Garlock (formerly, Eugeneville) 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 ...

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. It is located east-southeast of Saltdale, at an elevation of 2,169 feet (661 m). A post office operated at Garlock from 1896 to 1904 and from 1923 to 1926. Roberta Ruth lived in Garlock in the 1960s, managing a curio shop. Garlock 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), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

that was known as El Paso City or Cow Wells interchangeably. The little town provided water for cattlemen and freighters wishing to avoid the potentially treacherous washes in Red Rock Canyon. Some gold had been found in the canyons of the

El Paso Mountains The El Paso Mountains are located in the northern Mojave Desert, in central Southern California in the Western United States. Geography The range lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction east of Highway 14, and north of the Rand Mountains and ...

, enough to warrant an

arrastra An arrastra (or arastra) is a primitive mill for grinding and pulverizing (typically) gold or silver ore. Its simplest form is two or more flat-bottomed drag stones placed in a circular pit paved with flat stones, and connected to a center post ...

being built in 1887. In 1893 a nugget was brought in worth $1,900 from Goler Heights and so the rush began. In 1894 Eugene Garlock of Tehachapi moved in an eight stamp mill. Miners would talk of going down to "the Garlock mill," "down to the Garlock," and finally just "Garlock." Three miles to the southwest was the site of Old Garlock.

California Historical Landmark

The site is now registered as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

#671, designated on December 1, 1958. the marker is 74 mi W of State Hwy 395 on Garlock Rd, 13.4 mi NE of Cantil post office. The California Historical Landmark reads: :''NO. 671 SITE OF THE TOWN OF GARLOCK - In 1896, Eugene Garlock constructed a stamp mill near this spot to crush gold ore from the Yellow Aster Mine on Rand Mountain. Known originally as Cow Wells by prospectors and freighters during the 1880s and early 1890s, the town of Garlock continued to thrive until 1898, when water was piped from here to Randsburg and the Kramer-Randsburg rail line was completed.''

References

External links

Ghosttowns.com photo gallery

California Historical Landmark

See also

References

External links

See also