History
Rosamond was officially established in 1877, and
was named after the daughter of an official of the Southern Pacific
Railroad, the town site owner. An application for a Post Office was filed on
May 2,1855, with David Bayles appointed the first Postmaster, serving 100
people. The old Post Office building is now located at the Tropico Gold Mine
site.
Mining and cattle were prime industries in the early
days. In the late 1890's, the Lida Mine (later Tropico Mine) opened. When
pay dirt was struck several years later, the hills swarmed with miners.
Assays on the ore went as high as $100,000 per ton. In the 1930's, when
mining again boomed, and the Army Air Corps established Muroc Army Air Field
(now Edwards AFB), the community was able to add street lights and a water
plant.
Early Postmaster
Like many Americans after the Civil War who were looking for
a better life, Charles Graves went west.
In 1879, the 23-year-old Graves got off a train in Rosamond
and liked what he saw. He started raising cattle on 160 acres he
homesteaded, delved into gold mining and by 1895 was postmaster.
In 1900, Graves married a Kansas schoolteacher who answered
his newspaper advertisement for a wife. He built Rosamond's first
schoolhouse -- and paid its teacher's salary the first year -- so his three
sons and three daughters could have a better education than he had.
"The cowboys used to stay at my daddy's place when there was
a roundup," recalled Katherine Paul, Graves last surviving child, in a 1993
Daily News interview at age 82.
In every respect Graves was the image of the Western
settle, except one -- he was African-American. Graves had been born into
slavery in Kentucky five years before the Civil War started and was nine
when the war ended.
Lancaster Museum/Art Gallery staff say a mistaken impression
exists that African-Americans were not involved in the Antelope Valley's
settlement.
Before Graves, who died in 1938, African-Americans in the
1800's and the early 1900's in the Antelope Valley included explorers,
homesteaders, farmers, barbers, miners, cooks, and teamsters, the museum's
research shows. By 1910, African-Americans made their homes in the Elizabeth
Lake area, Palmdale, Lancaster, Mojave and Rosamond.
Town Council Formation
The Rosamond Town Council was incorporated on August 14, 1995. Rosamond Town Council, Inc. was formed by members of the Rosamond Rural Landowners Association which was founded in May 1992.
The Rosamond Rural Landowners Association was formed initially for the purpose of informing property owners of the annexation and assessment district that was about to take place. A 92 million dollar assessment was in the works. We let the public know what was happening and the assessment was trimmed back considerably to 32 million. Since that time we have been informing our members of various projects, legislative items, and anything that could affect their property or pocketbook.
Some of the different things that we have done are: Had guest speakers on sewer treatment plants, those for and against the formation of the Antelope Valley Storm Water Conservation & Flood Control District, Candidates for the Rosamond Community Services District and Southern Kern Unified School District Board, representatives from Waste Management concerning dump fees, and other items of concern to our membership and the general public.
Municipal Advisory Council Formation
The process of becoming an officially sanctioned council began in June of
2005 when Supervisor Maben presented the idea to the Rosamond Town Council
board of directors.
President Shoffner addressed those present on Thursday evening July 21, 2005 and expressed the Councils intention of 'morphing' into
a Municipal Advisory Council. He explained that this
would allow for better communication for Rosamond residents to and from
the Kern County Board of Supervisors. Since Rosamond is not a city, our
government is the County. A Municipal Advisory Council or
MAC would be formed and officially recognized as the Board of Supervisors pass a
resolution to form one here in Rosamond.
Already changed is the format of the Thursday meetings.
It is now much more of an "Open Forum', with speakers from the Sheriff's
Department, Rosamond Community Services District, the School District,
the Chamber of Commerce, The Edwards Community Alliance, and our
Honorary Mayor. Also added to the 'agenda' is a time for the public to
address whatever concerns they may want to share with the Council and
those present.
The Initial Municipal Advisory Council Board Members
January 17, 2007 - Dennis Shoffner Stepping Down!
President Shoffner, citing increased responsibilities at the Flight Test Center and insufficient time to devote to the duties as M.A.C. president, has reluctantly stepped down. Vice-Chairman Rick Webb will assume his responsibilities. The vacant position will be filled by appointment by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with the bylaws.
The Great Seal of Rosamond
On 16 February 2006, it was unanimously voted for at the RTC (Rosamond Town Council) business meeting.
Below is a picture of it and some info.
The artist: R. W. Williams
Mr. Williams is a Medical Illustrator in Orange County, CA and was
approached by the Honorary Mayor Jed Dyke to do the seal. Mr. Williams
designed the seal for free because of his love of the area of which he
explored and photographed for many years.
The seal:
Open blue skies, the Bell X1’s historic flight representing the gateway
to EAFB, the Rosamond Hills with the looming Sierra Nevada Mountains in
the background, the California Poppy representing the abundance of
wildflowers, the railroad which was the birth of the town of Sand Hill
which was renamed Rosamond after a railroad manager’s daughter, the
movie truck and camera for the many years this area has been used for
movies and TV, The mine for the famous Tropico Gold Mine and the many
dozens of others, Indian petroglyphs representing those natives who have
been in this area for thousands of years, the spring that represents the
many springs that have sustained life here thousands of years giving
water to natives, wildlife, then settlers, cattle and even the Lost
49ers when they escaped the harsh thirty environment of Death Valley and
are still present today, the green agricultural fields of sugar beets,
alfalfa, carrots onions, etc. and the barren land, left of the train,
that represents Rosamond and Rogers Dry Lakes and the further potential
for growth.
