In 1881, four treasure hunters left a place called Grapevine Station, now known as Barstow, California. They went northeast towards a mountain that looked very colorful, like calico fabric. They named the mountain, the area around it, and the town they started "Calico" because of its colors. They found silver in the mountain, and this discovery led to the creation of the Silver King Mine. This mine became the top silver producing mine in California in the mid1880s. John King, who helped these treasure hunters and after whom the mine was named, was also related to Walter Knott, who started Knott's Berry Farm. John King was in charge of keeping the peace in San Bernardino County from 1879 to 1882.

By early 1882, the town of Calico had grown enough to get its own post office and start publishing a weekly newspaper called "The Calico Print." The town quickly grew to have many places like three hotels, five general stores, a place to buy meat, bars, brothels, and lots of restaurants and places to stay. The local government set up a school area and a place for voting, which helped the community grow stronger. Calico wasn’t just a place for miners; it also had police with a deputy sheriff and two constables, legal help with two lawyers and a judge, people to run the town with five commissioners, and two doctors for health care. The town also had a Wells Fargo office and services to send messages or talk over long distances.