Calico appeared in 1881 during the largest silver strike in California. Located near Mojave, CA and next to the towering King Mountain, the town was named for the variety of colors in the mountain that were "as purty as a gal's calico skirt." Calico boomed during 1881-1896; but the end came to the silver rush in 1896 and by 1904 Calico had become a ghost town.

Today, as a California State Park, the historic silver mining town lives on as one of the few original Old West mining camps. One-third of Calico's original structures still stand; the remaining buildings have been carefully reconstructed to capture the Old West spirit.