Garlock

Overview

The mill at Cow Wells

Garlock sits at the foot of the El Paso Mountains in eastern Kern County, on the road between Red Rock Canyon and US 395. Before it had a name it was a water stop. Freighters and cattlemen called it Cow Wells, or El Paso City, and stopped for water rather than risk the washes in Red Rock Canyon. The Searles brothers' borax stage road had run past it since 1873.

Gold in the El Paso Mountains was enough for an arrastra by 1887. A $1,900 nugget from Goler Heights in 1893 started a rush, and the Yellow Aster mine at Randsburg gave the water stop a new job. Eugene Garlock of Tehachapi set up an eight-stamp mill here to crush Yellow Aster ore. Sources date the mill anywhere from 1894 to 1896. Miners spoke of going down to "the Garlock mill," then just "Garlock." A post office opened in 1896.

The boom was short. In 1898 water was piped from here to Randsburg and the Santa Fe finished its Kramer–Randsburg line, which bypassed Garlock. The post office closed in 1904. The Southern Pacific laid track past Garlock in 1908 and 1909, and a second post office ran from 1923 to 1926 during a later boom. Today the site is California Historical Landmark No. 671.

Timeline

Water stop, mill town, landmark

1. 1873The Searles brothers' stage road opens between Mojave and their borax plant in Searles Valley, along the line of today's Garlock Road.
2. 1880sProspectors and freighters know the place as Cow Wells, or El Paso City. It is a water stop for teams avoiding the washes of Red Rock Canyon.
3. 1887Gold in the El Paso Mountains is enough to justify an arrastra here.
4. 1893A $1,900 nugget from Goler Heights sets off a rush.
5. 1894–1896Eugene Garlock of Tehachapi brings in an eight-stamp mill to crush ore from the Yellow Aster mine at Randsburg. Wikipedia gives 1894, Digital-Desert the fall of 1895 and the state landmark marker 1896.
6. 1896The post office opens. Miners talk of going down to "the Garlock mill," and the name sticks.
7. 1898Water is piped from Garlock to Randsburg, and the Santa Fe's Kramer–Randsburg line bypasses the town. Garlock fades.
8. 1904The post office closes.
9. 1908–1909The Southern Pacific builds its line past Garlock.
10. 1923–1926A second post office runs during a brief boom.
11. Dec 1, 1958The site becomes California Historical Landmark No. 671.
12. Nov 15, 2025Kern County closes Garlock Road between Redrock–Randsburg Road and US 395. In October 2026 its list still shows the road closed to through traffic, with residential access permitted.
13. Dec 24, 2025Kern County closes Redrock–Randsburg Road from Highway 14 to Highway 395 for storm damage, with no expected opening date.

What's here

Ruins by the road

A July 2025 road history describes the ruins of several homes and businesses still standing along Garlock Road, with the landmark marker telling the town's story. Wikipedia places the marker 7.4 miles west of US 395 on Garlock Road. That account predates the closures: Kern County now lists Garlock Road closed to through traffic, with residential access permitted, so you can't drive out to see the ruins or the marker for now. We also found no source on who owns the ruins or whether visitors may walk among them.

The historic maps below follow the town. The 1915 Searles Lake sheet already shows Garlock beside the Southern Pacific, with roads running east to Goler and Randsburg. The 1943 Saltdale sheet marks a handful of buildings along the road and tracks, with Garlock station to the southwest, and the 1976 sheet shows the townsite where Garlock Road meets the railroad, below Mesquite Canyon.

• State landmark marker No. 671
• Ruins of several homes and businesses (2025 account)

Historic maps

Garlock on USGS maps, 1915–1976

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19151:250,00019431:62,50019531:250,00019761:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Ridgecrest is the closest city with services. Kern County lists Garlock Road, from Redrock–Randsburg Road to US 395, closed to through traffic with residential access permitted, and Redrock–Randsburg Road, the way in from CA 14, has been closed since December 2025. Both routes below therefore end on US 395 at the Garlock Road turnoff, 7.5 miles east of the townsite. From Los Angeles the open route runs east on I-10 and I-15, then north on US 395.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

Photos

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Visitor reports

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Nearby

Other sites near Garlock

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our California index.

• Randsburg7.8 mi E · Kern
• Johannesburg9.0 mi E · Kern
• Red Mountain10.2 mi E · San Bernardino
• Freeman Junction15.2 mi NW · Kern
• Leliter21.4 mi N · Kern
• Sageland24.4 mi W · Kern
• Claraville30.5 mi W · Kern
• Valley Wells40.0 mi NE · Inyo

Sources

Sources and credits

1. Wikipedia, "Garlock, California", retrieved October 2026: coordinates, other names, post office dates, arrastra, the 1893 nugget, the mill, landmark No. 671 and its text and location.
2. Gribblenation, "Garlock Road and Garlock Ghost Town" (July 2025): the 1873 stage road, the Kramer–Randsburg railroad, the Southern Pacific line, road length, ruins still standing.
3. Digital-Desert, "Garlock": the mill hauled from Tehachapi in fall 1895, the town's school and saloons, remains.
4. Kern County Public Works, road status and closures, read October 20, 2026: Garlock Road from Redrock–Randsburg Road to Highway 395 closed to through traffic, residential access permitted (closed November 15, 2025; "date opened" March 19, 2026); Redrock–Randsburg Road closed from Highway 14 to Highway 395 since December 24, 2025, with no expected opening date.
5. Elevation from a USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026, ending at the Garlock Road turnoff on US 395; the 7.5 miles of Garlock Road beyond it are from our earlier OSRM route. Status checked against the sources above on October 20, 2026.

Photo and map credits

• Area base map, topo and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Searles Lake 1915, 1:250,000; Saltdale 1943, 1:62,500; Trona 1953, 1:250,000; Cuddeback Lake 1976, 1:100,000.