Victorville, CA

Victorville has repeatedly reorganized itself around a new way of crossing the Mojave Desert. A railroad station opened in 1885 about a mile from the Mojave River Narrows and took the name Victor for railroad official Jacob Nash Victor. The post office changed the name to Victorville in 1901. After U.S. Route 66 was established in 1926, travelers followed Seventh and D streets through the growing commercial center. Interstate 15 redirected through traffic in 1966, four years after Victorville incorporated with a population above 8,100. Railroad, highway, and freeway eras occupy different layers of the city: tracks and D Street define the old center, the interstate carries regional movement, and development now extends across a much wider high-desert landscape. Old Town holds the clearest overlap of those layers.

ATTRMlpearc , City of Victorville / CC BY-SA 3.0

The historic Route 66 alignment runs along Seventh and D streets near the Victor Valley Transportation Center, older storefronts, and the rail corridor. The city identifies revitalization there as an ongoing priority, with streetscape, development, and public-space work still underway; those plans should not be mistaken for a completed transformation. In 2026, the centennial of Route 66 supplies a particularly local reason to return attention to the district. A car show and block party is scheduled for September 12 on Seventh Street, placing restored vehicles on the same route that carried cross-country traffic before Interstate 15. Old Town serves as a transit point and as the part of Victorville where its transportation history is easiest to read on the street. Northwest of the center, Southern California Logistics Airport reuses a former military base on a remarkable scale.

ATTRAndrew.olvera / CC BY-SA 4.0

The roughly 2,200-acre site was George Air Force Base until the installation was decommissioned in December 1992; the city's civilian airport began operating in October 1994. Today the airport supports aircraft maintenance and completion, flight testing, research and development, aircraft-asset management, and end-of-life services. An adjoining off-airport area accommodates logistics and distribution uses. Victorville's airport is a working aviation campus, where large aircraft may arrive for testing, extended maintenance, storage, or disassembly. The 2,200-acre footprint keeps much of the former base active in an economy tied to specialized aviation and the movement of goods through the desert corridor. Education and transit reinforce Victorville's role for the wider High Desert. Victor Valley College, founded in 1961, occupies a 253-acre campus.

ATTRThe National Map , United States Geological Survey / Public domain

Its 2026-27 catalog reports serving well over 20,000 students annually through degree, transfer, certificate, and workforce programs. Training includes aviation, industrial maintenance, nursing, construction apprenticeships, truck driving, and automotive technology, fields connected to the region's visible industries. A stadium and event complex opened on campus in fall 2024, adding a venue for college and community use. As of July 2026, Victor Valley Transit Authority routes connect the D Street transportation center with the college, shopping and medical destinations, Barstow, and San Bernardino; Route 15X provides a direct link to California State University, San Bernardino. These trips cross a spread-out city built by successive transport systems. The D Street center links the oldest transportation district to college, medical, shopping, and regional bus trips.