Essex, a former
oasis along historic
Route 66 in California, was allegedly founded when a motorist suffered a flat tire only to discover there were no garages for miles. The settlement lies along the former
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, currently known as the
BNSF Railway. In Essex's heyday, there were a number of important buildings utilized by motorists and local patrons, including: • Bell's Towing • The Wayside Cafe • Essex Post Office • Essex Elementary School • Essex Shell Tire Shop Essex was notable along Route 66 for providing free water to travelers, thanks to a well installed by the
Automobile Club of Southern California. Over a dozen homes also serviced the small community.
Television The town of Essex had no television reception until 1977. The signal from
Los Angeles, 150 miles west, was too weak, and the signal from
Las Vegas, 110 miles north, was blocked by natural terrain. A device called a translator, costing thousands, could have solved the problem, but the town voted against spending the money.
Johnny Carson found the town's lack of television interesting, and invited the entire town's population (about 50 people at the time) to attend the taping of the March 25, 1977 episode of
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He talked to five different townspeople about what it was like and whether they missed having television. The results were that most said they liked Essex without television. Shortly after the Tonight Show appearance, executives at Electronics, Missiles and Communications (Emcee), which make television transmitters, provided the town with a translator at no cost.
Today Essex is on the verge of becoming one of many
ghost towns scattered throughout the
Southwestern United States displaced by the creation of
Interstate 40. Essex Elementary School (founded 1937), which once served the educational needs of both Essex and its neighbor
Goffs, has closed. It was once taught by a single teacher. Its location remote even with today's technological capabilities, Essex lacks many comforts of modern-day life, including various new types of technology. Many of the homes and buildings in Essex have completely disappeared, almost fifty lie in abandonment, and of what was once a bustling roadside hub, only the post office,
Caltrans maintenance yard, school house, and outdoor telephone are still operational. There are no facilities in town. Essex has only one close neighbor, the equally abandoned
Goffs, located to the north, just across
I-40. northeast of Essex, just north of the Goffs Road Junction with National Old Trails Highway, the remains of
Camp Essex Army Airfield are still visible. This uniquely configured airfield has two parallel runways and twelve
hardstands, where aircraft could be parked. == Population ==