Helendale or Silver Lakes 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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

located in the

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, n ...

of 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 ...

, within

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 ...

. It is on 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 ...

, west of the

Mojave Freeway Mojave or Mohave most often refers to: *Mojave Desert *Mojave River *Mohave people *Mojave language Mojave or Mohave may also refer to: Places * Fort Mojave Indian Reservation * Mohave County, Arizona * Mohave Valley, a valley in Arizona * Mohav ...

(I-15), between Barstow and

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 ...

. The name Helendale is used by the

USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

, while Silver Lakes is used by the US Census. The 2010 United States census reported Silver Lakes's population was 5,623.

History

Several Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s lived in the area, namely the Mojave and Serrano. It is believed that the first

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

man to travel through was the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

priest

Francisco Garcés Francisco Hermenegildo Tomás Garcés (April 12, 1738 – July 18, 1781) was a Spanish Franciscan friar who served as a missionary and explorer in the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. He explored much of the southwestern region of North Amer ...

in 1776. He was exploring a route to the missions on the

Coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

following 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 original name for Helendale was Point of Rocks. There were several early trails and roadways through this area of the

, including the Mojave Trail, which was used by the Indians and Father Garcés, the Spanish Trail, the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

, the Mormon Trail, etc. After Father Garcés,

Jedediah Smith Jedediah Strong Smith (January 6, 1799 – May 27, 1831) was an American clerk, transcontinental pioneer, frontiersman, hunter, trapper, author, cartographer, mountain man and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the Western United States, and ...

traveled through the Point of Rocks area in 1826 on a

fur trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

expedition. In 1844,

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

and his guide,

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and n ...

, traveled through heading east via the

Cajon Pass Cajon Pass (; Spanish: ''Puerto del Cajón'' or ''Paso del Cajón'') is a mountain pass between the San Bernardino Mountains to the east and the San Gabriel Mountains to the west in Southern California. Created by the movements of the San Andreas ...

. During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, in late 1846 or early 1847, the

Mormon Battalion The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to July ...

camped at Point of Rocks on their way to

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' ...

. They were released from the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

shortly afterward and part of the battalion returned to

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 ...

through Point of Rocks. The first Mormon

wagon train ''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. It ...

traveled through in about 1851. In 1857,

Edward Fitzgerald Beale Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale (February 4, 1822 – April 22, 1893) was a national figure in the 19th-century United States. He was a naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs superintendent, California rancher, ...

and his camel driver,

Hi Jolly Hi Jolly or Hadji Ali ( ar, حاج علي, Ḥājj ʿAlī; tr, Hacı Ali), also known as Philip Tedro (born 'Ali al-Hajaya – December 16, 1902), was an Ottoman subject of Syrian and Greek parentage, and in 1856 became one of the first camel ...

, brought a famous caravan through on the way to Wilmington for the Camel Corps. After a few horse ridden mail conveyance companies during the 1850s went out of business, the short-lived

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

began its service in the early 1860s and a stone station was built by the river at Point of Rocks. The

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

station at Point of Rocks was located west of where the railroad tracks were later put down. In about 1863, the station was burned by

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...

Indians of the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

branch. The Santa Fe

Railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

arrived in the 1880s and built a Point of Rocks station, which provided a watering stop for the

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

s then moving

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

s across the High Desert. On December 15, 1897, the name was changed to Helen in honor of Helen A. Wells (born 1885), daughter of railroad executive Arthur G. Wells (1861–1932). On September 22, 1918, the name was changed to Helendale.

, or National Trails Highway, was paved and officially opened in the Helendale area in 1926. Helendale has a historical marker commemorating the old road that is located 100 yards south of the intersection of Route 66 and Vista Road. 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 ...

Helendale Auxiliary Airfield. In 1969, construction began on two manmade lakes, North Lake and South Lake, covering approximately , and a resort community called Silver Lakes was built at Helendale that opened in the early 1970s. The ZIP Code is 92342 and the community is inside

area code 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 porti ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP covers an area of 5.6 square miles (14.4 km), 5.2 square miles (13.4 km) of it land, and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km) of it (7.15%) water. Helendale is located in a generally flat area in the

, between

and Barstow. It is located northeast of Los Angeles and southwest of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

at an elevation of . The town consists primarily of the Silver Lakes resort community, which is built around two manmade lakes. Water for these lakes comes from

, which, while dry at the surface, has flow underground.

Climate

Helendale is in a

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

climate. Like most of the

, it has cool winters and hot summers and very little rainfall. It often will remain dry while nearby Victorville and Barstow are experiencing

flash floods A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

. For this reason, natives called the area "The hole in the sky."

Public Safety

Law enforcement is provided by the

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department (SBSD) serves San Bernardino County, California, which is geographically the largest county in the United States (excluding Alaska's boroughs) and is headquartered in San Bernardino city. ...

out of the Adelanto Station. Traffic enforcement is provided by the

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

. The San Bernardino County Fire Department maintains a full-time station with paramedics near the Post Office on Helendale Road. Private security firms are hired by the Silverlakes Association and consistently patrol the amenities of Silver Lakes.

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Silver Lakes had a population of 5,623. The population density was . The racial makeup of Silver Lakes was 4,566 (81.2%)

(71.8% Non-Hispanic White), 315 (5.6%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 39 (0.7%) Native American, 198 (3.5%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 15 (0.3%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 270 (4.8%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 220 (3.9%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 907 persons (16.1%). The Census reported that 5,623 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 2,238 households, out of which 654 (29.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,392 (62.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 201 (9.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 83 (3.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 94 (4.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 14 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 458 households (20.5%) were made up of individuals, and 253 (11.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51. There were 1,676

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(74.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.89. The population was spread out, with 1,267 people (22.5%) under the age of 18, 324 people (5.8%) aged 18 to 24, 1,099 people (19.5%) aged 25 to 44, 1,642 people (29.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,291 people (23.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. There were 2,754 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,699 (75.9%) were owner-occupied, and 539 (24.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 7.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.0%. 4,008 people (71.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,615 people (28.7%) lived in rental housing units. The census also defines a

Zip Code Tabulation Area ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics. These were introduced with the Census 2000 and continued with the 2010 Census and 5 year American Community S ...

(ZCTA), 92342, for Helendale, California, which includes surrounding rural areas. As of the 2000

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, there were 4,936 people and 4,909 households in the ZCTA of 92342. The population was made up of 50.5% males and 49.5% females. The median age was 45.7. According to the 2010 United States Census, Silver Lakes had a median household income of $67,214, with 12.1% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Places of interest

* Cottonwood Park * Silver Lakes Country Club * South Lake Park * Desert Fox airsoft field * Elmers Bottle Tree Ranch * Caroli Lake Club

References

External links

''High Desert News''

''San Bernardino County Fire''
{{authority control Populated places in the Mojave Desert Census-designated places in San Bernardino County, California Unincorporated communities in San Bernardino County, California Victor Valley U.S. Route 66 in California Census-designated places in California Unincorporated communities in California