Ridgecrest has many attractive characteristics that make this High Mojave Desert city at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and west of the colorful Death Valley National Park, home to 30,000 people. Whether it be vast uninhabited space, clean air, good water, highway accessibility, access to multiple recreational sites or proximity to Los Angeles and the southern California region, Ridgecrest has it all. Ridgecrest is one of America's truly fine communities and is an excellent place in which raise families, do business and live an elegant and artful life.

Ridgecrest, the only incorporated community in the Indian Wells Valley, is the urban center for California's Eastern Kern, Inyo and western San Bernardino counties. Ridgecrest is host to the famed federal research and development laboratory at China Lake, which has caused our community to grow in response to the need and trends of this globally respected facility. Our highly educated and creative community is dedicated to an excellence in quality of life that is not exceeded elsewhere. The unique city of Ridgecrest is a place that fosters and is highly receptive to innovation and hard work.

Profile

Ridgecrest, incorporated in 1963, is located in the northeast corner of Kern County in the Northern Mojave Desert. Prior to the establishment of the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) at China Lake in 1943, Ridgecrest, then "Crumville," consisted of a few scattered farms and homesteads. Ridgecrest evolved during the 1950's and 1960's as a support community, vital to the mission of NOTS, by providing housing and services for Federal employees and contractors.

NOTS, later China Lake Naval Weapons Center (NWC) and now the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) home to the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Weapons Division, continues to be the major source of employment for Ridgecrest residents. At the same time, NAWS depends increasingly upon Ridgecrest for support services. The economic stability Ridgecrest has enjoyed as a service community for the NAWS has been essential to its successful emergence as a community in its own right. In addition, the same location characteristics that initially attracted the NAWS; vast uninhabited space, clean air, good water, highway accessibility, accessibility to multiple recreational sites, and proximity to Los Angeles and southern California, continue to serve as an attraction to others to come live in Ridgecrest.

Location

Ridgecrest is located in the southern portion of the Indian Wells Valley, surrounded by four mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west, the Cosos on the north, the Argus Range on the east, and the El Paso Mountains on the south. It is approximately 80 miles from the Lancaster/Palmdale area and approximately 125 miles from both Bakersfield and San Bernardino, the three nearest major urban centers. Though often described as isolated, a favorable characteristic of the City is its proximity to major highways and the Inyokern Airport. These attributes make Ridgecrest easily accessible to the rest of southern California.

As the only incorporated community in the Indian Wells Valley, Ridgecrest acts as the urban center for northeastern Kern, Inyo and San Bernardino Counties. The City's incorporated area includes approximately 13,300 acresand has a population of 29,627 persons. Ridgecrest's Sphere of Influence, as defined by the Kern County Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO), takes in another 13,580 acres.

History

In historic times, the Indian Wells Valley area was the province of three Numic peoples: the Koso, Kawaiisu and Chemehuevi. The Chemehuevi and Kawaiisu, southern Paiute groups, occupied the southern portion of the Ridgecrest area, including the southern end of the China Lake Complex. The Kawaiisu were concentrated in the Tehachapi Mountains, while the principal Chemehuevi settlements were located further east, particularly along the Colorado River. The Koso, or Panamint Shoshone, occupied the northern portion of the Indian Wells Valley, including the Coso Mountains, Indian Wells Valley, the Argus Range and Panamint Valley. The Coso Mountains and the Little Lake area formed the Kuhwiji district, an area of approximately 1,000 square miles which contained four villages.

The harsh desert environment permitted only sparse populations. Groups moved with the season and in response to the local water and food supply. They traded with both coastal and central valley groups to the east. They apparently traded for goods that were consumed locally as well as serving as intermediaries in commerce. Obsidian was heavily mined and was used for trade as well as for local uses. Remnants of extensive obsidian mining, covering several miles, have been found in the vicinity of Sugarloaf Mountain, in the China Lake Complex.

Jedediah Smith and Joseph Walker passed through the general area between 1825 and 1835. They are credited with the development of a north-south transportation route along the east side of the Sierras; it passed just west of the base boundary. Several other groups passed through the China Lake area, most notably the Death Valley Party of 1849. Since little was known of the China Lake/Owens Valley area, surveyor A.W. Von Schmidt was hired to do the first official survey in 1855. He recorded a roadway leading to a spring called Granite Wells, near Pilot Knob.

The first introduction of Euro-Americans to Indian Wells Valley occurred in 1849 when the Manley and Jay Hawker parties found their first water at Indian Wells after five days of trekking across the Argus Range. The first permanent Euro-American settlement in the China Lake area was the direct result of silver and gold mining activity. In 1860, Dr. Darwin French's party discovered silver in the Coso Mountains, in the northern part of the China Lake Complex, and shortly thereafter, discoveries were made in the Slate Ranges. Miners swarmed to the Coso and Slate Ranges, and the mining camps became the chief places of population south of Mono Lake. Coso Village (old Coso) is considered to be the first Euro-American settlement and was inhabited through the early 1940s. It played a major role in the development of the mining industry in the area.

In 1873, the first mining discoveries were made in the Panamints, northeast of China Lake. A mining center was located at Copper City, and a few hundred people inhabited the area until around 1890. The roads in the area increased traffic and settlement and facilitated the growth of the borax mining industry, particularly the development of the Death Valley borax trade in 1882. The famous "20-mule teams" traveled in a northeast/southwest orientation across the Randsburg Wash.

The mining activity was responsible for the establishment of the ranching industry in the China Lake area. The first documented ranching activity near China Lake was at Haiwee Meadows, where Bart Bellows maintained the Goat Ranch, with 8,000 imported angora goats. It is probable that Bellows, and others like him, utilized what is now the naval base for grazing. The only permanent ranch known to have been located on China Lake was Junction Ranch, which was located near the present project area by that name. From the 1880's to the early 1900s, the Ranch served as a way station, from which trails branched to Darwin, the Panamint Valley, and along the ridge of Renegade Canyon.

Early settlement of Indian Wells Valley centered around Inyokern. Inyokern was originally called Siding 16, as a stop for the railroad during the construction of the Los Angeles aqueduct. Siding 16 was eventually named Magnolia, finally Inyokern in 1910.

One of the early homesteaders, the Sterlings, raised and broke pack mules and horses. The animals were used for backpacking into 9-Mile Canyon, and for packing products which included Borax for Trona. The Sterling family owned and operated several local mines, including, the Sterling Queen Mine at "B" Mountain, now on Navy property. The mine produced gold and silver. Another homestead, the Stare Ranch produced peaches, grapes, vegetables and chickens.

Another 1912 homestead by a family named Robertson was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. John McNeil. The McNeils, who owned and operated a store in Inyokern, established a dairy on their newly purchased property. Robert and James Crum bought the McNeil Ranch after McNeil's death. The Crum Dairy was located on the north side of Ridgecrest Boulevard near where Norma Street is now. By late 1912, the small community was known as Crumville.

Grant Bowman came to the Valley in 1913 and homesteaded 160 acres under the Desert Entry Act. He called his ranch Las Flores. Family members took up claims to ultimately own almost 1000 acres of land. Bowman Ranch, which was called Shangri-la, is located in the area of South China Lake Boulevard and Bowman Road. The Bowmans also homesteaded 160 acres located between W. Ridgecrest Boulevard to Sunset, then south to Upjohn.

On June 27, 1941, Ridgecrest got its name and post office. The first post office was located in Bentham's store at the southwest corner of China Lake Blvd. and Ridgecrest Blvd. Bill Bentham became the first postmaster. This is the current site of the Bank of America. The name for the community was selected through a contest, initiated by the Bentham girls. Names were submitted. Sierra View was first choice. However, Sierra View was officially rejected because it was felt that there were too many towns in California that contained the name Sierra. Ada Thompson, a visiting friend of the Benthams, suggested the name Ridgecrest. Ridgecrest won over "Gilmore" (the name of the gasoline sold by Bentham) by only one vote.

NOTS (Naval Ordnance Test Station) was established in November 1943 at its first headquarters at Inyokern Airport which was called Harvey Field by the Navy until deactivation in 1946-47. The station consisted of eight quonset huts and test ranges. The airport was returned to the county in 1947 after construction of facilities at China Lake. One of the most significant construction projects was Michelson Laboratory (named for the first American Physics Nobel Laureate).

After the Navy came, Ridgecrest was a boomtown. Many lived in make-shift housing in Ridgecrest and Inyokern. Tents and small house trailers provided the housing for construction people, Navy personnel, and Department of Defense employees. People lived in trailer parks that had central bath houses and restrooms. The first religious structure was the First Southern Baptist Church on the corner of what is now Ridgecrest Boulevard and Norma Street.

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