West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

seasonal movement from place to place resulted in use of large areas by relatively smallpopulations, and left the remains that are now archaeological sites widely scattered over thelandscape.3.7.1.4 Regional Overview: HistoricThe first documented exploration of the Mojave Desert by non-indigenous peoplesoccurred in the mid-1700s when Francisco Garces, a Spanish Franciscan priest, looked for apractical route from Arizona to northern California. Between Garces’ exploration in 1776 and1880, only agriculture or precious metals attracted Spanish-Mexican and American settlers.Much of the history of the region turns on its use as a corridor (Warren 1980: 195).In the early 19th century, fur trappers and caravans crossed the desert. Jedediah Smithled the way in 1826, followed by other mountain men like Ewing Young in 1829; both followedthe Mojave Indian Trail. Antonio Armijo is credited with leading the first caravan of packanimals across the Mojave in 1830. Traders William Wolfskill and George C. Yount used theOld Spanish Trail in 1830-1831. Other groups who used the trail during Mexican control of thewestern Mojave include Don Jose Aveita’s commercial caravan in 1833-1834, Jacob P. Leese in1834, William Slover and Isaac Pope in 1837, and Jose Antonio Salazar’s caravan in 1839-1840.John C. Fremont, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, described hissurvey and travel in 1844 along a variant route (Warren 1980:201). Other trails arising fromcommerce include the Mojave Trail and Salt Lake Trail, both of which run through present-dayBarstow. Joseph Walker is credited with pioneering a trail across the Sierra Nevada Range,enabling access between the San Joaquin Valley and the desert.Settlement by Americans and the growth of coastal and inland trade culminated in theannexation of California by the United States in 1848. In that same year, gold was discovered inCalifornia and the gold rush was on, ushering in a massive influx of prospectors. The DeathValley forty-niners, led by William Lewis Manly, traveled through the project area along IndiansBig Trail, also known as Owens River Road, the Midland Trail, and Bullion Road, whichconnected the northern Mojave and Owens Valley area with Los Angeles, via connections withthe Tehachapi Pass road and Walker’s Pass road. In the late-19th century, these roads were usedto transport goods, people, livestock, food and ore between the Mojave Desert and Los Angeles.Temporary camps or stage stops were set up along the routes, including Indian Wells Station,Coyote Holes Station, and Panamint Station. The western Mojave Desert became a majorcontributor to California’s mining industry. Small mining towns, such as Calico and Coolgardie,and ranching operations were established and proposed.The California Gold Rush contributed to pressure to establish railroad routes across thedesert. Railroad surveys began in 1853 with Lieutenant Amiel Weeks Whipple and LieutenantRobert Stockton Williamson conducting surveys in the western Mojave. The San Pedro, LosAngeles and Salt Lake Line, predecessor of the Union Pacific through the Mojave Desert, wascompleted in 1905, and the Tonopah and Tidewater finished its line from Ludlow on the Atlantic& Pacific via Death Valley Junction to Beatty, Nevada in 1907 (Warren 1980:207). Spur lineswere constructed to serve mines and mining camps. The Harvey house originated from an earlyrailroad roadhouse located at the junction of the Santa Fe Mojave-Needles line and the CaliforniaChapter 3 3-281