Roach is a

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'' ...

and

railroad siding A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighte ...

in Clark County,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located along the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

, between

Jean, Nevada Jean is a small commercial town in Clark County, Nevada, United States, located approximately north of the Nevada–California state line along Interstate 15. Las Vegas is located about to the north. There are no residents of Jean, making it th ...

and

Nipton, California Nipton is an unincorporated community in the Ivanpah Valley in San Bernardino County, California. With a population of about 15 – 20, it is located on the northeastern border of Mojave National Preserve, approximately southeast of Primm, Nev ...

History

Roach was settled between 1902 and 1905. In 1904, a tractor road from the Mesquite Valley through State Line Pass to Roach was built, "largely to haul

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, ...

from the Death Valley region; but it also served to permit easy shipment of the ores from mines in the southwestern part" of the Goodsprings Mining District. Roach became a major shipping point on the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake (SPLA & SL) Railroad, with "considerable tonnage" being shipped through Roach around 1913, along with nearby

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

and

Arden Arden may refer to: Places ;Australia *Arden, an area in North Melbourne, Victoria near the Arden Street Oval ;Canada * Arden, Ontario ;Denmark * Arden, Denmark, a town **Arden Municipality, a former municipality, including the town of Arden ; ...

. The Roach Station was the closest rail site to the Milford-Addison group of mines 1915. Around that time, lead-zinc ore was also mined at the Mobile Mine, owned by a Los Angeles syndicate, and shipped to Los Angeles via the station at Roach. In 1915, about 500 tons of zinc carbonite ore were being transported each month via trucks from the Green Monster Mine to Roach. The following year, the Mojave Tungsten Company planned to build a

tungsten Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...

plant 20 miles west of Roach, with L.L. Draper as the superintendent. Roach was noted as the site of a 1916 record-breaking event. Roy Sorenson and Fred Piehl, leaseholders on the Addison Mine, hired a team to haul 55 tons of zinc to the station at Roach, which the '' Goldfield News'' declared a hauling record. The team worked continuously for almost 42 hours to deposit the ore before Sorenson and Piehl's lease on the mine expired. By the 1920s, Roach was still considered an "important" shipping point on the rail line. The Las Vegas Aviation Club offered landings at Roach around 1921. Roach had a population of 10 residents 1940. Roach appears on, and is the namesake for, the USGS Roach 7.5' topographic map (1985).

Geography

Roach is on the eastern shoreline of Roach Dry Lake and has an elevation of .

References

{{Clark County, Nevada Geography of Clark County, Nevada History of the Mojave Desert region Union Pacific Railroad stations Ghost towns in Nevada