Escapees May-June 2024

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Miner J.A. Delameter petitioned for a post of fi ce the next day, and the name “Calico” came into being. The town grew more stores, livery stables, physicians’ of fi ces, lawof fi ces, assayers, map makers and, of course, more saloons and gambling halls. Calico never had a jail, though! Nearby Barstow and Daggett prob ably served when one was needed. Calico sported only one street—Main Street. Northward along that street took you directly to the mines. The town of Daggett, named for one of California’s fi rst Lieutenant-Governors, had a railroad stop. Ore from Calico could be taken to the stamp mills on Dry Lake, just south of Calico, and then transported to Daggett, where the silver would be carried by Wells Fargo Express to the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. Calico’s homes ranged from tents and rock houses (some of which had no mortar or which were built against a natural rock wall), to lumber or adobe houses. It even had a bottle house. The hill on the north side of Calico had over 30 miles of tunnels in solid rock. No need for timbering—a good thing because the Mojave Desert where Calico lies doesn’t have many trees! When the price of silver dropped around 1899, mining became too expensive and the miners moved on, abandoning Calico except for a few stalwart residents who stayed on. Time and vandalism started to destroy what was left of Calico in the early 20th century and that was when Walter and Cordelia Knott and their family took an interest in preserving and restoring what was left of the site—now a ghost town. Walter Knott, who piloted the boysenberry into a pro fi table farm enterprise, later went on to create Knott’s Berry Farm in Orange County, California, now a major theme park. But, back in the 1950’s, Walter fed his love of things Western and collected artifacts from ghost towns before the ravages of time destroyed them. He was particularly interested in preserving what was left of Calico because, in its heyday, it was southern California’s richest silver strike at $86 million in those days’ money and about $258 million today. There was a family connection to Calico, too. Walter’s uncle was John C. King, who served as Sheriff of San Bernardino County from 1879 to 1882. King had grubstaked two prospec tors at Calico and those gents discovered what would be the richest mine at Calico—the Silver King Mine, named for John C. King, the miners’ benefactor. During the 1950’s, the Knott family bought the Calico townsite and a few mining claims to preserve the town— one of the last ghost towns of southern California. Trees were planted, buildings were restored accord ing to old photos and maps, and artifacts were placed on display. The revival of Calico once again brought

merchants to the townsite, selling souvenirs and memo rabilia of the Old West. And, in 1966, Walter Knott gave the town to the people of San Bernardino County to establish a Regional Park. A plaque and a bust of Walter Knott grace Calico today, in gratitude for his work and his gift to the county. The story of the miners, merchants and businesspeo ple of Calico is preserved now, but there’s another great story of Calico that concerns a dog. His masters were two brothers—the Stacy’s—who took in the dog during a storm, in 1883. The dog was named Dorsey and he enjoyed visiting one brother who was Calico’s post master, and the other brother who had a store in East Calico where most of the family homes were located. It was a hike to get from East Calico back to Calico to pick up mail or send something out. Postmaster Stacy tied a note to Dorsey’s collar one day, and Dorsey safely delivered it to the brother. That gave Postmaster Stacy the idea to rig up some mail sacks for Dorsey to carry. At fi rst, only newspapers were delivered until Dorsey could be counted on to make other deliveries. Dorsey was true to his work and was soon delivering mail to East Calico and bringing back the outgoing mail. Dorsey became an of fi cial US Post Of fi ce mail-carrying dog, one of only a few in American history. Dorsey kept up his work for two years, until the mines of East Calico closed and mail service became unneces sary. Dorsey’s photo is now displayed in the Calico Hall of Fame—a building with photos and illustrations of many of the former and more recent “characters” that have graced Calico. Oh, and those newspapers? Calico did have its own paper—the Calico Print and copies of it are often found in California's museum and library archives. Some of the area around the Regional Park is still mined for silver and other minerals such as agate, silver onyx, jasper and even a bit of gold. It is believed that there is still more silver there than was ever removed. The area also had a second boom from about 1890 to 1907 when borates and borax were mined there and at Death Valley. Both places used twenty-mule teams to haul the minerals to market. About $9 million worth was taken from the Calico area, which would be about $30 million today. Now, Calico is famous for a look back at life in the old days. And the town hosts many festivals during the year, the most famous of which is Calico Days, in late September, when many visitors come in Old West costumes or participate in the annual “Burro Run” which replicates what tasks the miners used to have to do to be successful prospectors. For more information, visit www.calicoattractions. com. It’s a town well worth a “virtual” or “real” visit! Dr. Stephenie Slahor, Guest Contributor

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May/June 2024 ESCAPEES Magazine