Retro Route 66 Unisex Jersey Tee | Hodge, CA: Erin Brockovich Country

Part of Our Route 66 Everytown Collection - Hodge Edition

Wear a piece of modern legal history with this ultra-soft unisex jersey tee, expertly spun from 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton. Featuring the slogan "Erin Brockovich Country," this tee celebrates Hodge, California: a quiet desert stop with a powerful, modern story.

It's the perfect gift for environmental advocates, legal history buffs, or collectors of our exclusive Route 66 Everytown Collection, honoring Hodge's quiet but powerful legacy.

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🏜️About Hodge, California: Where the Desert Holds a Story

Hodge, a small Mojave Desert community near Barstow, represents one of Route 66's quieter chapters: a place where railroad heritage, Mother Road history, and modern environmental concerns intersect. While largely bypassed by time and Interstate 15, Hodge retains intriguing historical significance for those exploring California's desert highways.

🚂Railroad Origins and Route 66 Era

Hodge's origins trace to the Santa Fe Railroad's expansion across the Mojave Desert in the late 19th century. The settlement served as a vital water stop for steam locomotives crossing the arid landscape, providing essential support for transcontinental rail travel.

With Route 66's establishment in 1926, Hodge adapted to the automobile age, offering modest roadside services to motorists traveling between Barstow and Victorville. During the 1940s highway heyday, the town provided basic amenities such as gas, water, and supplies; however, Hodge never grew into a major tourist stop like neighboring communities.

🏤America's Smallest Post Office

Hodge's most notable claim to fame was its tiny post office, once featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! as the smallest federal building in the United States. Measuring just 6x8 feet (48 square feet), this diminutive structure embodied the resourceful, make-do spirit of remote desert communities. While no longer in operation, the post office remains a curious footnote in Route 66 lore and American postal history.

👎Decline and Present Day

Interstate 15's completion in the 1960s bypassed the old Route 66 alignment through Hodge, diverting traffic and sealing the town's economic decline. Today, Hodge exists as a quiet rural community with scattered residences and little commercial activity: a place where the past speaks louder than the present.

🌲Proximity to Hinkley and Environmental History

Hodge sits near Hinkley, CA: the small town at the center of one of America's most famous environmental contamination cases. From the 1950s through 1990s, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) contaminated Hinkley's groundwater with hexavalent chromium, leading to widespread health problems.

Legal clerk Erin Brockovich's investigation and subsequent lawsuit (resulting in a $333 million settlement in 1996) brought national attention to the area. While Hodge itself wasn't directly affected by the contamination, its proximity to Hinkley places it within "Erin Brockovich Country," a stringent reminder that desert communities have faced not only economic challenges from highway bypasses but also environmental threats from industrial pollution.

🧳Visiting Hodge Today

Modern visitors find little reason to stop in Hodge these days, but the area offers insight into the less-glamorous reality of Route 66's smaller outposts. Unlike commercialized or restored Route 66 towns, Hodge provides an authentic glimpse of what happened to communities left behind by Interstate development: quiet persistence rather than revival or complete abandonment.

Product Features:

100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton for premium softness
Side seams for added structure and durability
Tear-away label for comfort
Classic crew neckline with a flattering unisex fit - true-to-size for all day comfort (see size chart for details)
Fulfilled in the USA