By the 1930s their small stone cabin became a gas station/car repair and later, a restaurant and some mining activities dominated the site. In 1953 a post office was planned, but never materialized and residents had to travel seven miles to Inyokern to collect their mail. By June, 1978, the town had died once again and the remains of the town have since been removed by passersby. Today, the site has reverted to its natural state and nothing remains.
Panamint City is a ghost town in the Panamint Range, near Death Valley, in Inyo County, California, US. It is also known by the official Board of Geographic Names as Panamint. Panamint was a boom town founded after silver and copper were found there in 1872. By 1874, the town had a population of about 2,000. Its main street was one mile (1.6 km) long. Panamint had its own newspaper, the Panamint News. Silver was the principal product mined in the area. The town is located about three miles northwest of Sentinel Peak. According to the National Geographic Names Database, NAD27 latitude and longitude for the locale are 36°07′06″N117°05′43″W, and the feature ID number is 1661185. The elevation of this location is identified as being 6,280 feet AMSL. The similar-sounding Panamint Springs, California, is located about 25.8 miles at 306.4 degrees off true north near Panamint Junction.
The Cerro Gordo Mines are a collection of abandoned mines located in Cerro Gordo in the Inyo Mountains, Inyo County, near Lone Pine, California. Mining operations spanned 1866 to 1957, producing high grade silver, lead, and zinc ore; and, more rarely, gold ore and copper ore. Some ore was smelted on site, but larger capacity smelters were eventually constructed along the shore of nearby Owens Lake.
The Los Angeles and Independence Railroad, opened on October 17, 1875, was a steam-powered rail line which ran between the Santa Monica Long Wharf and 5th and San Pedro streets in downtown Los Angeles.
Remi A. Nadeau was an American historian. He earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Dunmovin is an unincorporated community in Inyo County, California. It is located 4.8 km (3 mi) north of Coso Junction and 21.6 km (13.5 mi) south-southeast of Olancha, at an elevation of 3507 feet.
Lookout City is a former settlement in the Mojave Desert, in Inyo County, California. It lay at an elevation of 3579 feet.
New Gold Inc. is a Canadian mining company that owns and operates the New Afton gold-silver-copper mine in British Columbia and the Rainy River gold-silver mine in Ontario, Canada. Through a Mexican subsidiary company, they also own the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver mine in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, which ceased operation in 2017. While New Gold was founded in 1980 for the purposes of mineral exploration, the company became a mine operator with its merger of Peak Gold and Metallica Resources in 2008. A fourth company, Western Goldfields, joined in 2009. Together they operated the Peak mine in Australia and Mesquite Mine in California but sold both in 2018. Headquartered in Toronto, shares of the company are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American.
Brent Underwood is an American entrepreneur and owner of Cerro Gordo Mines.
Elgin Bryce Holt was an American geologist, mine owner and engineer, amateur scientist, anthropologist and entrepreneur who reorganized and managed the Cerro de Plata Mining Company in Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico.
Guston is a silver mining ghost town in Ouray County, Colorado, United States, 11 miles (18 km) south of Ouray following the "Million Dollar Highway". Nestled in Champion Gulch, it is located near Red Mountain and the remnants of Red Mountain Town and Ironton. The Silverton Railroad ran from Guston in the Red Mountain Pass to Silverton in San Juan County. The silver mining camp was established in 1883. The Guston post office operated from January 26, 1892, until November 16, 1898.