Kelso - California Ghost Town

KELSO

NAME: Kelso
COUNTY: San Bernadino
ROADS: 2WD
GRID #(see map): 3
CLIMATE: Mild winter with, hot summer.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Winter, Spring, Fall.

COMMENTS: 37 Miles SW of Baker Exit on I-15..
REMAINS: Old Post office and Train Depot..

Kelso was named for a railroad official which is expected since Kelso was a railroad stop. Eventually Gold and Silver were found in the nearby mountains and the are became known as the Kelso district. The train depot was built in 1925 and was used as the local community center. Kaiser Steel also had a nearby Iron mine called theVulcan Mine which shut down in 1946. In the mid 1980's, Union Pacific, which now owns the lines through town decided to raze the buildings. A group of concerned citizens started teh Kelso Depot Fund, A non-profit organization to which ownership of the buildings was granted. Nearby Vulcan Mine Courtesy Bill Cook Nearby Vulcan Mine Courtesy Bill Cook Nearby Vulcan Mine Courtesy Bill Cook Nearby Vulcan Mine Courtesy Bill Cook Kelso Dunes Courtesy Bill Cook Nearby Vulcan Mine Courtesy Bill Cook Nearby Vulcan Mine Courtesy Bill Cook This two cell cage is the Kelso jail. It was used to hold drunk and rowdy workers from Kaiser's Vulcan mine, just up the road. Imagine being hungover in this thing, baking in the desert heat! Courtesy Bill Cook	Post Office 2-26-06 Courtesy Lynn Helbing UP Station 2-26-06 Courtesy Lynn Helbing UP Station Arches 2-26-06 Courtesy Lynn Helbing Post Office Courtesy Lynn Helbing UP Tracks 11-03-06 Courtesy Lynn Helbing Restored Arches 11-3-06 Courtesy Lynn Helbing Kelso 11-03-06 Courtesy Lynn Helbing Restored Station 11-03-06 Courtesy Lynn Helbing Restored Front 11-03-06 Courtesy Lynn Helbing

Kelso was named for a railroad official which is expected since Kelso was a railroad stop. Eventually Gold and Silver were found in the nearby mountains and the are became known as the Kelso district. The train depot was built in 1925 and was used as the local community center. Kaiser Steel also had a nearby Iron mine called theVulcan Mine which shut down in 1946. In the mid 1980's, Union Pacific, which now owns the lines through town decided to raze the buildings. A group of concerned citizens started teh Kelso Depot Fund, A non-profit organization to which ownership of the buildings was granted.

Nearby Vulcan Mine
Courtesy Bill Cook

Kelso Dunes
Courtesy Bill Cook

Nearby Vulcan Mine
Courtesy Bill Cook

This two cell cage is the Kelso jail. It was used to hold drunk and rowdy workers from Kaiser's Vulcan mine, just up the road. Imagine being hungover in this thing, baking in the desert heat!
Courtesy Bill Cook