Calico Ghost Town is turning 60 as a San Bernardino County regional park, and the desert community northeast of Barstow is marking the occasion with its annual Calico Days festival on September 26 and 27, running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. The celebration will honor both the park's six decades under county ownership and California's broader silver rush history, with events including a miner's triathlon, a burro race, a pie-eating contest and a costume contest.
The festival includes gunfighting shows and musical entertainment throughout the weekend, according to the Victorville Daily Press. Admission runs $15 for adults and $10 for children ages 4 to 11, while kids under 3 get in free. The park sits at 36600 Ghost Town Road in Yermo, about three miles north of Interstate 15, roughly midway between Barstow and Yermo.
From Silver Boomtown to Ghost Town
Calico's story begins in 1881, when Mojave Desert prospectors discovered silver in the surrounding mountains and staked a claim on what became the Silver King Mine, according to the same report. The town was officially formed that year and quickly grew into a major silver and borax mining hub, establishing its own sheriff, courthouse and judicial district as it boomed. During the peak of the silver rush around 1890, Calico had more than 1,200 citizens, according to San Bernardino County Regional Parks historic documentation.
The numbers behind that boom were staggering for their era: Calico's mines produced an estimated $86 million worth of silver and $45 million worth of borax, per the Daily Press account. State mineralogists reported that 70% of California's silver came out of San Bernardino County during that period, and the Calico mining district alone accounted for nearly 80% of the county's total silver output. Borax extracted from the area found its way into detergents, cosmetics and enamel glazes.
But the good times didn't last. Calico became a ghost town after the silver market declined and borax mining operations ended in 1907, leaving behind empty streets and abandoned structures in the Mojave.
Walter Knott's Desert Restoration
The town might have faded into obscurity entirely if not for Walter Knott, the founder of Knott's Berry Farm, who purchased Calico in 1951. Knott began restoring the town after purchasing it, using old photographs from the 1880s while rebuilding Calico.
Not everything at Calico is a reconstruction, though. Some original structures from the mining era remain, including Lil's Saloon and the Lane House & Museum, according to San Bernardino County Regional Parks. The latter is identified by San Bernardino County Regional Parks as the Lane House & Museum. Calico even had its own weekly newspaper, The Calico Print, which began in 1882.
Six Decades as a County Park
Knott donated Calico to San Bernardino County in 1966, and the town became part of the county's regional parks system that year. San Bernardino County officials are inviting the public to celebrate that 60th anniversary alongside the town's silver rush legacy at this month's Calico Days. The park today spans roughly 500 acres and offers shops, restaurants, camping and outdoor recreation, including 261 campsite and RV spaces with 46 full-hookup sites, according to DesertUSA. According to San Bernardino County's Recovery Plan 2024 Report, a project to increase wastewater-treatment capacity at Calico Ghost Town Regional Park could provide an opportunity for expansion.
Calico's status as a landmark got a formal boost in 2005, when it was designated State Historical Landmark 782 and then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed it California's official Silver Rush Ghost Town. That designation was formalized through California Senate Bill 906, which added Calico to the California Government Code alongside Bodie, the state's official Gold Rush Ghost Town under a 2002 law, according to the California Legislature.
The county's park system has drawn national recognition beyond Calico's historic designation. San Bernardino County Regional Parks won a 2022 National Association of Counties Achievement Award for launching California Days, an annual educational event at the park highlighting 19th-century state history, and the department picked up another NACo award the following year for revamping its outreach and branding efforts, as Hoodline previously reported.
The California Office of Historic Preservation has published a guide on using Community Development Block Grant funds for historic preservation and heritage tourism, placing Calico's visitor-oriented park model within a broader preservation framework.
The Mining District's Modern Chapter
The Mining District's Modern Chapter Calico's silver legacy isn't purely historical. Mining activity continues in San Bernardino County. In March, mineral exploration firm Apollo Silver Corp. engaged SLR Consulting to begin a Preliminary Economic Assessment for its Calico Silver Project, the outlet reported. The company's exploration work is a reminder that more than a century after prospectors first staked claims in these mountains, the region still holds commercial interest for the mining industry.
