7/4/2014
Eagle Mountain, California
Eagle Mountain, California
Eagle Mountain was a company town built for workers at the Eagle Mountain iron mine. It was built beginning in 1948 and according to some sources it's population reached 4,000. I'm unable to verify this as Eagle Mountain doesn't appear in the 1960 census(which would have been around it's peak population). Eagle Mountain was always 100% company owned. It had a large school, medical facilities, stores and churches. Eagle Mountain was a part of Henry J. Kaiser's empire. The ore mined in Eagle Mountain was shipped to the steel mill he had built in Fontana California. The Fontana mill was closed in the early 1980s and became a popular film set for many depictions of post-apocalyptic mayhem in films and television. Small portions of the Fontana mill still remain and are still occasionally used for filming. Eagle Mountain has also been used as a film set several times.
Eagle Mountain, California
The town of Eagle Mountain emptied and the Eagle Mountain mine was closed as production at the mill in Fontana wound down and the need for iron ore dwindled to nothing. It's my understanding that most if not all residents of Eagle mountain left the town shortly after 1983. In 1988 a small privately operated prison opened in Eagle Mountain serving the state of California. That facility was closed in 2003. Portions of the town have been demolished but many (over a hundred) homes and other buildings are still standing. All of them are apparently empty. The school had operated for a while after the town emptied out but it did not look like it was being used when I visited in winter 2013. The town is entirely fenced in. Beyond the townsite there is an operating stone quarry. Trucks carrying rock travel through the town and in and out of the gates. There was a security guard on duty in a pick-up truck near the front gate when I visited. All visits need to be pre-arranged. Pre-arranged with who? I don't know. You can see some of the town from the other side of the fence, but not much more than what's in these pictures.
Eagle Mountain, California
Tailings and Tires, Eagle Mountain, California
Eagle Mountain Pumping Station
Eagle Mountain, California
Eagle Mountain, California
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