| Gypsite | |
| Settlement Type: | Ghost town |
| Pushpin Map: | California#USA |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in California |
| Pushpin Image: | California Locator Map with US.PNG |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | California |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kern County |
| Coordinates: | 35.3311°N -117.9311°W |
| Elevation M: | 597 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1959 |
Gypsite was a small community at the site of a mill in Kern County, California.
It is located 3miles southwest of Saltdale, in the Fremont Valley of the Mojave Desert at an elevation of . It is located near Koehn Lake south-southwest of Ridgecrest near Garlock, California.
In late 1909[1] Charles Koehn found a large deposit of gypsite (a mixture of gypsum and clay) in the bed of Koehn Lake. In 1910[2] or 1911, the California Crown Plaster & Gypsite Company leased Koehn's claims and built a mill at Kane (Cane) Spring,[3] located just north of Gypsite.[4] [5] A post office operated at Gypsite from June 1911 to March 1912.[3] In January 1912, Koehn was involved in a shootout at "Cain" springs where he constructed a rolling fort and held off 17 gunman during a dispute with T.H. Rosenberger about Koehn's mineral claims.[6] During the summer of 1912, 12 men produced 30 tons of plaster per day.[3] In December, 1912, after a court case concerning the gunfight, Koehn sold the springs to Thomas Thorkildsen who then sold to the Diamond Salt Company of Los Angeles.[7] In 1913, a 3-mile narrow-gauge railroad was built on the lake bed. The company also built a hotel, houses, a depot and a post office (which was never reopened).[3]
In 1915, the operation failed and Koehn took over the mill. Production was intermittent until 1928, when Koehn was convicted of attempted murder of a San Bernardino judge and Koehn lost control of the site. George Abel took over production until his death in the early 1930s. Intermittent production again continued until the 1950s.[3]