Hinkley, California
unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States
Hinkley is an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Barstow, 59 miles (95 km) east of Mojave, 47 miles (76 km) north of Victorville and about a 120-mile (193 km) drive northeast of Los Angeles, just north of California State Route 58. The residents have faced concerns over hexavalent chromium in their well water from the world's largest plume of this cancer-causing chemical.
History
Between the 1960s and 1980s, several miles west of Hinkley along State Route 58, the Hawes Radio Tower at the World War II Hawes Auxiliary Airfield, a guyed mast, was used for military communication in the LF-range.
In 2015, Hinkley was one of the filming locations for Sky. Hinkley was also the setting for Erin Brockovich.
Groundwater contamination
From 1952, Hinkley has had its groundwater contaminated with hexavalent chromium by a compressor station for natural gas transmission pipelines. Residents of Hinkley eventually filed a class action lawsuit against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
In 1993, Erin Brockovich, a legal clerk to lawyer Edward L. Masry, investigated the apparent elevated cluster of illnesses in the community linked to hexavalent chromium. The efforts of Brockovich and Masry, and the plight of the people of Hinkley, became widely known when the film Erin Brockovich was released in 2000.
After many arguments, the case was referred to arbitration with maximum damages of $400 million.
The public source identifies “Hinkley, California” as unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hinkley, California and unincorporated.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hinkley, California”, the useful work is to connect “unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q990091. Authority coordinates are 34.935, -117.199. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2015, 1952, 1993 and 2000.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hinkley, California”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hinkley, California primary sources, Hinkley, California archive and Hinkley research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hinkley, California”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hinkley, California” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.