The Ghost Town of Calico

Imagine having the resources to buy your own Ghost Town! In 1951, Walter Knott (aka Knott’s Berry Farm) purchased the little town of Calico in San Bernadino County. Begun as a little town for the silver prospectors who opened the nearby Silver King Mine, it thrived from 1882 until approximately 1896 when the Silver Purchase Act made silver all but worthless. Knott, who had been part of a failed attempt to revive the town in 1915, decided to purchase the Ghost Town and make it a tourist attraction. To say Knott restored the town would not be quite accurate; some buildings were removed and others were converted to look the way tourists might expect a town to look based on what they’d seen in the movies. Still, it’s pretty cool and high on the Daveland bucket list. This is The Way It Used to Be museum, circa 1961. Love that sign in front! Not sure if this is still an operating museum or not, though.

Knott turned the town over to San Bernardino County in 1966 and it now operates as a Regional Park. Here’s a look down the main street, circa 1961.

Didn’t look very busy; no wonder it’s one of two official “Ghost Towns” in California!

See more Calico photos at my main website.

Traveling Thursdays: Knott's Berry Farm, April 1963

This week we'll take a break from my mom's 1955 European excursion and visit Knott's Berry Farm, circa April 1963. This will also serve as an intro for a short series of Disneyland images from the same batch.

Although Knott's doesn't really sing the siren's song for me like Disneyland, I sure do like Ghost Town. These photos show it during its heyday, before the views were tainted by off-the-shelf thrill rides and other distractions. This first shot shows something I've commented on before; it always seemed a little odd that a train just ran right through the middle of the park...no fence, no protection at all. I think people must have been smarter back in the 60's!



I wish this Native American would step aside—he's blocking the signage!



I can only guess that "bonnets" were the issue. Maybe somebody put a few bees in them. Oh, that hurts...







Zooming in closer to The Bird Cage Theatre, I can only make out the word "melodrama" on the marquee at left:







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Knott’s Interlude

That durn Chris Merritt; him and his fantastic book on Knott’s Berry Farm actually has me checking out vintage views of the park! Here is a nice selection of four shots from May 1960, back when Knott’s was a restaurant that had a little bit of homespun entertainment on the side.



These fun little notices from Ghost Town helped pass the time while patrons waited for the lines to die down at Cordelia’s Restaurant.



This uncluttered view of Boot Hill Cemetery cannot be duplicated today, as all kinds of crazy rollercoasters and other newfangled contraptions detract from the scenery.



View more Knott’s Berry Farm photos at my main website.

Knotts Interlude & Witch Mountain

I haven’t been to Knotts Berry Farm since December 1979. There are 2 reasons I have avoided it, even though it is just minutes away from Disneyland, my second home. Biggest one is that I definitely don’t need another theme park to cover! Second, is that I have been told it has really gone downhill. Reading the recent news that some of the Ghost Town buildings have been torn down kinda’ confirms that. Having just gotten back from the east coast, where buildings last 200+ years despite winds, rain, snow, and humidity, it boggles my mind that with the fairly consistent temperatures of Southern California, the average life expentancy of a building appears to be about 40-50 years. Another difference between the coasts is that the east coast seems to have embraced its past (some say it lingers too long in the past!) and has learned the value of restoration whereas California is way behind when it comes to restoration; scrape and burn seems to be the typical mode of operation. Apparently the Knotts buildings will be re-built; wouldn’t it have been wiser to protect the originals over the years and do some restoration rather than let them get to the point that they need to be torn down? End of rant. Enjoy the photos...I can’t tell you a durn thing about them (other than that they are from about 1957), but I do know there are many of you out there are love Knotts! Hey Merritt - get that cotton-picking book of yours published so that people can start appreciating the history of Knotts!





A detail shot of the Indian figures on the rocks:









And one from September 1960:



One of my favorite movies as a child has been re-released on DVD (with tons of great extras), “Escape to Witch Mountain.” Sure, the 1975 special effects seem a little less than state-of-the-art today, but the film is still tons of fun to watch today, thanks to the chemistry between the leads, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann and its universal theme of 2 children trying to find their origins and a place to fit in. The sequel, “Return from Witch Mountain,” is also still fun, but despite the campy casting of Bette Davis and Christopher Lee, does not quite match the level of the original.



See more vintage Knott’s Berry Farm photos at my website.