Nipton, California

Unincorporated community in California, United States

Unincorporated community in California, United States

Nipton, California

Unincorporated community

Nipton in 2006

Nipton, California

Location within the State of California

Coordinates: 35°28′0″N 115°16′20″W﻿ / ﻿35.46667°N 115.27222°W﻿ / 35.46667; -115.27222
Country|  United States
State|  California
County|  San Bernardino
town| 1905
Elevation

[1]

| 3,032 ft (924 m)
Time zone| UTC-8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)| UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes|

92364

Area codes| 442/760
FIPS code| 06-51490
GNIS feature ID| 246562[1]

Nipton is an unincorporated community in the Ivanpah Valley in San Bernardino County, California. With a population of about 15 – 20,[2] it is located on the northeastern border of Mojave National Preserve, approximately 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Primm, Nevada and the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility. It is accessible via Nevada State Route 164 (also known as Nipton Road).

## History[edit]

A mining camp was established here at the crossroads of two wagon trails.[3] The town was founded on February 9, 1905, with the coming of the first train on the newly constructed San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad.[4] It was called "Nippeno Camp" following a nearby discovery of gold. The name was changed to Nipton when the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad merged with the Union Pacific Railroad around 1910. In addition to being a cattle-loading station for several local ranches, the town and depot also supplied numerous mines in the area, becoming a social center for the sparse population of the region.[3]

On April 10, 1940, President Roosevelt approved transferring title of Nipton to Harry Trehearne under the Homestead Act. It stayed in the family’s hands until 1956, when it passed to six owners.[5]

In 1985 Gerald "Jerry" Freeman and Roxanne Lang purchased Nipton for about $200,000. They restored the cafe and five-room hotel and planted a grove of eucalyptus trees. When Freeman's health deteriorated in 2016, they put the town up for sale.[6]

In September 2017, Nipton was purchased by American Green Inc., for US$5 million with plans to turn the town into a cannabis tourism destination. The CEO of the company hoped to make this into the first "Pot Town, USA".[7][2] American Green Inc. sold the town in March 2018 after failing to attract the capital investment necessary to continue the project. The town was sold to Delta International Oil & Gas for a total of $7.7 million in debt assumption and Delta preferred stock, along with a provision that it continue with the project to transform the 80-acre (32 ha) town on the edge of the Mojave Desert into a cannabis-themed resort.[8] The town was listed for sale again in November 2020 for $2.75 million.[9]

In January 2023, Nipton was purchased by Spiegelworld, an American theater company, for $2.5 million. Spiegelworld has stated that Nipton will become their new base of operations and will become a place "where Spiegelworld artists and performers will retreat to dream, create and undertake unfettered artistic experimentation."[10]

## Townsite[edit]

A five-room adobe hotel was built in the Mexican Territorial style in 1910. The town also has a general store, a trading post, the Whistle Stop Cafe, a RV park, five eco-cabins, and ten sites with teepees on them. There is also a historic schoolhouse and art exhibits connected to the Burning Man event.[3]

## Climate[edit]

The area receives significant sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Nipton has a hot desert climate, abbreviated "Bwh" on climate maps.[11]

## In popular culture[edit]

Nipton appears in the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas.[12]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nipton, California
2. ^ a b Rosalie Murphy (August 4, 2017). "A marijuana company is trying to buy a tiny Mojave Desert town". Desert Sun. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
3. ^ a b c "Tiny Mojave Desert town is up for sale again". WAVY.com. Nexstar Media Wire. November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
4. ^ Phenix, Duncan (April 11, 2022). "Tiny California town with less than two dozen residents sells – again". FOX 5 San Diego. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
5. ^ Hsu, Tiffany (May 4, 2011). "Turning his near-ghost town into a clean-tech boomtown". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
6. ^ Grind, Kirsten (May 27, 2021). "Schitt's Creek, but in Real Life: Owner Tries Selling California Desert Town". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
7. ^ Jennifer Kaplan (August 3, 2017). "Cannabis Grower Buys California Town to Build Pot-Friendly Outpost". Bloomburg News. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
8. ^ "Cannabis company sells California town it envisioned as a marijuana resort, but pipe dream isn't dead". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. March 27, 2018.
9. ^ "California's desert town Nipton is back on market for 2nd time since 2017, priced at $2.75M". ABC7 San Francisco. November 16, 2020.
10. ^ Carter, Geoff (January 4, 2023). "Spiegelworld producer of Vegas hit Absinthe has bought a California town". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
11. ^ "Nipton, California Koppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
12. ^ "'Fallout: New Vegas' 10 years on: why Obsidian's RPG is still unbeaten". NME. January 8, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.

## External links[edit]

*   * Nipton, A Ghost Town, Going Green, New York Times, April 30, 2014
* The Bizarre Saga of Nipton, CA: from Wannabe Cannabis Resort to Circus Town

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nipton, California.

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Municipalities and communities of San Bernardino County, California, United States

County seat: San Bernardino

Cities and towns|

* Adelanto
* Apple Valley
* Barstow
* Big Bear Lake
* Chino
* Chino Hills
* Colton
* Fontana
* Grand Terrace
* Hesperia
* Highland
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* Montclair
* Needles
* Ontario
* Rancho Cucamonga
* Redlands
* Rialto
* San Bernardino
* Twentynine Palms
* Upland
* Victorville
* Yucaipa
* Yucca Valley

San Bernardino County map

CDPs|

* Baker
* Big Bear City
* Big River
* Bloomington
* Bluewater
* Crestline
* Fort Irwin
* Homestead Valley
* Joshua Tree
* Lake Arrowhead
* Lenwood
* Lucerne Valley
* Lytle Creek
* Mentone
* Morongo Valley
* Mountain View Acres
* Muscoy
* Oak Glen
* Oak Hills
* Phelan
* Piñon Hills
* Running Springs
* San Antonio Heights
* Searles Valley
* Sleepy Hollow
* Silver Lakes
* Spring Valley Lake
* Wrightwood
* Yermo

Unincorporated
communities|

* Alta Loma
* Amboy
* Angelus Oaks
* Argus
* Arrowhead Highlands
* Arrowbear Lake
* Arrowhead Farms
* Baldy Mesa
* Basin
* Bell Mountain
* Blue Jay
* Bryman
* Cadiz
* Cajon Junction
* Cedar Glen
* Cedarpines Park
* Chase
* Cima
* Crafton
* Crest Park
* Cushenbury
* Daggett
* Danby
* Declezville
* Devore
* Devore Heights
* Dunn
* Earp
* El Mirage
* Essex
* Etiwanda
* Fawnskin
* Fenner
* Flynn
* Forest Falls
* Goffs
* Green Valley Lake
* Guasti
* Halloran Springs
* Harvard
* Havasu Lake
* Helendale
* Hinkley
* Hodge
* Homer
* Ibis
* Ivanpah
* Johnson Valley
* Kerens
* Kramer
* Kramer Hills
* La Delta
* Landers
* Ludlow
* Kelso
* Mars
* Mojave Heights
* Mount Baldy
* Mountain Home Village
* Mountain Pass
* Newberry Springs
* Nipton
* Oro Grande
* Parker Dam
* Patton
* Pioneer Point
* Pioneertown
* Red Mountain
* Rimforest
* Skyforest
* Sugarloaf
* Sunfair
* Sunfair Heights
* Trona
* Twin Peaks
* Venus
* Vidal
* Vidal Junction
* Wonder Valley
* Zzyzx

Indian
reservations|

* Chemehuevi Reservation
* Fort Mojave Indian Reservation‡
* San Manuel Reservation
* Twenty-Nine Palms Reservation
* Colorado River Indian Tribes‡

Ghost towns|

* Afton
* Agua Mansa
* Atolia
* Bagdad
* Barnwell
* Beal
* Belleville
* Calico
* Calzona
* Chambless
* Crucero
* Hart
* Ivanpah
* Kelso
* Lanfair
* Milligan
* Olive City
* Pasinogna
* Politana
* Prado
* Providence
* Ragtown
* Rice
* Rincon
* Seventeen Mile Point
* Siberia
* Silver Lake
* Vanderbilt

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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