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This picturesque re-created village was formed from the restored and augmented vestiges of a historic silver and borax boomtown. Silver was discovered here in 1881, and the community of Calico quickly grew as a mining supply center with a peak population of 3,000 in 1894. By 1896, a drop in the price of silver had reduced the profitability of mining. The town might then have perished but for the discovery of borax deposits, which powered the economy until 1907. The mines around Calico produced $13 to $20 million in silver and $9 million in borax in their heydays. But fortunes declined as the deposits gave out. The town was fast sinking into ruin when it was acquired in 1951 by Walter Knott, creator of Knott's Berry Farm. He restored some of its Old West flavor before deeding it to San Bernardino County. Calico's main street is now paved and reserved for pedestrians browsing in shops and historic buildings. Lil's Saloon, the Town Office, Lucy Lane's Home, the R&D Store and the General Store are original structures; the others have been rebuilt. The narrow-gauge Calico & Odessa Railroad offers short rides (10min), accompanied by historical narration, that circumscribe the hill just east of town.