Goffs, California, San Bernardino County is a ghost town that once thrived as a bustling railway community in the Mojave Desert. It captures the imagination of many due to its historical significance and the remnants that tell tales of a bygone era. Below is detailed information about the town.
County: San Bernardino County
Zip Code: 92332
Latitude / Longitude: 34.9194° N, 115.0647° W
Elevation: 2,585 feet (788 meters)
Time Zone: Pacific Time Zone (PT)
Established: Goffs was established in 1893 as a railroad stop.
Disestablished: The town began to decline in the 1930s after being bypassed by Route 66 and further declined with the completion of Interstate 40 in the 1970s.
Comments: Goffs served as a significant stop along the Santa Fe Railway and was an essential hub for mining operations in the surrounding areas. It was named after Isaac Goff, a railroad engineer. The town once had a post office, schoolhouse, and various businesses catering to travelers and miners. Goffs, an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California Ghost Townlifornia, is a nearly empty one-time railroad town at the route’s high point in the Mojave Desert.
Goffs was a stop on famous U.S. Route 66 until 1931 when a more direct road opened between Needles and Essex. Goffs was also home to workers of the nearby Santa Fe Railroad, with Homer east, Fenner south, and Blackburn and Purdy north.
Remains: The most notable structure in Goffs is the Goffs Schoolhouse, built in 1914. It has been restored and now functions as a museum operated by the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association. The site also features old railroad tracks, scattered foundations, and the ruins of other buildings that once formed part of the town.
Current Status: Goffs is now primarily a historical site and museum area. It is maintained by the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association, which works to preserve the area’s history and artifacts. The town’s largest building is an early 20th-century general store (now abandoned).
A historic schoolhouse, built in 1914 and almost totally deteriorated by the early 1980s, has since been renovated to its original plans by the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA). The schoolhouse and grounds now house a museum primarily specializing in the area’s mining history. Remnants of Goffs’s mining days still dot the town.
Goffs is accessible off Interstate 40 at U.S. Highway 95 north. A left turn onto Goffs Road, the pre-1931 alignment of US 66, becomes a desolate forty-mile (64 km) stretch that served as home to several towns that have mostly vanished, including Bannock, Ibis, and the Homer above. Continuing west on Goffs Road brings motorists back to I-40 northeast of the town of Essex.
Remarks: Goffs provides a fascinating glimpse into the history of the Mojave Desert and the railroad’s impact on small communities. Despite its decline, it remains a destination for those interested in history, ghost towns, and the spirit of the American West.
The restoration of the schoolhouse and the preservation efforts offer a unique opportunity for visitors to step back in time and learn about the life of early 20th-century settlers in this rugged environment. Goffs Road is featured in the opening scene of the 1984 cult classic Repo Man (film).
Goffs is located at the foothills of the northern terminus of the Piute Mountains; the location is also the southern terminus of the Lanfair Valley which drains south from the east region of the Mojave National Preserve.
The Sacramento Wash drainage turns due east to meet the Piute Wash, just west of the Colorado River. Goffs is on the foothill bajadas that drain northward into Sacramento Wash.
