Nipton, California
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Nipton is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in the
Ivanpah Valley The Ivanpah Valley is in southeastern California and southern Nevada in the United States. The valley is between the New York Mountains and the Ivanpah Mountains in San Bernardino County on the California side, and in Clark County on the Nevada ...
in
San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is locat ...
. With a population of about 15 – 20, it is located on the northeastern border of
Mojave National Preserve Mojave National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, US, between Interstate 15 in California, Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31, ...
, approximately southeast of
Primm, Nevada Primm (formerly known as State Line) is an unincorporated town in Clark County, Nevada, United States, primarily notable for its position straddling Interstate 15 at the Nevada–California border. It sits on Ivanpah Dry Lake, which extends to ...
and the
Ivanpah Solar Power Facility The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a concentrated solar thermal plant located in the Mojave Desert located at the base of Clark Mountain in California, across the state line from Primm, Nevada. It is slated to close in 2026. The ...
. It is accessible via Nevada State Route 164 (also known as Nipton Road).


History

A mining camp was established here at the crossroads of two wagon trails. The town was founded on February 9, 1905, with the coming of the first train on the newly constructed San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. It was called "Nippeno Camp" following a nearby discovery of gold. The name was changed to Nipton when the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad merged with the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
around 1910. In addition to being a cattle-loading station for several local ranches, the town and depot also supplied numerous mines in the area, becoming a social center for the sparse population of the region. On April 10, 1940, President Roosevelt approved transferring title of Nipton to Harry Trehearne under the Homestead Act. It stayed in the family’s hands until 1956, when it passed to six owners. In 1985 Gerald "Jerry" Freeman and Roxanne Lang purchased Nipton for about $200,000. They restored the cafe and five-room hotel and planted a grove of
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
trees. When Freeman's health deteriorated in 2016, they put the town up for sale. In September 2017, Nipton was purchased by American Green Inc., for US$5 million with plans to turn the town into a cannabis tourism destination. The CEO of the company hoped to make this into the first "Pot Town, USA". American Green Inc. sold the town in March 2018 after failing to attract the capital investment necessary to continue the project. The town was sold to Delta International Oil & Gas for a total of $7.7 million in debt assumption and Delta preferred stock, along with a provision that it continue with the project to transform the town on the edge of the Mojave Desert into a cannabis-themed resort. The town was listed for sale again in November 2020 for $2.75 million. In January 2023, Nipton was purchased by
Spiegelworld Spiegelworld is an American comedic theater company and contemporary circus known for its current shows: ''Absinthe'', ''DiscoShow'', and ''Atomic Saloon Show,'' all in Las Vegas, and Atlantic City's ''The Hook''. The theater company takes its n ...
, an American theater company, for $2.5 million. Spiegelworld has stated that Nipton will become their new base of operations and will become a place "where Spiegelworld artists and performers will retreat to dream, create and undertake unfettered artistic experimentation."


Townsite

A five-room adobe hotel was built in the Mexican Territorial style in 1910. The town also has a
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
, a
trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
, the Whistle Stop Cafe, a
RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...
, five eco-cabins, and ten sites with
teepee A tipi or tepee ( ) is a conical lodge tent that is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal hides or pelts or, in more recent generations, of canvas stretched o ...
s on them. There is also a historic schoolhouse and art exhibits connected to the
Burning Man Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Western United States. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the penultimate night of the event: the ...
event.


Climate

The area receives significant sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Nipton has a
hot 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.


In popular culture

Nipton appears as a town in the 2010 video game '' Fallout: New Vegas,'' burned and ransacked by the in-game Caesar's Legion faction.


References


External links

*
Nipton, A Ghost Town, Going Green
''New York Times'', April 30, 2014
The Bizarre Saga of Nipton, CA: from Wannabe Cannabis Resort to Circus Town
Populated places in the Mojave Desert Unincorporated communities in San Bernardino County, California Unincorporated communities in California {{SanBernardinoCountyCA-geo-stub