Mural #16
SILVER MINING IN THE MOJAVE

April 6, 1881, S.C. Wardan, Hues Thomas and John C. King located claims on Calico Mountain and named it the Silver King Mine. Below there, the town of Calico grew from 100 people in the spring 1882 to over 1,200. There were no less than 46 mines near Calico, like the Waterloo, Bismarck, Oriental, Garfield and Burning Moscow. The falling price of silver shut down the mines by 1896. They had produced between $13,000,000 and $20,000,000 worth of silver. Calico, burned to the ground in the fall of 1883 and was rebuilt, but was vacated in the 1930s. It remained derelict until 1950 when Walter Knott converted the ghost town into a tourist attraction. In 1883 by Postmaster Jim Stacy found Dorsey, the "mail carrying dog.” Soon, the dog was carrying all the mail from Calico to Bismarck, in little pouches strapped to his back. Stacy was offered $500 for the dog, to which Stacy replied: "I'd rather sell a grandson." Dorsey later became famous in legend, book and movie.