Fenner, California -- Route 66 Ghost Town

Like many other Route 66 Ghost Towns across the Mojave Desert, Fenner was established (in 1883) as a watering station for steam locomotives operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad.  Other than that fact, there doesn't seem to be anymore information relating to Fenner available.  Fenner of course is the "F" town in the alphabetical naming process conceived by the railroad for this part of the desert. (Amboy, Bristol, Chambless, Danby, Essex, Fenner, Goffs, Homer, Ibis and Java)

I've only heard one story relating to Fenner.  As legend has it, during a national railroad mechanics strike in the 1920's, two scabs (non-union people working during the strike) hired by the Santa Fe RR in Fenner, were kidnapped, taken deep into the desert, made to totally disrobe and left there. This act was to serve as a warning to other scabs, to not take these jobs. Did the two guys live or die? Not only do I not know that, I don't even know if the story is true.

There are no official population estimates of Fenner, but I'm pretty sure that the number is zero.  However, there are a few people around.  One adventurous soul has opened a gas station/cafe in the same area.  Some of you wondered how far people would travel to get their mail at the cute little post office in Essex (from my last post), well this guy does, because Fenner doesn't have a post office.

By the way...
Today's weather forecast for Fenner is... 103F, rain and thunder storms likely.

One thing that Fenner left behind, was the town dump. The good stuff has mostly been buried by the new stuff, but you know that doesn't stop my wife and I from doing some digging.  This tire was taller than I am. I'm sure the rubber content has to be worth a lot. Too bad we couldn't fit it in the jeep.

 Tammy Loves Scummy!

I was afraid to see what (or who) was wrapped up in that black plastic in the middle of the room. I hope it wasn't Tammy!

There is a lot of trash/junk/treasure buried under this dirt. 

 Very old style automotive oil dip stick

Although we didn't find a lot of antique treasures, we did find this airplane wing!  You know what else I found? I found a bunch of medical waste? I don't know if it was legally dumped or not, but it made me quit digging and use about a quart of hand sanitizer. It also had me wondering how long it had been since my last tetanus injection. 

The little building on the left, is probably the ONLY original thing still standing in Fenner.

It seems that half the old pickup trucks and cars ever made are abandoned in the desert. This nice group is just sitting there in Fenner.  A couple of these, especially the car on the right are worth some money, but...

If you look just behind that pick up truck, there is a red antique gas pump, just sitting there!  I promise you that it is worth some good money. The guys from American Pickers would be all over this thing.  Also, look at the building/shack. It might be an original Fenner building attached to an Airstream trailer. I don't know what it is, but it looks like a great example of some fine desert engineering...

Not a tree in sight. Fenner is the little purple spot in the middle. Essex, from last week, is on the very bottom, towards the left. The yellowish line connecting Essex to Fenner is the original National Trails Highway. The NTH was later included in the original alignment of Route 66. Now check this out! Fenner, Goffs (above Fenner) and Homer were not only bypassed by the I-40, they were also bypassed once by Route 66 when the government moved it!  The newer Route 66 alignment goes from Essex (on the bottom) to the same path as the newer I-40.  I hope this confuses you less than it confused me! 

The arrow in the top right corner is the original Fenner dump. The arrow in the middle is point right towards the new gas station and cafe. The arrow pointing up, is point at the old route 66. The yellow lines at the bottom are the Interstate-40.  If you enlarge this photo, you can see the buildings at the old dump. Thanks to Google Maps for the image.
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This week we are back in the area of the Chariot Fire. It has been almost a month since the fire and we have some updates coming for you.


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Essex California - Route 66 Ghost Town

Legend says the little town of Essex was created because of a flat tire. Supposedly, a man had a flat while crossing the Mojave Desert. He was many miles from any type of service and wasn't at all happy about it. On that day he decided to open a gas station, towing service and cafe on the exact spot where his flat occurred. Even though this story is fairly popular, Essex (like many other Mojave desert towns) was created as a watering stop for the steam locomotives of the day. Just like most businesses along Rt. 66 in the Mojave, it changed hands and names a few times. Essex grew to the point where it had an elementary school, towing service, cabins, cafe and post office. 

During WW II, a large military base was built in this area (more on that in a future post), but after the war was over, it was demolished. Due to the closing of the base and later construction of the new interstate highway (I-40), Essex and many other little communities along Route 66 were doomed. Other than a railroad yard and a little post office, there are no "active" structures left around Essex. 

The original name was Bell's Cafe (or so I've read). This photo was taken at a later date. Judging by the cars, I'd say it was about 1940.

With only one vehicle, it's hard to judge when this one was taken. While I'm on the subject, I wish I knew who took this photo. I'd like to give them credit.

If I had cropped the (NDCBU) out of the photo, I could have said it was 50 years old. That's right people NDCBU! (Neighborhood Delivery Collection Box Unit). Only a true renaissance man would know obscure facts like that...

This might be the most rustic post office that I've ever seen.

Judging by the brand new looking fasteners on this, somebody is trying to keep this place alive.

This little building was the restroom. 

Good food?

Fill 'er up please!

One of the few structures left in town.

The most unique thing about Essex was free water. While it's true that most of the old places I've shown you were in fact an oasis to thirsty desert travelers, the water was not usually free. They usually charged about 10 cents for a glass of cold water and about the same for a gallon of radiator water.  The free water at Essex wasn't really a generous gesture by anyone there, the Automobile Club of Southern California installed a drinking fountain! They built if about 50 yards from the cafe.

This gas station and garage were clearly built much later, but they suffered the same fate.

The little red flag is Essex (on route 66). You can see here how the new interstate (I-40) bypassed it. Notice that there isn't ANYTHING else in the area.

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In a couple of days we'll be headed back to the Wilderness side of San Diego County. Same place as a few weeks ago. We'll be checking out the Chariot Fire area a month after it happened (and my post on it). It should be interesting. Sad and interesting...

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What Price Progress?

I'm about a third of the way through my "Route 66 Ghost Towns" posts. It's time for me to start mixing in some written stuff and photos from other places we've been visiting.  My post today includes a few things relating to Route 66, but without photos.  Just about the time this post is up, we'll be on our way to our favorite mountain ridge for a couple of weeks. There is a fire in the area though and I hope we can get through. They gave it a name (The Chariot Fire), so it must be sizable.

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Route 66

The story was the same for many towns in the south west 

The railroads needed water stops across the desert and built them

Route 66 and the National Trails Highway breathed life into them

John Steinbeck's Joad family memorialized them

Interstate 40 ripped the hearts out of them

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What Price Progress?

It's one thing to see

An old mining town

Fall into decay

After giving up

Her treasure

It's quite another

To see a place die

For no other reason

Than progress

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Vapor Lock

I remember sitting in the back seat

of various old cars

the only air conditioning

was four windows down

at sixty mph

burlap desert bags

full of water

hanging in front of the radiator

hood slightly open for air

blistering heat 

threatening us

with vapor lock

and overheating

cactus, yucca, Joshua trees and rocks

mostly nothing though

except for the silence and solitude

of the desert

one arm out the window

flying my hand

like a plane in the hot wind

the only real relief

to be had

resided in the little towns 

and even smaller places

like Amboy

Cadiz

Chambless

Danby

Essex

Fenner

Goffs

and Needles

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