Visit Randsburg (Rand Mining District), California

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Randsburg is a living ghost town and has an influx of tourism throughout the year. The most visitors arrive between Fall and Spring due to the extreme heat of the summer. The season kicks off with the annual Western Days Celebration the third weekend of September. Events such as gun fights, panning for gold..live bands...dancing girls..food and vendors bring the town to life. During Thanksgiving, as well as New Year's Day weekend, the town is flooded by off road enthusiast, most ride into town on motorcycles and other off-road vehicles. The main drag is a legal trail. Many, including tourists frequent the General Store/ice cream parlor. Famous for their 1904 soda fountain and "Black Bart" banana split.Other attractions include the White House Saloon, The White Butterfly Giftshop, A Hotel gift shop,The Rand Desert Museum, The turn of the century Haunted Barbershop, Yohos unusual gifts and candies, Fasigs Antiques. The always open Jailhouse, and many unusual historical buildings. There are Artists and galleries. Truly a unique spot, boasting 38 year round residents. Echoes of the past California Gold Rush.Photographers dream. Best time to visit: Saturday and Sunday. Weekdays many are closed. Though the mining stopped long ago, Randsburg is not a full on ghost town. A few people live there and they have kept the buildings in good repair and most have some sort of business going on. The Yellow Aster, or Rand, mine was discovered in April 1895 by Singleton, Burcham, and Mooers. The town of Randsburg quickly developed, followed by the supply town of Johannesburg in 1896. Both names were adopted from the profusion of minerals resembling those of the ranch mining district in South Africa. In 1907, Churchill discovered tungsten in Atolia, used in steel alloy during World War I. In June 1919, Williams and Nosser discovered the famous California Rand Silver Mine at Red Mountain. Randsburg(formerly, Rand Camp) is a small town located 17 miles (27 km) south of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of 3,504 feet (1,068 m). The population was 69 at the 2010 census, down from 77 at the 2000 census. Randsburg is located on the west side of U.S. Route 395 between Kramer Junction to the south and Ridgecrest to the north. Randsburg is in the Rand Mountains, and is separated by a ridge from the neighboring community of Johannesburg.

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