eaglemountain

Bleached under the the blazing Southern California sun is the dusty remains of a once vibrant city. Eagle Mountain, CA. was born out of necessity. To house the workmen and the families of the Kaiser Steel Company. Began in 1944 Eagle Mountain was at one time one of America's largest open pit iron ore mines, at that time it was needed to fuel the U.S. war machine.

Fast forward to the early 1980's and we find the closing of the mine and possibly the last chapter in the history of the town itself. Most families moved away and the town that at one time included well over 300 homes, Schools, Churches and all the necessary businesses that you would find in any City were boarded up and left to ruin.

A slight pulse was felt in the community when in the late 80's a private prison firm began housing inmates in a small section of the town. That too has come to a end when on new years day 2004 the Prison opened it's cell's, relocated it's prisoners to state run prisons and left the town as the only condemned inmate in the valley.

There is ongoing talk of the mine becoming a waist disposal site that would bring some work but as of yet that seems to be only a slight glimmer of hope in the eyes of those too few that still remain in the area.

I came across this town while hiking through the world wide web one day and became intrigued immediately. The idea of what I consider a Ghost Town in the making was both disheartening and at the same time fascinating. I made my way out to the Mohave and found that even though the town is now completely fenced off I could still see what was once a place where children played and their lives blossomed. A town where teenagers learned to drive and met their first loves and where a tired and dusty miner could sit on his back porch swing while his wife rested her head on his shoulder. He could just sit there looking up at the starry night sky, Take a deep breath of sweet desert air, close his eyes and dream of what tomorrow might bring.