The Golden State is no stranger to ghost towns. The vast landscapes and virtually endless roads gave birth to thousands of settlements over the years, from the Spanish colonial era to the boom of the Gold Rush. Many cities flourished but quickly perished in the face of technological advancement, shaping California as we know it today.
However, this ghost town is truly one of a kind. Unlike Amboy, which is a reminiscence of the best years of Route 66, or Surfridge, which used to be a celebrity hotspot during Hollywood’s golden era, this place is a whole different story. In the middle of a desolate desert, Eagle Mountain stands as one of California’s newest ghost towns, with an urban design that could easily be mistaken for any town today.
How Eagle Mountain rose from the desert
Founded in 1948 by the Kaiser Steel Corporation at the entrance of its iron mine, the town grew alongside the mine to a peak population of around 4,000 residents, featuring over 400 homes, trailer spaces, boarding houses, and dormitories for the workforce. It offered a full range of amenities, including three schools, a mall, a swimming pool, an auditorium, parks, sports courts, schools, churches, and stores, as Architectural Afterlife explains.
After building the West Coast’s first fully integrated steel mill in Fontana, Kaiser purchased the idle Eagle Mountain mines to secure high-grade iron ore. A 51-mile railroad connected the mine to the Fontana plant, facilitating shipments. Over the decades, Eagle Mountain became SoCal’s largest iron mine, commemorating its 100 millionth ton of iron ore in 1977.
Why Eagle Mountain became a ghost town
Environmental concerns and strong foreign competition caused a sharp decline in iron production and population, dropping to around 1,980 residents by the late ‘70s. In November 1981, Kaiser announced the gradual shutdown of the Eagle Mountain Mine and half of the Fontana steel works, leading to further population loss. In June 1983, the final class graduated from Eagle Mountain High School, marking the end of the town as the mine and mill officially closed.
Eagle Mountain saw two major attempts at revival after its decline. In 1988, the town’s shopping center was converted into a privately operated prison, which operated until budget issues and a deadly riot led to its closure in 2003. That same year, there was a plan to transform the mine into a high-tech sanitary landfill, but environmental lawsuits, delayed the project, that was ultimately abandoned.
The $20 million mystery buyer
In May 2023, the 10,000-acre ghost town was sold for nearly $22.6 million by California-based Ecology Mountain Holdings, as reported by the L.A. Times. Though at the time the reason behind the purchase was unclear, we now know that the site is a cutting-edge drone training ground, according to Drone Life.
Despite its fascinating history and eerie atmosphere, it’s important to note that the site is currently not open to the public and is fenced with tight security. If you choose to visit, you’ll only be able to see the ghost town from afar.