Record
About Ragtown
Ragtown was a mining town, now a ghost town, in the Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, California, United States. John Sutter found gold in the Bagdad-Chase area in about 1898.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Ragtown, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Ragtown is

Historic maps
9 historic USGS maps cover Ragtown
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1953 San Bernardino sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1955 Ludlow sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1955 Ludlow sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 San Bernardino sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1957 San Bernardino sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 San Bernardino sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1959 San Bernardino sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1966 San Bernardino sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1977 Newberry Springs sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Ragtown
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.
- Stedman2.6 mi S · San Bernardino
- Bagdad-Chase Mine2.7 mi S · San Bernardino
- Ludlow3.9 mi N · San Bernardino
- Siberia9.8 mi E · San Bernardino
- Hector Mine16.8 mi W · San Bernardino
- Crucero26.4 mi N · San Bernardino
- Saltus27.7 mi E · San Bernardino
- Kelso37.1 mi NE · San Bernardino
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "Ragtown": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "Ragtown, California": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q7283252.
- USGS GNIS 252961.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).