Ludlow is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

, located in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

, United States. The older remains of the

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

are along historic

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

History

Origins

The community settlement dates back to 1870s. The community of Ludlow was named after William Ludlow of Southern Pacific Railroads. In 1882, the town was founded. The town started as a

water stop A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where steam trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as a "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines when large amounts of ...

for the

Atlantic and Pacific Railroad The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern Californi ...

. Ore was found in the nearby hills, leading to the town's boom. From 1906 to 1940 it was the southern railhead for the

Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad The Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad was a former class II railroad that served eastern California and southwestern Nevada. The railroad was built mainly to haul borax from Francis Marion Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company mines located just eas ...

, operated by the

Pacific Coast Borax Company The Pacific Coast Borax Company (PCB) was a United States mining company founded in 1890 by the American borax magnate Francis Smith, the "Borax King". History The roots of the Pacific Coast Borax Company lie in Mineral County, Nevada, east of ...

and bringing

borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form, ...

and other mining products from

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

and Beatty, Nevada, to long distance

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

lines. It also served as the northern railhead for the Ludlow and Southern Railway, a mining line that ran south to the Bagdad-Chase gold mine and the mining camp of Rochester. It operated from 1903 to 1931.

Route 66

By the 1940s, local mining and railway activity had ceased and the town survived supplying the needs of travellers on the

National Old Trails Road National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and became part of the National Auto Trail system in the United States. It was long and stretched from Baltimore, Maryland (some old maps indicate N ...

, renamed to become the legendary Route 66 in California. With Ludlow providing a

Motor Court A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

with

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

cabins, the

streamline moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

Ludlow Cafe, a gasoline-service garage, and shade. They operated through the late 1960s. After

was built bypassing town there was little business and most residents departed, leaving

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

s of empty buildings and

Tamarisk The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...

trees that still stand flanking the old highway. Tourists following and exploring historic Route 66 pass through the

now.

Chinese history

A Chinese family resided in Ludlow. Lee Yim, his wife Guishee Yim, and their five children lived in Ludlow. The family operated The Desert Inn Cafe and Hotel. The family lived in the community from 1914 to 1960s. In 1917, there was the Lee Yim Deposit near Ludlow that began mining production in 1918. It was associated to Lavic Mining District. The mine is closed and it is part of Kelso Dunes Wilderness.

Geography

To the northwest on Interstate 40 are

Newberry Springs Newberry Springs is an unincorporated community in the western Mojave Desert of Southern California, located at the foot of the Newberry Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Newberry Spring is a spring that in the 19t ...

and

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the I ...

. To the east on Route 66 is

Amboy Amboy may refer to: Places * Amboy, Córdoba, village in Calamuchita Department, Córdoba province, Argentina United States * Amboy Crater, feature in Mojave National Preserve, California Settled U.S. places * Amboy, California * Amboy, Ge ...

Amboy Crater Amboy Crater is a dormant cinder cone volcano that rises above a lava field in the eastern Mojave Desert of southern California, within Mojave Trails National Monument. It is about equidistant from Barstow to the west and Needles to the e ...

, and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, and on Interstate 40 is

Needles, California Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the Californian border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is a ...

, and the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. The

Mojave National Preserve Mojave National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 in California, Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31 ...

and

Kelso Dunes Kelso Dunes, also known as the Kelso Dune Field, is the largest field of Aeolian processes, aeolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, California, B ...

, of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, is to the northeast of town. To the west is

Pisgah Crater Pisgah Crater, or Pisgah Volcano, is a young volcanic cinder cone rising above a lava plain in the Mojave Desert, between Barstow and Needles, California in San Bernardino County, California. The volcanic peak is around south of historic U ...

in the Lavic Lake volcanic field. The Bullion Mountains are south behind the town, with the

Bristol Mountains The Bristol Mountains are found in the Mojave Desert of California, USA, just west of Mojave National Preserve. The range, which reaches an elevation of 3,874 feet (1,181 m), is located in San Bernardino County, and crosses Interstate 40 between L ...

to the east and

Cady Mountains The Cady Mountains are a mountain range in the Mojave Desert and within Mojave Trails National Monument, in San Bernardino County, California. They are located between Interstate 15 and Interstate 40, just east of Newberry Springs. The range lies ...

to the northwest. The Ludlow ZIP Code is 92338, and the community is in telephone

area codes 442 and 760 Area code 760 is a California telephone area code that was split from area code 619 on March 22, 1997. Area code 442 is an overlay of 760 that became effective on November 21, 2009. It encompasses much of the southeastern and southernmost portion ...

Climate

This area has a large amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Ludlow has a

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated "Bwh" on climate maps.

Landmarks

This is a list of landmarks including its former structures. * Dairy Queen * The Desert Inn Cafe and Hotel - This was located on Main St. facing the railroad tracks. The restaurant and hotel was owned by Lee Yim and his family.(Article has images of building.) * Ludlow Cafe - It is plain box-like building that was a cafe in the 1940s. It was built of lumber salvaged from the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad. In the 1960s, Earl and Lillian Warnix sold it to Laurel and Cameron Friend. The building withstood two fires. By 2015, the building has been reduced to rubble.(Article has images of building.) * Ludlow Cemetery - a pioneer cemetery.

Notable people

* Harold William Knoll - CEO of the Ludlow Businesses. * John W. Knoll - owner of several businesses including several gas stations, restaurant, motel, and Dairy Queen. * Lucy Venus McNeill - Resident during her teenage and adult life. Her father worked for Santa Fe and the family lived in a train boxcar. She married Henry "Penny" Pendergast. * Ma Preston - Owner of saloons and a wealthy person in the community. During WWI, she supported the war effort and bought $20,000 in Victory Bonds. In 1920, she retired and left Ludlow. * Lee Yim - Owner of The Desert Inn Cafe and Hotel.

Media

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, Ludlow was one of the filming locations for the film ''

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

'' as well as Barstow, Bombay Beach, Hinkley,

Joshua Tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

Landers Landers may refer to: People * Landers (surname), a list of people surnamed Landers (including fictional people) Places * Landers, California, United States * Landers Peaks, group of peaks in the northern portion of Alexander Island, Antarct ...

, Lenwood,