Plaster City

32°47′33″N 115°51′31″W / 32.79250°N 115.85861°W / 32.79250; -115.85861

Plaster City is a company town with a large gypsum quarry and plant owned by United States Gypsum (USG)[1] in Imperial County, California. It is located 17 miles (27 km) west of El Centro,[1] at an elevation of 105 feet (32 m), a two-hour drive south of Palm Springs, or a 90 minute drive east from San Diego.[2]

The quarry and supporting railroad were started in 1920 by Imperial Valley Gypsum and Oil Corporation founder Samuel Dunnaway, a pharmacist from San Diego,[2] then acquired by United States Gypsum in 1945.[3] Plaster City is the southern terminus of the last industrial narrow gauge railroad in the United States. The 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line runs from another quarry about 22 miles (35 km) miles to the northwest, bringing gypsum to the plant.[4][5][6] Plaster City is served by the former San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, owned by Union Pacific Railroad to the east and the [[[San Diego Metropolitan Transit System]] to the west. The route to the west is currently inactive.

The first post office at Plaster City opened in 1924.[1] The ZIP Code is 92251.

Plaster City is surrounded by two Off-Highway Vehicle Areas operated by the Bureau of Land Management: Plaster City West Off-Highway Vehicle Area and Plaster City East Off-Highway Vehicle Area.[7]

  1. ^ a b c Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  2. ^ a b Plaster City Alcos Railfan & Railroad. Access date: 2024-08-22
  3. ^ "Gypsum Plant At Plaster City Sold, Announced". Calexico Chronicle. August 2, 1945. p. 1 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  4. ^ "SP Bulletin 1964 — They call it Plaster City". San Diego Railway Museum. Archived from the original on November 4, 2005. Retrieved December 14, 2005.
  5. ^ "US Gypsum Railroad Narrow Gauge Link". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  6. ^ "PacificNG.org". www.pacificng.com.
  7. ^ BLM Routes of Travel for Western Imperial County, CA blm.gov