Yermo (Spanish for "wilderness" or "wasteland") is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. It is east of Barstow on Interstate 15, just south of the Calico Mountains.
As of the 2020 census, Yermo had a population of 623.
Founded in 1902 and originally named Otis, Yermo is situated at a division point of the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, later the Union Pacific Railroad line.
Yermo once had a California agriculture inspection station for traffic heading south on Interstate 15. It relocated in 2018 to just north of Mountain Pass, between Yates Well Road and Nipton Road.
Tourism
In the mid-20th century, the Yermo Chamber of Commerce styled the community as the "Gateway to the Calicos", referring to its location about south of the Calico Mountains and the historic Calico Ghost Town. At the time, Yermo and Barstow were campaigning to establish a state park at Calico, which was an active silver mining town from the early 1880s until the turn of the 20th century. In 1952, former Calico resident and Knotts Berry Farm founder Walter Knott, whose uncle John King was once the town’s sheriff, and who worked at there as a carpenter in 1915, purchased Calico and restored it. He later deeded it to the San Bernardino County, which operates the site as a historical county park and a popular tourist attraction of the U.S. Southwest.
Other establishments
Schools
The Silver Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) is the school district covering the Yermo CDP, and in the Yermo area. It operates K-12 schools in the communities of Yermo, Daggett and Newberry Springs, and at the U.S. Army National Training Center at Ft. Irwin.
Churches
In 2009 Yermo had three active churches, one Baptist and two non-denominational/fundamentalist.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Yermo has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps with long, very hot summers, sunny winters with cool nights and dry conditions year round.
Demographics
Yermo first appeared as a census designated place in the 2020 U.S. census.
2020 Census
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Yermo CDP, California – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2020
!% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|366
|58.75%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|20
|3.21%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|6
|0.96%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|10
|1.61%
|-
|Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|0
|0.00%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|38
|6.10%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|183
|39.37%
|-
|Total
|623
|100.00%
|}
References
External links
- Yermo Community Services District