Chubbuck, California

USA / California / Twentynine Palms Base /
 place with historical importance, ghost town, historic ruins

Chubbuck was established in the early to mid-1920s as a mining settlement, about one mile south of the Kilbeck siding, though it was initially used as a railroad siding as early as 1911. However, Chubbuck was not a railroad settlement and was unique among settlements along the ATSF Parker Cutoff in that it primarily housed mine workers and their families.

Charles Inglis Chubbuck, manufacturer of products used in cement and masonry, purchased a 1600-acre mining claim from Marcus Pluth and Tom Schofield in 1922. The claim contained a white limestone outcrop, perfect for cement manufacture. The claim was located about one-half mile west of the ATSF Parker Cutoff, facilitating shipment to market.

Mr. Chubbuck built the primary crusher at the limestone quarry and kilns adjacent to the railroad tracks. The crushed ore was transported to the kilns via a narrow gauge railroad. Ore carts were pushed back and forth by hand. Lime from Chubbuck was used in the construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct ca. 1937 to 1938.

Over 40 buildings were located at Chubbuck, including a company store, school (1932), post office (1938), and residential structures. The company store reportedly sold great quantities of Eastside Beer, manufactured and distributed by the Los Angeles Brewing Company. Occupants at Chubbuck were primarily Mexican laborers and their families. The mill ceased operation in 1951 and the railroad siding at Chubbuck was removed from 1975 to 1976 when the ATSF Parker Cutoff was re-laid.

The 1955 U.S. Geological Survey map of the area does not show the railroad, although the air-photo used to make the map shows most of the buildings still standing.

In December 1975 someone had built a house, with an adjoining garage on the foundations of the lime products plant. In front was a small ore crusher operated by an automobile engine. By summer of 1977 nothing remained of the house except a heap of trash and the automobile engine.

The only structure that remained standing at that time is the explosives building, a concrete hexagon approximately six to eight feet in diameter.

The sites of the limestone products plant and the company have been bulldozed. Only a heap of rubble remains.

The foundations of the other buildings are visible. Some even have the dying remains of trees that were originally planted around the buildings.

The scars of Chubbuck's mining railroad are still evident, and most of the ties are there. The crushed limestone roadbed is still prominent although slowly eroding.

References:

Dixon Chubbuck interviewed July 31, 1977 in his home;

Orrin E. Dunlap, The first Calcic Carbide Plant: Mining and Scientific Press, February 1, 1896 p. 87.

Tucker, W. B. and Sampson, R. J., 1943, San Bernardino County: California Division of Mines Report Vol. 39, pp 518-520

Wright, L. A., 1953, Mines and Mineral Deposits of San Bernardino County, California: California Divison of Mines Report Vol. 49, p. 173.

vredenburgh.org/mining_history/pages/chubbuck.html
www.smwd.com/assets/downloads/cadiz/NOP/Appendices/Appx...
mojavedesert.net/desert-fever/chubbuck.html
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Coordinates:   34°21'20"N   115°16'46"W
This article was last modified 7 years ago