Skidoo began after an accidental gold discovery. In 1906, during the rush to the Harrisburg gold discovery near Death Valley, miners Harry Ramsey and 'One‑Eye' Thompson got lost in fog a few miles from that camp and were forced to make camp near a spring for the night. When the fog cleared the next morning, they found themselves standing amid promising rock ledges and staked their claim on the spot. According to the National Park Service, it is the claim made in 1906 that made Skidoo known and turned the barren Panamint Range into a mining area.
The post office that was established here in 1906 under the name Hoveck, reportedly after Matt Hoveck, who managed the Skidoo mine, was officially renamed Skidoo in 1907, according to the National Park Service's project record on the Skidoo Historic District. The nickname, however, is commonly linked to the American slang phrase '23 skidoo', an expression for making a quick, timely exit, though its connection to a booming new town that would soon add a bank, school, and newspaper is more likely a case of a popular catchphrase being borrowed for its ring than a literal comment on the settlement's prospects.
