Noonday Camp, California, Inyo County
Noonday Camp, once a bustling mining settlement, now reflects the boom-and-bust cycle of the mining industry. Its desolate landscape tells the story of a once-thriving community that succumbed to the passage of time. Below is detailed information about the town.
County: Inyo County
Zip Code: Not available
Latitude / Longitude: 35.8219° N, 116.0411° W
Elevation: Approximately 3,100 feet (945 meters)
Time Zone: Pacific Time Zone
Established: Late 1800s
Disestablished: 1970s
Comments: Noonday Camp, also known as Mill City, was part of the mining operations in the Tecopa Mining District. It primarily served as a residential area for miners working in the nearby lead and zinc mines.
The community witnessed several periods of activity and decline, dictated by the fortunes of the mining industry. Noonday Camp, also known as Mill City, Noonday City, and Tecopa, is a ghost town located in the Mojave Desert east of Tecopa in Inyo County, California Ghost Town
Remains: Today, the remains of Noonday Camp include several foundations, mining equipment, and an old mill. The site is largely abandoned, with nature reclaiming much of the area.
Visitors can explore the ruins, which provide a window into the harsh life of miners who once called this place home. The Finley Company built the town in the 1940s to support the nearby War Eagle, Noonday, and Columbia lead mines. It was later used by the Anaconda Copper Company, which constructed the lead ore concentration mill during 1947–1948.
The town was abandoned in 1972. Compared to other mining ghost towns in the region, Noonday Camp became a ghost town quite recently. Lead mining ended in 1957 when the U.S. government reached its strategic stockpile goal. The Tecopa and Darwin lead mines – which worked three shifts during the war years – closed.
Current Status: Ghost town. Foundations of the supervisors and guest houses, several slabs that supported the kitchen, boarding house, and bunkhouses are evident, along with a lot of debris.
Prominent is the cinder block vault that held the script currency the miners could use at the company commissary. Roads from the site of Noonday Camp go to the Noonday and War Eagle mines.
The large white open pit of the talc mine is on Western Talc Road. Talc went out of favor due to its asbestos content. Visible from Highway 127 and the Old Spanish Trail is the landmark Tecopa bins, built in 1944.
One was for lead, the other talc. The lead ore was trucked to the UP siding at Dunn and shipped to smelters in Utah.
Remarks: Noonday Camp’s history is reflective of the broader patterns of settlement and abandonment seen in the American West. It serves as a poignant reminder of the impermanence of such endeavors and provides a unique opportunity for exploration and reflection on an era that shaped the region’s development.
The site attracts history enthusiasts and those seeking solitude in the stark beauty of the desert landscape.
