Seventeen Mile Point is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

at the north end of the Old Dad Mountains in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,18 ...

. Its summit is at an altitude of .

History

Seventeen Mile Point acquired its name because the northernmost ridge of the mountain was a landmark along the

Mojave Road The Mojave Road, also known as Old Government Road (formerly the Mohave Trail), is a historic route and present day dirt road across what is now the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert in the United States. This rough road stretched f ...

or Old Government Road. This ridge at which the Mojave Road rounded this northern tip of the Old Dad Mountains was called Point of Mountain.

Odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two ( electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient G ...

surveys by the U. S. Army in 1866 and 1867 found that Point of Mountain was about 17 miles away from both Soda Springs and

Marl Springs Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

, watering places along the road, and marked the point where the old wagon road turned southwest to follow the course of Willow Wash for several miles upstream. Seventeen Mile Point a

mining camp Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic vi ...

, now a vanished

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

, was established there at Point of Mountain in 1900 to support the Paymaster, Brannigan, Oro Fino and other mines in the Old Dad Mountains to the south. The name of this mining camp that vanished after 1914, was memorialized in the name of the mountain.Remi Nadeau, City Makers (Los Angeles: Trans-Anglo Books, 1965), pp. 30-31. Cited in Russ Hartill, Larry Vredenburgh, Gary Shumway, Desert Fever: An Overview of Mining History of the California Desert Conservation Area, Prepared For: DESERT PLANNING STAFF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 1980, p.80, note 14.

References

{{San Bernardino County, California Mountains of San Bernardino County, California Former settlements in San Bernardino County, California Populated places in the Mojave Desert