Lockwood Valley 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 ...

located in an eponymous

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

in northeastern

Ventura County Ventura County () is a County (United States), county in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, California ...

, southern

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 ...

, and part of the

Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass The Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, or the Frazier Mountain Communities, in the San Emigdio Mountains is a region of California that includes Lebec, Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, Pinon Pines, and Pine Mountain Club, in Kern Count ...

History

Mining for gold and silver dates back to 1853. While significant quantities were never found, there were 200 to 2, 000 miners who worked the mines. Later

twenty-mule team Twenty-mule teams were teams of eighteen mules and two horses attached to large wagons that transported borax out of Death Valley from 1883 to 1889. They traveled from mines across the Mojave Desert to the nearest railroad spur, away in Moja ...

s hauled

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 for ...

to a processing facility in Lancaster. The mines were closed in the 1930s.

Geography

The valley is located within the

San Emigdio Mountains The San Emigdio Mountains are a part of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California, extending from Interstate 5 at Lebec and Gorman on the east to Highway 33–166 on the west. They link the Tehachapis and Temblor Range and form the souther ...

at an elevation of 4,839 feet (1475m). Lockwood Creek, a tributary of

Piru Creek Piru Creek is a major stream, about long, in northern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, California. It is a tributary of the Santa Clara River, the largest stream system in Southern California that is still relatively natural. T ...

, runs west to east through the southern portion of the valley. The valley is surrounded by the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Mo ...

. Frazier Park in

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 ...

is the nearest town and is used by the Postal Service for addressing purposes for the remote area.

Government and infrastructure

The County of Ventura has a fenced complex that includes a seasonal

Ventura County Fire Department The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for seven other cities within the county. Together, these areas compose the Ventu ...

station and the Lockwood Valley Sheriff station.

External links

References

Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass San Emigdio Mountains Valleys of Ventura County, California Unincorporated communities in Ventura County, California Unincorporated communities in California {{VenturaCountyCA-geo-stub