MCLB Barstow - Local Area

INTRODUCTION
Barstow, "Gateway to the great mysterious desert," has more to offer than meets the eye. Do not underestimate what this town has to offer. Everywhere there are surprises. Volcanic cinder cones, booming sand dunes, historic and modern mines, rock formations etched with messages from former residents, vast vistas framed with mile-high mountains and small towns dotted along historic Route 66. This is the Mojave Desert. Natural beauty, an abundance of outdoor activities, historical sites, modern shopping centers, fine dining and a variety of accommodations are all here. Overall, Barstow is a peaceful and tranquil town where you and your family can avoid the distractions and pressures of demanding city traffic and crowds, while exploring the dusty jewel of the high desert.

HISTORY AND ORIENTATION
A railway town since its founding, the city of Barstow, at last count, has a population of 22,850, with a trade area encompassing more than 60,000 people (incorporating the communities of Barstow, Daggett, Ft. Irwin, Hinkley, Lenwood, Newberry Springs and Yermo). In 1888, the Santa Fe Railroad arrived in town and a splendid station was built in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Named after the president of the Santa Fe, William Barstow Strong, the town soon became a service center for the gold and silver mines that surrounded the community. Before all this feverish activity in the late 1800s, the Mojave Desert had been occupied by Native Amercian tribes who lived 2,000 years ago beside the immense lakes that covered most of the Mojave. Today, the landscape is bone dry, and Barstow is a highway town, at the junction of Interstate highways 15 and 40, on the routes between Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Flagstaff, Ariz. The railway station has been converted into a restaurant and shops.
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