For the place in Kern County formerly with this name, see Midoil, California.
Midland is a ghost town in Riverside County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of California. It is adjacent to the Little Maria Mountains and located about 20 mi (32 km) northwest of Blythe. It is accessible from Blythe in the south via Lovekin Boulevard and Midland Road, and from Rice in the north via Midland Road.
Aerial view of the desert area east of Joshua Tree National Park, including (at the far right) the abandoned gypsum mine Standard Mine and its associated company/ghost town of Midland, California
From 1925 to the 1960s, Midland was a company town owned by the U.S. Gypsum Co. The company had mined vast amounts of gypsum found in the area. Midland was also the site of a large plant that produced wallboard and plasterboard. For some time, there was a three part railroad between the quarry and the crusher, the last part being a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge line running few miles.[1] The town's water was shipped from Blythe by rail.[2] At its peak, the town had a population of approximately 1,000.
As the character of the gypsum found in the area was considered too heavy as the years went on, company activity in Midland subsided and then ended in 1966.
Many winter scenes in Hollywood films during the 20th century utilized faux snow that originated from Midland.
In the 1960s (before the town's demise), a gypsum mine 3 mi (4.8 km) west of the plant and abandoned in 1948 was converted into the largest fallout shelter in the county.[3]
Most of the buildings of Midland were torn down, and today only foundations remain. In 1970, a 150,000 gallon water tank from Midland was moved on skids by tractor to the new Mesa Ranch Mobile Home Park and a housing site in northwest Blythe.[4]
Referencesedit
Hillinger, Charles (November 2, 1970). "Don't Go To Midland – It's Gone". The Los Angeles Times.
midland, california, place, kern, county, formerly, with, this, name, midoil, california, midland, ghost, town, riverside, county, southeastern, part, state, california, adjacent, little, maria, mountains, located, about, northwest, blythe, accessible, from, b. For the place in Kern County formerly with this name see Midoil California Midland is a ghost town in Riverside County in the southeastern part of the U S state of California It is adjacent to the Little Maria Mountains and located about 20 mi 32 km northwest of Blythe It is accessible from Blythe in the south via Lovekin Boulevard and Midland Road and from Rice in the north via Midland Road MidlandGhost townMidlandLocation within the state of CaliforniaCoordinates 33 51 40 N 114 48 08 W 33 86111 N 114 80222 W 33 86111 114 80222CountryUnited StatesStateCaliforniaCountyRiversideTime zoneUTC 8 Pacific PST Summer DST UTC 7 PDT Aerial view of the desert area east of Joshua Tree National Park including at the far right the abandoned gypsum mine Standard Mine and its associated company ghost town of Midland California From 1925 to the 1960s Midland was a company town owned by the U S Gypsum Co The company had mined vast amounts of gypsum found in the area Midland was also the site of a large plant that produced wallboard and plasterboard For some time there was a three part railroad between the quarry and the crusher the last part being a 3 ft 914 mm narrow gauge line running few miles 1 The town s water was shipped from Blythe by rail 2 At its peak the town had a population of approximately 1 000 As the character of the gypsum found in the area was considered too heavy as the years went on company activity in Midland subsided and then ended in 1966 Many winter scenes in Hollywood films during the 20th century utilized faux snow that originated from Midland In the 1960s before the town s demise a gypsum mine 3 mi 4 8 km west of the plant and abandoned in 1948 was converted into the largest fallout shelter in the county 3 Most of the buildings of Midland were torn down and today only foundations remain In 1970 a 150 000 gallon water tank from Midland was moved on skids by tractor to the new Mesa Ranch Mobile Home Park and a housing site in northwest Blythe 4 References editHillinger Charles November 2 1970 Don t Go To Midland It s Gone The Los Angeles Times Midland The Center for Land Use Interpretation Archived from the original on June 6 2011 Retrieved March 16 2007 Midland in Desert Fever 1981 U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Midland David F Myrick 2001 Santa Fe to Phoenix Railroads of Arizona Signature Press ISBN 978 1 930013 05 6 Valdez Juanita June 29 1988 Ghost town remains north of Blythe Palo Verde Valley Times Midland Fallout Shelter The People The Mine And The Bomb Palo Verde Valley Times September 9 1965 Front page picture in the Palo Verde Valley Times December 10 1970 Further reading editThe Blythe California Chapter of Gold Prospectors Association of America page about Midland with pictures nbsp This Riverside County California related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This California ghost town related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Midland California amp oldid 1220391557, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
