Pearsonville, U.S.A.

Along U.S. Route 395 just North of Highway 14 lies Pearsonville, California. Against all odds, a gaunt oddity of the Eastern Sierra. Although never a thriving town it was an enclave of automotive sanctity. A gas stop. A trading post. A garage. A salvage yard. It was also infamously known as The Hubcap Capital of the World!!? Andy Pearson came to the spot in the early 60's with his wife Lucy to build a homestead life. Inyo Mountains to the East, Sierra Nevada to the West, they looked at the land as having potential for settlement. Automobiles were the family business and among other things, Pearsonville Speedway was a stock car event with its annual Turkey Classic. But nothing much ever came of old Pearsonville?! The folks never showed and the place slowly became a modern day Ghost Town. In the early 2000's travelers would cruise the broken down yards and sometimes encounter an old woman polishing hubcaps in a bonnet with sun bleached skin and distant eyes. It was Lucy Pearson!? Strange belied the definition of Pearsonville in those times and Mrs. Pearson soon became a memory as well. Her rust stained buildings and tattered leftover hubcaps strewn across the weed fields. The astroturf playground with pastel rotting horse rides leaving a peculiar unease in their deformity. Today all is quiet. The Uniroyal gal stands guard and she too is on dead legs. Patiently enticing the desert worms to eat her dearth. The old cars are mostly gone from the pit. The dirt track and grandstand have ghostly occupants cheering in the wind. Pearsonville, California. A road show of shadows. The dust waiting on devouring its heart…RW
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