Goffs, California
Posted by: 
brwhiz
N 34° 55.182 W 115° 03.960
11S E 676664 N 3865845
Goffs is a ghost town west of Needles on an old (pre-1931) alignment of Historic Route 66.
Waymark Code: WMBN30
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/04/2011
Views: 12
About the only way to "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" in Goffs these days is to pay a visit to the restored Goffs Schoolhouse and Museum. It helps one relive the glory days when Goffs was an active mining center.
After mining died out in the area Goffs still flourished as a waystop on the old National Trails Highway which morphed into the historic Route 66. It also provided housing and services for the trainmen who tended the busy mainline route through the eastern Mojave Desert.
But Route 66 was realigned in 1931, bypassing Goffs. And the railroad no longer needed staff in this area. But World War II and the Army brought numerous soldiers to several desert training camps or airfields in the vicinity, so Goffs clung to life just a little longer. But when Interstate 40 was completed across the desert, it sounded the death knell for many of these smaller communities.