Johannesburg, California

Johannesburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, in a mining district of the Rand Mountains. Johannesburg is located east-northeast of Randsburg, at an elevation of . The terminus of the Randsburg Railway was here from 1897 to 1933. The population was 113 at the 2020 census, down from 172 at the 2010 census. Johannesburg is divided from the neighboring community of Randsburg by a ridge. The town is frequently referred to as "Jo-burg" by locals and frequent visitors to the northwest Mojave Desert.

History

Johannesburg was founded to support mining operations at Randsburg. In addition to providing rail access, the region's first wells were operated by companies located in Johannesburg. During the first half of the 20th century, the Rand Mining District was the principal gold producing region of California. Activity centered on the Yellow Aster Mine, discovered in 1894. In 1919, the Rand Silver Mine was discovered east of town on Red Mountain. The Rand Mine produced more silver than any mine in California.

Johannesburg was named by miners who had previously worked in the gold-producing region of South Africa. Containing the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, this region is in the Witwatersrand, and is frequently referred to as "the Rand."

The first post office at Johannesburg opened in 1897.

Transportation

Transportation to Johannesburg is provided by Ridgecrest Transit as a lifeline service once a week.

Geography

Johannesburg is located at .

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

Demographics

Johannesburg first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. Census.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Johannesburg had a population of 113. The population density was . The racial makeup of Johannesburg was 91 (80.5%) White, 1 (0.9%) African American, 0 (0.0%) Native American, 8 (7.1%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 1 (0.9%) from other races, and 12 (10.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7 persons (6.2%).

There were 61 households, out of which 11 (18.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 18 (29.5%) were married-couple households, 6 (9.8%) were cohabiting couple households, 15 (24.6%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 22 (36.1%) had a male householder with no partner present. 26 households (42.6%) were one person, and 12 (19.7%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.85. There were 29 families (47.5% of all households).

The age distribution was 9 people (8.0%) under the age of 18, 2 people (1.8%) aged 18 to 24, 10 people (8.8%) aged 25 to 44, 51 people (45.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 41 people (36.3%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 60.7years. There were 61 males and 52 females.

There were 109 housing units at an average density of , of which 61 (56.0%) were occupied. Of these, 50 (82.0%) were owner-occupied, and 11 (18.0%) were occupied by renters.

2010

At the 2010 census Johannesburg had a population of 172. The population density was . The racial makeup of Johannesburg was 152 (88.4%) White, 2 (1.2%) African American, 2 (1.2%) Native American, 8 (4.7%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 0 (0.0%) from other races, and 8 (4.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8 people (4.7%).

The whole population lived in households, no one lived in non-institutionalized group quarters and no one was institutionalized.

There were 95 households, 10 (10.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 32 (33.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 2 (2.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3 (3.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 7 (7.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 47 households (49.5%) were one person and 21 (22.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 1.81. There were 37 families (38.9% of households); the average family size was 2.76.

The age distribution was 21 people (12.2%) under the age of 18, 4 people (2.3%) aged 18 to 24, 26 people (15.1%) aged 25 to 44, 75 people (43.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 46 people (26.7%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 55.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.7 males.

There were 139 housing units at an average density of 57.6 per square mile, of the occupied units 73 (76.8%) were owner-occupied and 22 (23.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 14.8%. 137 people (79.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 35 people (20.3%) lived in rental housing units.

References

*Nunn, Cynthia Ackley (2019). ''Abandoned California: King Solomon Mine''. Arcadia Publishing.
*Wynn, Marcia Rittenhouse (1963). ''Desert Bonanza''. Glendale, CA., A. H. Clark Co.

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History of Kern County, California
Census-designated places in Kern County, California
Populated places in the Mojave Desert
Mining communities in California
Census-designated places in California