Much of the early history of the Newberry Springs area starts in the Ice Age and is
derived from archeologists and anthropologists who have found evidence of the presence of
man in the 20,000 + year old tools excavated from the Calico Early Man Site and a human
scull fragment found in the Schuilling Cave dating back at least 19,000 years. There is
speculation that man may have inhabited the are as far back as 500,000 years ago.
As the Ice Age ended, it left much of the area covered by the ancient Lake Manix.
Approximately 18,000 years ago this lake was drained as a result of a huge earthquake,
leaving the area a series of swamps and marshes. The local inhabitants probably used these
to mire down the larger animals such as mammoths and camels prior to dispatching them with
their stone clubs.
As the weather became dryer, the evidence of man seems to be centered around water
sources. Evidence of this can be found today in the many pictographs found on the rocks
near streams and springs of the area.
Newberry Springs was never a remote area as it is bisected by one of the oldest trade
routes of the new world known as the Mojave Trail. There is evidence that this ancient
trade route that parallels the Mojave River was used at least 4,000 years ago by the
Mojave Indians of the Needles area to trade for shells with the coastal Indians from San
Diego to San Louis Obispo.
Two Mojave Indians guided the first European Padre Francisco Garces through Newberry
Springs by way of the Mojave Trail in 1776 as he headed west in his quest to find a route
between New Mexico and the Missions of California. He mentions in his ledger the Sarrano
Indians encountered along the Mojave River.
In the years to follow the Mojave trail saw traffic by Piute Indians driving herds of
stolen Spanish horses, mules and cattle eastbound, sometimes being chased in a running
battle by Spanish Dragoons. It was not unusual for the westbound traffic to include Indian
slaves for trade by other Indians to the Spanish Missions of California. In those days the
Mojave river was known as Rio de Los Animas ( the River of the Spirits).
Trapper/trader Jedediah Smith named the river "Inconstant" due to the fact
that it would not run above ground at all places. The first time Jed Smith came through
Newberry Springs, he was being chased by a war party of Mojave Indians. Future trips by
Jed were made through Newberry Springs at a more leisurely pace.
Kit Carson with the Ewing Young trapper party and such other notable names as , George
Yount, the Sublett brothers and Thomas "Peg Leg" Smith traveled the trail in
pursuit of beaver.
A yearly Spanish caravan of horses and mules that was miles long traversed the trail
from California to Santa Fe.
As the price of beaver declined, many trappers and traders turned to thievery and
joined New Mexicans and powerful Indian chiefs such as the Ute chief Waraka "Hawk of
the Mountains" in stealing stock from the Spaniards of California and capturing and
selling Indian slaves to the California Missions. The Mojave Trail was the highway of the
day for such illicit endeavors. It was also suspected that the Springs at Newberry with
their abundant grass and water was a perfect place, off the beaten path of the Mojave
Trail as a collection point for both stock and slaves.
Kit Carson made other trips through the area. One such trip was with John C. Freemont
on his scientific expedition / spy mission to California and again as a guide for Lt.
Brewerton with a 200 to 300 man expedition.
The California gold rush of 1849 saw an increase in traffic along the trail due to the
fate of the Donner Party, the Mojave Trail became the southern route to California. The
wagon trains from Salt Lake had to abandon stock and possessions along their route to
survive the trek across the waterless desert until they gained the banks of the Mojave
River at the intersection with the Mojave Trail. The accounts of seeing the river with its
clear fresh water, trees, wild grapes and game after weeks of hardship, is depicted as
like the discovery of the Garden of Eden. It wasn't just the trek across barren desert
with no food or water for their stock and little for themselves that posed a problem.
Stragglers became fair game to roaming bands of Piute Indians. There was only safety in a
well armed large group. Many, who after recuperating at the river, decided to backtrack a
few miles to retrieve some precious belonging thrown out along the trail were never seen
again. The assortment of trails the 49ers took from Salt Lake to the junction with the
Mojave Trail was collectively called the Old Spanish Trail, as it was the preferred route
by the New Mexican caravans and skirted the Mojave Indian territory farther South on the
Colorado River.
Sanford & Banning started a freight and mail route between Salt Lake and San
Bernardino in 22 days.
The Mojave Trail from the Mojave River to Ft. Mojave on the Colorado River was known as
the Mojave Road for a short time until in 1854 it became known as the Government Road. A
pony express type mail service is started. Secretary of War Jeff Davis hired Beale to
experiment with Camels as riding and pack animals for his soldiers escorting mail and
freight along the Government Road. Fort Cady was established in Newberry Springs at the
forks of the road to house horse and camel mounted cavalry as the Piutes and Chimehueve
Indians continue to prey on travelers and freighters.
Fort Cady was abandoned shortly after the start of the Civil War and left in the hands
of a local rancher. The Indians took advantage of this fact and increased their raids.
Burning and killing at will. At the close of the war, it was time for revenge. The fort
was reestablished and became the hub for cavalry outposts set up at every water hole and
spring between the Mojave River and Fort Mojave. The Indians were denied water and
weakened, they were rounded up and sent off to reservations in Southern Utah and Nevada.
Even the peaceful Serrano Indians along the Mojave River were marched off to the
reservations. Those that were missed in the roundup were dispatched by vigilante militia
groups who raided Indian camps killing all inhabitants. By 1868 the last of the Indians
were gone from the area one way or the other.
Mining interests in the area started with the discovery of Gold and Silver by the 49ers
as they took short prospecting jaunts off the Old Spanish and Mojave Trails. The Alvord
stamp mill was set up on the Mojave River not far from Fort Cady. By the 1880's the area
began to become settled. At first it was traders and freighter stations along the river.
Local farms along the river supplied the needed stock feed for travelers and the garrison
at Fort Cady as well as some produce for travelers on the Mojave Road. With the beginning
of mining and the resulting boom town of Calico, farming must have been quite lucrative
for those hardy soles. Mesquite wood from along the river and the Western shores of Troy
lake was continuously harvested to power the mills along the river and at Calico.
In 1885 the railroad that is now known as the Santa Fe was completed. This event
created a slow decline of travelers along the Mojave Trail. Fort Cady was abandoned. The
farmers along the river concentrated their efforts in supplying the needed feed for the 20
mule teams bringing Borax into Daggett many of them abandoned their places as did the
trading and freighting stations along the river. It was evident that the preferred method
of travel across the desert was by rail. Newberry Springs was called "Water" in
those days. Water from "Water" was shipped via tank car to fill all of the tanks
and underground cisterns located at the railroad section houses as far East as Essex. The
water from "Water" and now Newberry Springs has been, and remains, the life
giving force for much of the Eastern Mojave today.
With the advent of automobile travel, a motor road was built that roughly paralleled
the train tracks. This road became Highway 66 but was not located where Highway 66 is
today. In those days it was further to the South, as it was imperative that it avoid the
marshes at the Springs, the seasonal bogs of Troy dry lake and the deep sand of the valley
floor. Today there are short stretches of this old highway still visible. An occasional
foundation and even graves mark spots along this road where hearty souls spent their lives
providing services to travelers and local miners.
Eventually as road building methods improved and the traffic warranted it, Highway 66
was realigned from the springs East. The community of Water became known as Newberry and
boasted of its own post office.
From the turn of the century to the 1920's there was little growth in the area except
for a few part time prospectors who lived in shacks in the valley and foothills. Mineral
mining had taken over where gold and silver left off.
In the mid and late 1920's there was a flurry of homesteading taking place in the
valley. Clearing land, developing water and building a house were requirements for proof
of homestead. Water was plentiful throughout the valley, with average water tables at 12
to 16 feet below the surface. While many crops were tried, melons seemed to be the
favorite. I am sure this was the case partly because trailer and pickup truck loads of
melons packed in straw destined for Los Angeles markets often contained the most lucrative
product of the homesteaders, Moonshine.
Shortly after the great depression began, there was another population explosion in
Newberry. Highway 66 was packed with Westbound refugees of the dust bowl. Many became
stranded at the springs where their varied assortment of vehicles just gave out for good.
The homesteaders in the valley became overwhelmed by friends and relatives, city life in
the depression was above their means, thus they turned to desert living and the WPA
project of building bridges over the washes on Highway 91 to Las Vegas for survival. Life
in the area was extremely hard in those days. If it had not been for pure tenacity and the
occasional slaughtering of local ranchers' range cattle (locally dubbed "Slow
Elk"), many could have perished. It is likely that the herds of Desert Burros in the
Newberry and Rodman Mountains met the same fate as the Slow Elk.
As the depression subsided and city dwelling became affordable the less rugged
individuals opted to return to city life leaving many adobe and clapboard shacks abandoned
in the valley. Travel along highway 66 however was being done by people with money in
their pockets. Consequently, many new establishments catering to the needs of the tourists
sprang up. The valley agriculture became dominated by chicken ranches, most of them
raising chickens for the Knotts Berry Farm chicken restaurant in Buena Park. Walter Knott
and his family had been previous residents of Newberry and never forgot the assistance
rendered to them by the folks of this area in harder times.
When WWII began, the airport at Daggett and to some extent the Marine Base near Barstow
became places of employment for many of the homesteaders in Newberry. Highway 66 was
bustling with military convoys. Gas rationing cut into the tourist traffic but there was a
constant flow of westbound traffic by mid westerners seeking defense jobs on the coast.
Everyone who had any hay growing on their places in the valley raised beef for the black
market in Los Angeles.
The end of the war saw another upsurge in travel and more establishments were
constructed along highway 66. At its height, Newberry sported the following establishments
along the highway: 5 gas stations, 4 motels, 4 auto repair garages, one general store, 1
grocery store, 5 cafes, one rock and curio shop, 1 barber shop, 1 public swimming pool and
1 or 2 beer joints. Alfalfa and melons became the major crops of the valley. Turkey
ranches joined the many chicken ranches in the livestock department.
In the late 50's and early 60's the clean air, sunshine and healthful living of
Newberry drew retirees from the city. The agriculture of the area was now bolstered by
catfish farming. Much of it done by retired people with small ponds who wished to
subsidize their limited incomes. Newberry soon became known for its many man made private
lakes and ponds.
The building of Interstate 40 to replace highway 66 dealt the highway businesses of
Newberry a death blow that will never recover. The only businesses that remained along
highway 66 were those catering to the local inhabitants.
Newberry was renamed Newberry Springs in 1967. This was partly due to the needs of the
U. S. Postal Service, as much of the mail addressed to Newberry ended up in the Newberry
Park post office. Possibly the delusions of grandeur promoted by local land developers
helped also.
Newberry Springs today is a growing agricultural and retirement based community with
widely scattered small businesses. The many man made recreational and water-ski lakes in
Newberry Springs attract visitors from far and wide. The main attraction today remains as
it was long ago - WATER.
Copyright 1995, William E. Smith, All Rights Reserved
Newberry Springs Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 116
Newberry Springs, CA 92365
Phone: (760) 257-1072
