Nipton 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 ...

in the

Ivanpah Valley The Ivanpah Valley is in southeastern California and southern Nevada in the United States. The valley is between the New York Mountains and the Ivanpah Mountains in San Bernardino County on the California side, and in Clark County on the Nevada ...

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 ...

. With a population of about 15 – 20, it is located on the northeastern border of

Mojave National Preserve Mojave National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, USA, between Interstate 15 in California, Interstate 15 and Interstate 40. The preserve was established October 31 ...

, approximately southeast of

Primm, Nevada Primm (formerly known as State Line) is an unincorporated community in Clark County, Nevada, United States, primarily notable for its position straddling Interstate 15 where it crosses the state border between California and Nevada. It sits on I ...

and the

Ivanpah Solar Power Facility The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a concentrated solar thermal plant in the Mojave Desert. It is located at the base of Clark Mountain in California, across the state line from Primm, Nevada. The plant has a gross capacity of 392&n ...

. It is accessible via

Nevada State Route 164 State Route 164 (SR 164) is a state highway in southern Clark County, Nevada. The route, along with the unnumbered Nipton Road located in California, connects U.S. Route 95 (US 95) in Nevada to Interstate 15 in California just south of Primm, ...

(also known as Nipton Road).

History

A mining camp was established here at the crossroads of two wagon trails. The town was founded on February 9, 1905, with the coming of the first train on the newly constructed

San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad was a rail company in California, Nevada, and Utah in the United States, that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities (Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California), via Las Ve ...

. It was called "Nippeno Camp" following a nearby discovery of gold. The name was changed to Nipton when the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad merged with 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 ...

around 1910. In addition to being a cattle-loading station for several local ranches, the town and depot also supplied numerous mines in the area, becoming a social center for the sparse population of the region. On April 10, 1940, President Roosevelt approves transferring title of Nipton to Harry Trehearne under the Homestead Act. It stays in the family’s hands until 1956 when it passes to six owners. In 1985 Gerald "Jerry" Freeman and Roxanne Lang purchased Nipton for about $200,000. They restored the cafe and five-room hotel and planted a grove of

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

trees. When Freeman's health deteriorated in 2016, they put the town up for sale. In September 2017, Nipton was purchased by American Green Inc., for US$5 million with plans to turn the town into a

cannabis tourism Cannabis tourism, also called marijuana tourism, is travel/tourism related to Cannabis (drug), cannabis or incorporating cannabis use. Tours, activity packages, concierge services and more are available for cannabis tourists, who may travel from ...

destination. The CEO of the company hoped to make this into the first "Pot Town, USA". American Green Inc. sold the town in March 2018 after failing to attract the capital investment necessary to continue the project. The town was sold to Delta International Oil & Gas for a total of $7.7 million in debt assumption and Delta preferred stock, along with a provision that it continue with the project to transform the town on the edge of the Mojave Desert into a cannabis-themed resort. The town was listed for sale again in November 2020 for $2.75 million. In January 2023, Nipton was purchased by

Spiegelworld Spiegelworld is an American theater company. Spiegelworld began by producing shows for a heritage Belgian spiegeltent, made of wood and mirrors, which blurred the lines between cocktail party, live show and night club. Audiences were encouraged ...

, an American theater company, for $2.5 million. Spiegelworld has stated that Nipton will become their new base of operations and will become a place "where Spiegelworld artists and performers will retreat to dream, create and undertake unfettered artistic experimentation."

Townsite

A five-room adobe hotel was built in the Mexican Territorial style in 1910. The town also has a general store, a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

, the Whistle Stop Cafe, a

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

, five eco-cabins, and ten sites with

teepee A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan, and in use in Dakhótiyapi, Lakȟó ...

s on them. There is also a historic schoolhouse and art exhibits connected to the

Burning Man Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred ...

event.

Climate

The area receives significant sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Nipton has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

, abbreviated "Bwh" on climate maps.

In popular culture

The town of Nipton appears in the popular game Fallout: New Vegas.

References

External links

*
Nipton, A Ghost Town, Going Green
''New York Times'', April 30, 2014
The Bizarre Saga of Nipton, CA: from Wannabe Cannabis Resort to Circus Town
Populated places in the Mojave Desert Unincorporated communities in San Bernardino County, California Unincorporated communities in California {{SanBernardinoCountyCA-geo-stub