Oro Grande (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "Large Gold") 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 ...

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. It lies on the city boundary of

Victorville Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. History In 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a waystation called "Lane's Cro ...

and

Adelanto Adelanto (Spanish for "Advance") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is approximately northwest of Victorville in the Victor Valley area of the Mojave Desert, in the northern region of the Inland Empire.Lint ...

. It is at elevation in

Victor Valley The Victor Valley is a valley in the Mojave Desert and subregion of the Inland Empire, in San Bernardino County in Southern California. It is located east of the Mojave's Antelope Valley, north of the Cajon Pass and the San Bernardino Valley, ...

north of the San Bernardino mountain range. It is located on old Route 66 near

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border i ...

between Victorville and Barstow. The ZIP code is 92368 and the community is inside

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 ...

. Less than 1,000 residents live in the unincorporated area. Neighboring townships include Silver Lakes, Helendale,

and

History

The Bank of Oro Grande boarded up in 2013

Located along the

Mojave River The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the time, ...

, the vicinity of Oro Grande was the location for Native American settlements hundreds of years. The river was also the part of a trade route from 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 ...

for tribes in the southwest with those on the coast of Southern California, what was called the

Mohave Trail The Mohave Trail was a Native American trade route between Mohave Indian villages on the Colorado River and settlements in coastal Southern California. History Starting from Mohave villages along the Colorado River in the upper Mohave Valley, t ...

. Followed by Spanish padres and soldiers, and later American fur trappers and New Mexican traders the Mohave Trail became part of the Old Spanish Trail between

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and

from 1830. After the Americans acquired California in the

Mexican American War Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, Mormon pioneers developed a

wagon road ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. I ...

from

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on the western part of the Old Spanish Trail crossing the Mojave River here just below the Lower Narrows of the Mojave River. In 1859, Aaron G. Lane established the a ranch and store for travelers on the road at this crossing, that came to be called Lane's Crossing. This was the first settlement on the Mojave River. He sold out in 1865 and moved down river to establish a ranch at Bryman, and others took over his old ranch. In January, 1873, a strike found ore that ran $160 in gold and $18 in silver per ton at Silver Mountain east of Lane's new ranch, led to the organization of the Silver Mountain Mining District. In 1880, other strikes found $2,000 a ton in silver and $18,000 per ton in gold to the southwest led to the organization of the Red Mountain Gold and Silver Mining District and the construction of the mining town of Oro Grande almost 2 miles below Lane's old crossing east of the river. It was named after the first mine found, the Oro Grande Mine. The first houses were built and a post office established called Halleck in January 1881. A stamp mill for these mines was installed on the river, and later used for those of

Calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

. From 1887, limestone quarries opened and two kilns were produced lime for cement. From 1907, cement was made in Oro Grande. Marble was also mined. On May 25, 1927, the post office officially was renamed as Oro Grande. Nearby is the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Silver Peak Light Annex.Frickstad, Walter N., A Century of California Post Offices 1848-1954, Philatelic Research Society, Oakland, CA. 1955, pp.135-147.

Local Attractions

Calico Ghost Town Elmer Longs Bottle Tree Ranch Roy Rodgers Ranch Caroli Lake Club

Climate

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, Oro Grande has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Oro Grande, California
/ref>

External links

References

{{authority control Populated places in the Mojave Desert Unincorporated communities in San Bernardino County, California Victor Valley Unincorporated communities in California Old Spanish Trail (trade route) Mormon Road