The town of Saltdale, California has a rather unusual past. The town was established in 1914 to harvest salt form Koehn Dry Lake. In the first year of production, the company pumped out 20,000 tons of salt. The process involved pumping brine water, which over the course of two or three months would evaporate down to a flat sheet of salt. The plant was operated by approximately 70 people, who turned this area into the town of Saltdale, complete with modest homes and a post office. Yet the town wouldn’t last, and its demise is nothing short of fascinating.
By the 1940s, the once prosperous salt industry began to falter, mainly because there was very little rainfall.
Kern County of Old KCO/YouTube
The mill was then modernized and didn’t require as much manpower to fulfill the operation. Families moved out of town and by 1975, both the operation and the town were completely abandoned.
Kern County of Old KCO/YouTube
While many ghost towns in America saw the same downfall of families moving away, Saltdale has another eerie element to its deterioration. The salty nature of the landscape has almost completely eroded away the buildings. A track of railroad is one of the few remaining traces of the community that once thrived here.
Kern County of Old KCO/YouTube
To learn more about the unique history of Saltdale, you can watch this brief YouTube video shared by Kern County of Old KCO:
Kern County of Old KCO/YouTube
What are your thoughts on this incredibly unique ghost town? Have you visited it before? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
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