El Mirage 1951

[Dean Los Angeles]

A buddy of mine found some ancient Hot Rod magazines at the swap meet.
The January 1952 issue has a review of the final meet of the 1951 season.

"The surface at El Mirage dry lake was in such poor condition as to be hazardous. After searching the surrounding desert, SCTA officials decided to move to a small dry lake bed 75 miles beyond El Mirage."

So they were complaining about lousy surface even back then. The article didn't mention the name of the lake bed. Said is was privately owned.

There was a picture of Ray Brown's wing tank lakester and Lindsley-LeSage's "B" coupe. The Gear Grinders were high points champion with Jim Lindsley and 16-year old Burke LeSage.

Other entrants were Barney Navarro, Ak Miller, and Alex Xydias.

The article was by Wally Parks with photos by Tom Medley.

[Dynoroom]

I wonder if it's has anything to do with the fact it's.............. DIRT!   

You run on it and it get's tore up. Same for everyone there though.   

[Stan Back]

I bet we got some better churners than they did, tho.

[4-barrel Mike]

When did the SCTA use Rosamond?  Looks to be 56 miles (by current roads) from El Mirage.

Mike

[Dynoroom]

When did the SCTA use Rosamond?  Looks to be 56 miles (by current roads) from El Mirage.

Mike

And on the Air Froce Base known as Edwards, along with the dry lake Muroc

[jdincau]

Harper?

[Glen]

I think Harper as well

[jimmy six]

Mike, SCTA used Rosamond before the war. It boardered Rosamond Blvd going into east tward Muroc or what's now Edwards. During the war the Gov't closed eveything.

The military painted large outlines of ships during the war and then bombed at them for practice. Guess it messed it up. If you currently drive Rosamond Blvd east it actually looks good but they say it is still messed up and it is under the juristicion of Edwards. If you look at it on mapquest satellite it looks as good as Edward and El Mirage and is way bigger. Going west on Rosamond Blvd will get you to Willow Springs.

If Rosamond Dry lake could be checked out and found to be usable to me it is nice to run there with Edwards permission because it isn't actually on Edwards, on the map it's not even attached...Hey but who am I....

[Dean Los Angeles]

Rogers, Edwards, Muroc . . . All one in the same.

In 1882, the Santa Fe Railroad ran a line westward out of Barstow toward Mojave and built a water stop at the edge of an immense dry lakebed, roughly 20 miles southeast of Mojave. The lakebed was then called Rodriguez Dry Lake.

By the early 1900s, "Rodriguez" had been anglicized into "Rodgers"
In 1910, the Corum family settled at the edge of this lakebed and opened a general store and post office.
Their request to have the post office stop named "Corum" was disallowed because there was already a Coram, Calif. So they simply reversed the spelling of their name and named it "Muroc."

In September 1933, the Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range was established, later becoming the Muroc Army Air field. At the same time Rogers Dry Lake was called Muroc Dry Lake, reverting back to Rogers after WWII.

In December 1949, Muroc was renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Capt. Glen W. Edwards, who was killed a year earlier in the crash of the YB-49 Flying Wing.

If Rosamond Dry lake could be checked out and found to be usable to me it is nice to run there with Edwards permission because it isn't actually on Edwards, on the map it's not even attached.

Wikipedia: "The shores of the lake are entirely within the borders of Edwards Air Force Base"

[deucemac]

Rogers, Edwards, Muroc . . . All one in the same.

In 1882, the Santa Fe Railroad ran a line westward out of Barstow toward Mojave and built a water stop at the edge of an immense dry lakebed, roughly 20 miles southeast of Mojave. The lakebed was then called Rodriguez Dry Lake.

By the early 1900s, "Rodriguez" had been anglicized into "Rodgers"
In 1910, the Corum family settled at the edge of this lakebed and opened a general store and post office.
Their request to have the post office stop named "Corum" was disallowed because there was already a Coram, Calif. So they simply reversed the spelling of their name and named it "Muroc."

In September 1933, the Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range was established, later becoming the Muroc Army Air field. At the same time Rogers Dry Lake was called Muroc Dry Lake, reverting back to Rogers after WWII.

In December 1949, Muroc was renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of Capt. Glen W. Edwards, who was killed a year earlier in the crash of the YB-49 Flying Wing.

If Rosamond Dry lake could be checked out and found to be usable to me it is nice to run there with Edwards permission because it isn't actually on Edwards, on the map it's not even attached.

Wikipedia: "The shores of the lake are entirely within the borders of Edwards Air Force Base"

Just to ad to the good info.......... The air force has control over both rosamond and Harper dry lakes to use in case of an inflight emergency and the air craft can't get back to Edwards.  The X-15 had to use Harper at least once and the B-1 that crashed, Killing Doug Benefield, and the XB-70 both went down at Harper.  I don't think either one has been used for its intended purpose for years but the A>F still keeps "our" types off.

[Dean Los Angeles]

Defense Environmental Restoration Program
Formerly Used Defense Sites
Harpers Dry Lake Test Annex
1. The United States Air Force acquired 3,840 acres of public domain land from the Department of the Interior by Special Land Use Permit on 19 August 1968 and an additional 1,280 acres by lease from private owners on 15 September 1968 at Harper Dry Lake.
2. From 1 September 1968 to 31 December 1970, the Air Force utilized the dry lake as a test site and emergency landing field in support of the C-5A and C-141 USAF Aircraft Test Programs operating out of the USAF Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. No improvements were known to have been constructed on the site by the DOD.
3. ON 31 December 1970, the Special Land Use Permit on the 3,480 acres of public lands lapsed and the property was returned to the DOI, while the leases on the remaining 1,280 acres of the site were terminated before 30 June 1971 and returned to private ownership. The Bureau of Land Management is currently constructing a wildlife observation trail and park at Harper Dry Lake on the public land parcel, while the private property remains undeveloped.
21 September 1999
Peter T. Madsen
Colonel (P), U.S. Army Commanding

Luz Solar Partners now has control of the solar generating plant. They are a subsidiary of Florida Power and Light. They have to supply 75 acre ft. of water in perpetuity to restore the lake and the wetlands. The vast majority remains a dry lake bed.