Vanderbilt was a short-lived gold

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historic mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendigo, ...

located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It existed between 1893 and 1895. At its peak it may have had a population of about 400 people.

Location

Vanderbilt was located at 35° 19' 38.20" -115° 14' 59.14" (WGS84) on the California and Nevada border, which today is part of Mojave National Preserve.

History

In January 1891, an Indian named Robert Black struck gold ore on the north slope of the

New York Mountains The New York Mountains are a small mountain range found in northeastern San Bernardino County in California, USA. The range's northeastern area lies in southeastern Nevada. The range lies just south of the small community of Ivanpah, and north ...

, about north of

Goffs, California Goffs, an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, is a nearly empty one-time railroad town at the route's high point in the Mojave Desert. Goffs was a stop on famous U.S. Route 66 until 1931 when a more direct road opened ...

, on the Santa Fé Railway. A mining camp was soon established at nearby Vanderbilt Spring. The discovery of additional gold-rich veins in the fall of 1892 set off a rush to the area. By January 1893, 150 people were living at Vanderbilt camp, which contained 50 tents, two stores, one saloon, three restaurants, a lodging house, a blacksmith shop, and a stable. In 1983 a post office was established in February, W. A. Nash was appointed justice of the peace in May, and a

Rail service 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 ...

to Manvel, five-miles to the south, commenced in August. Vanderbilt's population probably peaked in 1894, at about 400. The business district contained three saloons, two barbers, a Chinese restaurant and two other eating houses, two meat markets, a stationery and fruit store, one lodging house, two blacksmiths, and three well-stocked general stores. William McFarlane, one of the pioneers of Ivanpah, owned an interest in one of them, in which he ran the post office and owned a drugstore. According to Earp Historians,

Virgil Earp Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona City Marshal when he led his younger brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfig ...

, famed brother of

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...

who was also involved in the gunfight behind the OK Corral, owned the only two-story building in town. It operated as a hotel and saloon, and according to Allie Earp, church services and dances were also held inside. During 1894, two ten-stamp mills were constructed to serve the two principal mines in the district, the Gold Bronze and Boomerang. At nearly the same time the mills were completed, water was struck in the mines. After hitting water, the character of the ore changed, and being unable to recover the gold in the ore, the mills were shut down. By the end of 1895, most of the town's businesses had closed and most of the population had left.

References

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External links

Vanderbilt-Alan Hensher 2005
{{authority control Ghost towns in California Former settlements in San Bernardino County, California Mojave National Preserve ghost towns in the United States