Bagdad, California

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For the town in: Butte County; see Bagdad, Butte County, California and the town in Arizona; see Bagdad, Arizona

Bagdad is a ghost town in the eastern Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, California.

Geography

Bagdad is located along the historic U.S. Route 66, east of Barstow and Ludlow, and west of Amboy and Needles.^[1]

The town was founded in 1883 when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway railway line between Barstow and Needles was built.

Bagdad was long a thriving town along the National Old Trails Road and the famous Route 66. It was bypassed by the opening of Interstate 40 to the north in 1973, and lost travelers business and resident population.

Bagdad holds the record for the longest dry streak in United States history with 767 straight days without rain, from October 3, 1912 to November 8, 1914. It is to the south of the Granite Mountains and the Mojave National Preserve, and north of the Bullion Mountains.

A small airfield was built south of the town, immediately south of Rt66. It was operational in 1932, with abandonment between 1954 - 1958.

Bagdad Café

The "Bagdad Café", located in Newberry Springs, California

Bagdad's fame has spread internationally, after its being bypassed. The old Bagdad Café was located there and became the fictionalized setting of both a popular novel and the motion picture called Bagdad Café.

The Café location shooting was actually done at the 'Sidewinder Cafe' to the west in Newberry Springs, which has since been renamed the 'Bagdad Café.'

In 1990 the television series Bagdad Cafe ran for one season.

See also

• El Garces Hotel
• Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel
• Harvey House Railroad Depot

References

Bibliography

• Alan Hensher, Ghost Towns of the Mojave Desert: A Concise and Illustrated Guide, California Classics Books, Los Angeles (1991) ISBN 18793950
• Ghost Towns.com - Bagdad Webpage about Bagdad, CA with numerous photographs.
• Bagdad, California Brief history of Bagdad, CA.

Maps

Coordinates: 34°35′00″N 115°52′32″W / 34.5833°N 115.8756°W / 34.5833; -115.8756

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