During World War II, the US government enacted the Emergency Rubber Project Act which created the Guayule Rubber Project just east of Soledad, under the direction of the US Forest Service. More than 8,000 acres of guayule, a Mexican desert shrub which contains 20% pure rubber, were planted.
All production ceased at the end of the War. The land was taken out of production and sold to the State of California to build Soledad State Prison, now the Correctional Training Facility (CTF).
