# Essex, California

Essex is a small unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California. Essex lies on Old National Trails Highway – part of the old Route 66 – just south of Interstate 40 in the Mojave Desert.

## History

Essex, a former oasis along historic Route 66 in California, was allegedly founded when a motorist suffered a flat tire only to discover there were no garages for miles. It also lies along the former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (now the BNSF Railway).
In Essex's heyday, there were a number of important buildings utilized by motorists and local patrons, including:
* Bell's Towing
* The Wayside Cafe
* Essex Post Office
* Essex Elementary School
* Essex Shell Tire Shop
Essex was notable along Route 66 for providing free water to travelers, thanks to a well installed by the Automobile Club of Southern California. Over a dozen homes also serviced the small community.
The town of Essex had no television reception until 1977. The signal from Los Angeles, 150 miles west, was too weak, and the signal from Las Vegas, 110 miles north, was blocked by hills. A device called a translator, costing several thousand dollars, could have solved this problem, but the town voted against spending the money. Johnny Carson found the town's lack of television interesting, and invited the entire town's population (about 50 people at the time) to attend the taping of the March 25, 1977 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He talked to 5 different townspeople about what it was like and whether they missed having television. All but one said they preferred it that way. Shortly after the Tonight Show appearance, executives at Electronics, Missiles and Communications (Emcee), which makes television transmitters, provided the town with a translator at no cost.

### Today

Essex is on the verge of becoming one of many ghost towns scattered throughout the Southwestern United States displaced by the creation of Interstate 40. Essex Elementary school (founded 1937), which once served the educational needs of both Essex and its neighbor Goffs, has closed. It was once taught by a single teacher. Its location remote even with today's technological capabilities, Essex lacks many comforts of modern-day life, and was unable to receive television service until the end of 1977.
Many of the homes and buildings in Essex have completely disappeared, almost 50 lie in abandonment, and of what was once a bustling roadside hub, only the post office, Caltrans maintenance yard, school house, and outdoor telephone are still operational. There are no facilities in town.
Essex has only one close neighbor, the equally abandoned Goffs, located to the north, just across I-40.
Three miles northeast of Essex, just north of the Goffs Road Junction with National Old Trails Highway, the remains of Camp Essex Army Airfield are still visible. This uniquely configured airfield has two parallel runways and twelve "hardstands," where aircraft could be parked.

## Population

In the 2000 Census, the population was 111. In a 2005 estimate, the population was presumed to be 89. Between the 2000 Census and the 2005 estimate, the community's population presumably decreased by 19.8%. Later in a 2013 estimate, it was presumed that the population was now approximately 10. Between 2005 and 2013, the community's population decreased by 88.7%.
Overall, the population of Essex presumably decreased by 90.9%. The town is presumably on its way to abandonment.

## In popular culture

In the episode called "The Town" in the second season of the original Mission: Impossible television series, a car carrying two would-be assassins is shown pulling out of a gas station in Essex onto old US 66.
In the season 20, episode 1 of The Johnny Carson show, the entire population of Essex was invited to the show. All but a few showed up. The date was March 25, 1977. Many of the members of the town were interviewed in the episode.