Ballarat, California, Inyo County offers an entrancing glimpse into the past with its serene desert landscape and intriguing history. Below is detailed information about the town.
County: Inyo County
Zip Code: 93522
Latitude / Longitude: 36.0525° N, 117.2803° W
Elevation: 1,070 feet (326 meters)
Time Zone: Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Established: 1897
Disestablished: Not officially disestablished, but largely abandoned by 1917
Comments: Ballarat was established as a supply town for the nearby mines in the Panamint Range, primarily providing services to the area’s miners and prospectors. During its peak, Ballarat boasted a population of about 500 people, with amenities including seven saloons, a post office, a schoolhouse, and even a jail. The town’s decline began as the mining activity dwindled and the miners moved on to more prosperous areas.
Remains: Today, Ballarat has a few standing structures, including the old general store, a couple of adobe buildings, and the ruins of a jail. The town also features a cemetery with graves dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, offering a poignant reminder of the town’s once vibrant community.
The town was founded in 1897. In its heyday—from 1897 to 1905—Ballarat had 400 to 500 residents. It hosted seven saloons, three hotels, a Wells Fargo station, a post office (that opened in 1897), a school, a jail, and a morgue, but no churches. Ballarat was a place for miners and prospectors in the area to resupply and relax.
The town began its decline when the Ratcliff Mine, in Pleasant Canyon east of town, suspended operations. Other mines nearby also began to play out, and in 1917 the post office closed and all that remained were a few diehard prospectors and desert rats.
Current Status: Ballarat is considered a ghost town, with no permanent residents. It remains a point of interest for tourists, history enthusiasts, and those seeking solitude in the California desert.
Today, Ballarat is a virtual ghost town. It was founded in 1896 as a supply point for the mines in the canyons of the Panamint Range. A quarter-mile to the south is Post Office Springs, a reliable water source used since the 1850s by prospectors and desert wanderers.
George Riggins, a young immigrant from Australia, gave Ballarat its name when he proposed it should be named for Ballarat, Victoria, in the heart of Australia’s gold country.
Remarks: Ballarat’s remote location and well-preserved ruins make it a captivating destination for those interested in the history of the California Gold Rush and the lifestyle of the miners of that era. Its proximity to Death Valley National Park adds to its allure as a site of both historical and natural significance.
Today, Ballarat has one full-time resident. As of June 2013 Rocky Novak and his dogs, Potlicker and Brownie, live in the town. Rocky runs the general store on afternoons and weekends to supply tourists and is working on repairing the water pipes that supply the town, for which the government pays him. Every summer, a woman named June and her son move into the former jailhouse/morgue.
Ballarat is used as a meeting point for four-wheel-drive expeditions into the Panamint Range and Death Valley, and in winter up to 300 people camp on the town’s grounds. The town was recently used as a set to tell the story of the Ballarat Bandit.
