As America's independence was being declared in Philadelphia in l776, Padre Francisco Garces trekked through the Mojave area, leaving traces of his visit at Willow Springs, near Rosamond, and on Castle Butte, near California City.
Garces was followed by famous pathfinders like Jedediah Smith, in 1827, John C. Fremont, Kit Carson and Wyatt Earp. Many of these visitors, including a group from the ill-fated Manly-Jayhawker Party, used the Midland Trail, which roughly parallels Highway 14 north of town.
Wagon trails to the Panamint mines were established by men like M.M. Belshaw and others who are remembered in many local street names.
Mojave was established in 1876 when the Southern Pacific Railroad laid out the original plat for a town on its line between Los Angeles and San Francisco over nearby Tehachapi Pass. The first passenger train arrived August 8, 1876, which is celebrated as Mojave's birthday. Chinese coolies built a line from Mojave to Needles, California, on the Colorado River, reaching the Arizona border in 1883. That line was sold to the Santa Fe Railway in 1898, granting that railroad trackage rights over Tehachapi Pass. Today the Southern Pacific is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad, while Santa Fe is now part of the giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
The UP's Lone Pine Branch, which runs north out of Mojave, was built by Southern Pacific in 1910 to aid in constructing the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The line connected with the Carson and Colorado Narrow Gauge Railroad at Owenyo, providing, for a time, a direct rail link between Los Angeles and the Southern Pacific's Overland Route over Donner Summit. The Lone Pine branch now carries coal to and potash products from the Trona Railway connection at Searles Station, between Randsburg and Ridgecrest. Another rail line, the Oak Creek Branch, runs west from Mojave to the California Portland Cement plant at Creal, carrying coal up and cement back.
Mojave's flimsy buildings were destroyed by fire several times over the next century, most spectacularly in 1884 when 90 cases of powder in the railroad depot exploded with a bang heard 25 miles away.
GOLD was discovered in 1894 on Soledad Mountain and at other nearby locations, spwning mines with colorful names like Elephant-Eagle, Asher, Yellow Dog and Golden Queen.
Mojave's history of providing hospitality to weary travelers, a tradition that continues to this day, began with the opening of the Morrissey Hotel in 1876. The famous Fred Harvey organization operated a "Harvey House," in the old two-story railroad depot, complete with a contingent of "Harvey Girls" serving delicious meals to travelers and miners.
BORAX played a role in Mojave's history, especially between 1884 and 1889 when the famous 20-Mule Team Wagons hauled borax between mines in Death Valley and the railroad in Mojave, a 160 mile, 15-day trip. A monument on Sierra Highway in front of the Kentucky Fried Chicken store honors the spot where the wagons unloaded. The huge wagons, which can be seen at Death Valley and in nearby Boron, were built by J.W.S. Perry on land at the southeast corner of K and Nadeau Streets, the present location of Don's Oil Changers. Perry charged $900 each for his wagons.
CEMENT production began in the area in 1908 to provide cement for the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The plant has been modernized over the years and is operated today by Calaveras Cement. California Portland Cement built the Creal plant west of Mojave in 1955. The plant is one of the world's most modern.
Several small AIRPORTS were built in the Mojave area over the years, including Meyer Field behind the homes along Barstow Road. Mojave Airport began life in 1942 when a Naval Air Station was built on the present site on the east side of town. During World War II the field trained thousands of Navy and Marine pilots for combat, using SBD dive bombers and F4U Corsairs.
Decommissioned after the war, the field was reborn to again train pilots for the Korean Conflict. Closed again in 1959, the airport entered its third life in 1972 with formation of the Mojave (now East Kern) Airport District. Jump to the Mojave Airport page for more information on this facility, home of the National Test Pilot School, Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites, XCOR Aerospace and Voyager, the first aircraft to circumnavigate the globe without refueling.
Mojave's rich past is prelude to the history that continues to be made on the land and in the air - and soon, space - above this exciting and interesting region.