Historical Timeline
1919: A prospector named Pete Osdick hit silver in the Mojave Desert, not far from the boomtowns of Randsburg and Johannesburg. In his honor, what started as a small mining camp was named Osdick — a few shacks and tents in a sea of sagebrush.
1922: The Osdick post office opened, putting the place on the map. With the mail came more miners, investors, and hangers-on hoping to strike it rich in the silver fields.
1929: As the area grew and the hills took on a more permanent character, the name was changed to Red Mountain, inspired by the reddish tones of the surrounding desert rock.
1920s–1930s: Red Mountain boomed alongside the Kelly Silver Mine, one of the richest silver producers in California at the time. The town had a rough charm—miners by day and a rowdy nightlife after dark. Saloons like the Owl Café served whiskey, gossip, and dancing until morning.
1930s: The silver market took a nosedive, and with it went the town’s good fortune. Mine slowed, people drifted away, and Red Mountain settled into a quiet decline.
Present Day: Red Mountain is a quiet desert outpost with a few dozen residents and the weathered bones of a mining past. Old headframes and dusty relics can still be seen along the road. Though the rush is long gone, Red Mountain remains part of the story that gold and silver wrote across the Mojave.