Saltdale formed in 1914 beside Koehn Dry Lake in Kern County. Unlike gold camps that dominate Mojave ghost-town history, its economy centered on salt. Workers harvested mineral deposits from the dry lake and the settlement grew around that specialized industry.
A post office opened in 1916 and continued until 1950, marking the period when Saltdale still functioned as a recognized community. Its location near Garlock and the El Paso Mountains placed it in the same broad desert transportation landscape, but its economic purpose was distinct.
When commercial conditions changed, the settlement faded. Population disappeared, structures deteriorated and Saltdale became a ghost town. Its sparse remains illustrate a common Mojave pattern: a community can appear quickly around a single profitable resource and vanish when that resource no longer supports workers and transport.
Because old industrial areas can cross private land and contain unstable debris, access should be checked before exploration.