Atolia faded as tungsten prices declined after WW I and it became cheaper to import scheelite (tungsten ore) from China than to mine it in Atolia. Fortunately for the Rand mining area, fate was about to crack a smile for the third, and last time. In 1918 John Kelly, the Kern County Sheriff, sent out two experienced miners, Hamp Williams, Jr. and Jack Nosser to search for clay samples that could be mined for mineral paint pigment south of Randsburg.

The two men stopped to rest near a blue-gray rock outcropping. They were in an area that gold prospectors had trampled over many times. The Osdick brothers were subsistence mining gold nearby. The unusual looking rock caught Williams’ interest and he broke off a hunk. It turned out to be high grade silver ore. Sheriff Kelly was notified and Williams and Nosser staked out claims while Kelly was in Bakersfield recruiting investors who eventually provided $2,000 in start up capital.

The first load of ore that went to the Selby Smelting Works in San Francisco, mostly ore scraped from surface deposits, netted $1,639. The second load was slightly lower quality but still netted $1,328.98. Ore was averaging over $100 per ton. The first 20 cars had yielded returns of $128,552 and the mine had only been in operation for two months. The California Rand Silver Mine became the next big thing or the "Big Silver." (Clarke)

The "Big Silver" mine as shown in this June, 1919 photo from "The Big Silver": California's Greatest Silver Mine by Dwight L. Clarke wasn't so big, but all the rock was rich ore. The first load that went to the smelter in San Francisco netted $1,639. Shown in the photo is Hamp Williams, (white shirt, standing near rock pile) one of the discoverers.                     (Photo: California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 32, No. 1 , Mar., 1953)

Charles Moroney, general manager of California Rand Silver reported the "Big Silver" mine had "Drifts 104 feet, raises thirty two, and cross cuts 111. Values across and along the vein for a distance of twenty feet or more will average about $2.40 in gold and 60 ounces of silver...The mill has been operating at about 50 percent capacity during the month on account of shortage of water due to trouble at Goler wells. Concentrate shipments during this month to date have averaged a 40-ton car every two days."

Miners, businessmen, opportunists, gamblers, women of easy virtue, good for nothings, and possibly some old time Clampers flooded the area. Two towns sprang up. Osdick Town, named after Pete Osdick, the gold miner, was a relatively civilized mining community. Nearby was "Inn City," so called because the namers couldn’t agree whether it should be "Sin City", "Never In", or "Gin City". As the names implied, by whatever it was called, this was the place to party.

A story in the Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1922, described Inn City as "...the center of the night life of the Randsburg mining district and is reminiscent of the early California border towns." Another Times story two years later said, "Muscle, games and merriment were brought to a sudden stop at the famous Monkey House in the Inn City section of Camp Osdick last night when pleasure seekers, clerks and game keepers were startled into silence by the drawn guns of three hold-up men who proceeded to search everyone present, obtaining about $500 in cash and some jewelry.

...The Inn City section of Camp Osdick is made up of pleasure resorts of which the Monkey House is one of the largest and most active. Investigation of the robbery will be carried out by the Sheriff of San Bernardino county."

Exerpt from Los Angeles Times story, December 14, 1922 describing Osdick and Inn City.                (Los Angeles Times archive via Proquest)

Osdick and Inn City fought over post office naming rights in the early 1920’s and misdirected mail was a constant problem. The Postal Department settled the matter once and for all in 1929 by calling the post office Red Mountain.

The Kelly "Big Silver" Mine (head frame toppled but still visible) was the major silver producer. Other mines were the Big Four, Silver Kings and Silver Glance. The Barker Brothers, of Los Angeles furniture fame, had a mill in the area. Production continued until 1929 when the price of silver dropped from $1 per ounce to as low as 28 cents. At that time the Big Silver was sold. Total production is estimated at about $12 million.

The Randsburg Railroad, now owned by the Santa Fe was still in operation. It provided efficient transportation not only for supplies, but for Red Mountain’s second economy, "entertainment".

Red Mountain became well known as a wide open town where one could get a drink in any place of business except the post office. Prohibition (1920-1933) had little effect, as warning came ahead of the raids. The town had more than 30 active drinking establishments. There were hotels and gambling establishments serving demon liquor as well. The recreational needs of not only local miners and residents were served, but miners from as far away as the American Potash Company works in Trona managed to travel to Red Mountain. This was fine with the Trona town fathers as it not only gave the men somewhere to blow off steam, but kept the less desirable elements of liquor, gambling and prostitution out of their back yards.

Week nights the town was lively, but on Saturday night the place roared. Bands came from Los Angles to play through the night and out of town crowds arrived to join in the fun or watch the show. Long after the silver boom was over, Red Mountain lived on as an old west type night spot.

The madams were proud of their high class houses, and the girls were easy on the eyes. Even outlying areas such as Brown’s Ranch ran a string of girls in additional to more traditional ranching activities.

With so much liquor, gambling and women, fisticuffs and gunfights were commonplace. One miner who previously worked in Nevada and Colorado said he found Red Mountain "running wide open and wilder than other camps of more fame. On the other hand, Rand had fewer mine accidents than most mining camps; but the men injured and killed in drunken brawls more than made up for it." (Starry)

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was active in the area to protest the saloons and put on free Saturday night dances in Johannesburg. Guards posted at the door smelled each arrival’s breath and refused admittance to anyone with liquor on their breath.

The California Rand (Big Silver) head frame is now toppled (top photo) and the  mill building is merely a skeleton of its former self.