Nipton, California

Originally called Nippeno Camp after a nearby gold discovery, the town came to be in February, 1905 with the coming of the the first train on the newly built San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad.

The name was changed to Nipton when the SP, LA & SL merged with the Union Pacific about 1910. For many years the depot served mainly as a cattle-loading station for several local ranches including the Yates Ranch, Clara Bow's Walking Box, and Rock Springs Land and Cattle Co. The town also supplied numerous mines in the area, becoming a social center for the sparsely populated region. Community facilities included a school, post office, and several small businesses.


Nipeno Camp store

Dry land farmers homesteaded the high valleys of the east Mojave during the 1910s-40s. Homesteader Harry Treherne built this store in Nipton to serve homesteaders and ranchers. (BLM)

Gold and silver discoveries during the mid-1800s brought hundreds of prospectors trekking across the eastern Mojave. Ephemeral camps sprang up throughout the desert as miners discovered copper and silver in nearby mountains. Ranchers moving into high, grassy valleys, exploited the market for beef created by the miners, and soon developed commercial operations. The Southern Pacific Railway crossed the Mojave in 1883, giving ranchers access to larger markets east and west, and their operations expanded.

Ranching and mining continue today. (BLM)