Rosamond, CA

In the 1890's gold mining first became a major activity, with the Lida (now Tropico) Mine producing tons of high-grade ore. Just north of Rosamond, the Soledad Mountain area was also extensively mined, and mines such as Elephant-Eagle, Asher, Yellow Dog and Golden Queen provided employment to hundreds. This activity declined over the years but surg... ed again during the late 1930's when Roosevelt took America off the gold standard and gold prices subsequently rose. Suspension of gold mining by the government during WWII was a blow that most operators never recovered from, but a limited amount of mining continues in the area to this day, such as the recent proposal for expanded recovery operations at the Golden Queen. Around 1908, the massive Los Angeles Aqueduct project ramped up, bringing road improvement and an influx of workers and support operations to and through the area. Also during the early 20th century, farming, utilizing the then-abundant ground water, started to compete with ranching in the Valley. World War II brought the military, with contract flight training operations being conducted by the Army at War Eagle Field and nearby auxiliary strips just south of Rosamond. Just north of town at Mojave the Navy built an airfield and carried out extensive training for Navy & Marine pilots. Most significant for the future of Rosamond, an existing remote training facility at nearby Muroc Dry Lake was upgraded in 1942 to become Muroc Army Air Base, a training and test facility. This post eventually evolved into Edwards Air Base, which continues today as the hub of America's flight test & development operations, and a major economic factor for Rosamond. Post WW-II, various industrial operations were conducted in the Rosamond area, including a carbon processing plant and some recycling operations, before declining profits shut them down. With cheap ground water available, the late 40's and into the 70's were also boom years for farming, which gradually displaced much of the earlier ranching activity. Another ...Read More