Slab City, California

The Slab City Christian Center in October 2007

Prior to the United States' official entry into World War II, the United States Marine Corps planned a training ground for field and anti-aircraft artillery units in an area accessible by aircraft taking off from carriers near San Diego.[5] To create the training base, 631.345 acres (255.496 ha) were obtained. The government announced that the base was to be named after Marine Corps Brigadier General Robert Henry Dunlap. After construction of Camp Dunlap was completed, it was commissioned on October 15, 1942. The camp had fully functioning buildings, water, roads, and sewage collections. The base was used for three years during the war.[5] By 1949, military operations at Camp Dunlap had been greatly reduced, but a skeleton crew continued on until the base was dismantled. By 1956, all buildings had been dismantled, but the slabs remained.[5]

The area that is now Slab City was the artillery training range for the Camp.[6] It was first settled by a few veterans who had worked at the Marine base, followed later by drifters – then recreational vehicle owners, searching for free camping spots outside Palm Springs. Current residents refer to themselves as Slabbies while tourists are called Normies.[7]

As of October 6, 1961, a quitclaim deed conveying the land to the State of California was issued by the Department of Defense as it was determined the land was no longer required.[7] The deed did not contain any restrictions, recapture clauses, or restoration provisions.[5] All of the former Camp Dunlap buildings had been removed. The remaining slabs were not proposed for removal. Later, legislation required that revenue generated from this property would go to the California State Teachers' Retirement System.

Slab City's popularity surged after an article was printed in Trailer Life and RV Magazine around 1984. A 1988 San Diego Reader reports there were no more than 600–700 RVs around 1983, and one resident estimated there were about 2000 trailers when he was interviewed in March, 1988.[4]

Leonard Knight, an early settler who created the Salvation Mountain art installation, was featured in Sean Penn's Into the Wild, released in 2007.[8] An obituary of Knight stated that he "spent almost 30 years building the colorful mountain ... Built out of adobe and donated paint, Knight worked on the mountain all day, every day. He even slept at the mountain's base in the back of a pick-up truck, with no electricity or running water".[8]

An article in Smithsonian magazine in October 2018 referred to the community as a "Squatters’ Paradise" which locals consider to be "one of America's last free places." The article said of the population: "There are clearly people there who don’t want to be found, so there’s something about disappearing, and the desert offers that kind of opportunity."[3]

Slab City is widespread, on roughly 640 acres (260 hectares) of public land.[9] Located near the east shore of the Salton Sea, Slab City is 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of San Diego and 169 mi (272 km) southeast of Los Angeles. It is about 50 mi (80 km) from Mexico.[10] To the east of Slab City is Coachella Canal,[11] which is fenced, but the fence gets cut open periodically, especially at Slab City, according to the Coachella Valley Water District.[12]

The Washington Post reported in 2020 that population is seasonal, and balloons up to about 4,000 during the winter, by some estimates, and dwindles to about 150 in the summer. Since the 1950s, Slab City has drawn a variety of people, such as anarchists, artists, eccentrics, outcasts, retirees, and the impoverished.[2][15] A 1990 Chicago Tribune article by a journalist who stayed in the camp for a week estimated that winter residents (at the time) were mostly senior citizens over 60 years old.[16] It is a "popular winter destination for transients."[9] Slab City is used by recreational vehicle owners, travellers, and squatters from across North America, including Canada.[17][18]

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Fred Dickey in 2012, the most common source of income among the permanent residents is "probably" SSI checks.[19] In 2020, Ranker indicated that Slab City's income mainly comes from tourists and donations.[20] In 1995, almost every resident of Slab City collected disability benefits, social security or unemployment. Another steady source of income at the time was selling salvaged goods to visitors.[21]

Many residents use generators or solar panels to generate electricity. Clean water is dispensed from a tank at the community church.[22] The closest body of civilization with proper law enforcement is approximately four miles (six kilometers) southwest of Slab City, in Niland, where residents often went for basic shopping as of 1990.[16] Residents were still obtaining essentials from Niland, a town of about 1,000, 30 years later in 2020.[22]

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, most tourist destinations were closed.[2] This had economic ramifications for Slab City, as well as its availability of food and water, which relied in part on tourist donations. Residents are divided on whether to follow or defy government guidelines, complicated by a lack of health infrastructure and insurance. In May 2020, Imperial County had 55 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, out of 417 tests.[22]

Dirt roads are graded by Imperial County, and it's regularly patrolled by the Imperial County Sheriff's Office, as well as by Border Patrol agents searching for undocumented immigrants; Slab City is about 50 miles (80 km) from Mexico.[18] Fire service for Slab City is provided by the Niland Fire Department. School buses come from nearby communities to pick up the few children there.[18][37]

Slab City is divided into a handful of neighborhoods with different characteristics.[4][7] As of 2020, the community is largely divided into two: East Jesus and Slab City.[28] Thousands of campers and RV owners, many retired, use the site during the winter months. The "snowbirds" stay only for the winter before migrating north in spring, to cooler climates.[16][18] Despite the high temperatures, there are about 150 permanent residents of Slab City. Some of these "Slabbers" or "Year-Rounders" derive their living from government programs and have been driven to Slab City by poverty or job loss. Others have voluntarily moved, to learn how to live off the grid, or otherwise be isolated.[3] "Builder Bill" Ammon described "a kind of segregation" between the older residents, who would exchange goods and services, and young residents, who are sometimes "ill-equipped" for self-sufficiency, or turn to petty theft and drug use.[18]

As of a January 2020 report, Slab City is composed of "more than a dozen individual neighborhoods ... small camps of people with their own particular rules and culture." Amenities include The Range, a makeshift library, RV rental units, an internet cafe, and establishments which sell food; though most shopping is done at the town of Niland. One resident is reported to have run a weekly self-help group for women in the community.[38] Residents talked about using CB radio as a bulletin board and adopting radio handles when they spoke to the Chicago Tribune in 1990.[16] In 2005, a resident told a Los Angeles Times correspondent for the On The Streets documentary how he can just live however he wants.[39]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, residents were heavily impacted by the loss of tourist income, which also provided food and water. Social distancing was also a difficulty, as many residents work closely to trade and maintain services. The pandemic was complicated by the elderly population, no health infrastructure within Slab City (the nearest hospital is 40 minutes away, in Brawley), a lack of insurance, a lack of running water and sanitation, and anti-governmental or conspiratorial beliefs.[22] Residents raised concerns over a past failure to contain an outbreak of canine parvo.[2] As of April 2020, Imperial County had not provided any specific assistance for vulnerable communities.[22]

The land is owned by the State of California.[7] However, it is also reported that the land was purchased by a building contractor in September 1993.[44][45][46] As of 2021, California had not yet decided to sell the land, but the Lands Commission is considering having the land appraised, and, if needed, allow for cleanup due to military waste from the 1950s.

In 2015, several residents formed the Slab City Community Group in an effort to prevent a sale. The group explored obtaining 450 acres (180 ha) of Slab City in a trust, though this was contentious with other residents.[40] A May 2020 article confirmed that the state was hoping to sell the land. "A sale could potentially go to energy companies ... Many residents worry that a deal could leave them without a community or place to live, as the lawless Slab City has become the last resort for so many."[20]

• Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range