Chambless is a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 in the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

 of San Bernardino County

San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, south of Interstate 40

Interstate 40 in California

In the U.S. state of California, Interstate 40 has its western terminus in Barstow. Known as the Needles Freeway, a major east–west route of the Interstate Highway System, it heads east from Barstow across the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County past the Clipper Mountains to Needles,...

 on the historic Route 66

U.S. Route 66 in California

In the U.S. state of California, U.S. Route 66 is a former U.S. highway. All the portions were deleted by 1964 during the 1964 renumbering.-History:U.S...

.

Chambless is east of the Bullion Mountains

Bullion Mountains

The Bullion Mountains are located in the Mojave Desert of California southeast of the city of Barstow. The mountain range stretches for approximately 50 miles in a northwest-southeasterly direction north of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms....

 and Ludlow

Ludlow, California

Ludlow is a small town in the Mojave Desert on Interstate 40, located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The older remains of the ghost town are along historic Route 66.-Geography:...

; and 10 miles east of Amboy Crater

Amboy Crater

Amboy Crater and Lava Field is an extinct North American cinder cone type of volcano that rises above a lava field in southern California. They are located in the Mojave Desert equidistant and about between Barstow to the west and Needles to the east, and southwest of historic U.S. Route 66, in...

 and Amboy, California

Amboy, California

Amboy is an unincorporated town in San Bernardino County, in California's Mojave Desert, west of Needles and east of Ludlow on historic Route 66. It is roughly 60 miles northeast of Twentynine Palms.-Geography:...

. The ZIP Code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 is 92319 and the community is inside area code 760

Area code 760

Image:Area_code_442.svg|right|Map of California area codes in blue with 442/760 in redrect 65 82 92 100 Area code 916rect 220 242 245 256 Area code 909rect 243 274 265 287 Area code 951rect 136 323 160 338 Area code 858...

. It is 3 miles north of the railroad town of Cadiz.

History

Chambless, originally known as Chambless Station, is one of the "alphabet towns" located along U.S. Route 66

U.S. Route 66

U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...

 that provided water towers to service the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...

. It became a popular motorist and tourist stop for Route 66 travelers but has essentially disappeared since the opening of I-40

Interstate 40

Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...

in 1973.

In 2005, the population of Chambless was 6 residents and one dog, as posted on a sign entering the town. There is a Historical Landmark Marker just east of the town that explains the history of the alphabet towns.

Also located in Chambless was the 'Roadrunner Cafe' with its large and tall sign, which finally closed its doors in 1995.