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Johannesburg is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Kern County, California Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...
, 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 The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
.


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 Yellow Aster Mine was a large gold mine in Southern California. Discovery In 1894, Prospecting, prospectors Frederic Mooers and William Langdon ventured into the Red Mountain, California, Red Mountain range in the Mojave Desert, where they di ...
, 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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. Containing the city of
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, South Africa, this region is in the
Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...
, 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 United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.


Demographics

Johannesburg first appeared as a
census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
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 White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1 (0.9%)
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0 (0.0%) Native American, 8 (7.1%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 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 Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...
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 Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(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. {{authority control 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