Pudgy Buffalo

Attention history buffs, Joshua Tree National Park goes on record with tons of historically significant places to study and love! From cleverly built dams that leverage natural water tanks, to massive ore crushers, gold-churning mines, and innovated homesteads, Joshua Tree is flush with all sorts of important high-desert gems.

Keys Ranch, Barker Dam, and Cow Camp make up the 880-acre Keys Ranch Historic District. This district is named after William Keys and family, who were cornerstones of desert homesteading, agriculture, and mining in Joshua Tree. Keys Ranch is accessible by a ranger-led tour (reservations are required); Barker Dam is reachable by a visitor-friendly 1-mile loop hike; and Cow Camp, a famous cattle rustler’s headquarters, requires a tricky trek along the Wonderland of Rocks to discover its grounds.

Nearby Desert Queen Mine, once held by a gang of killer claim jumpers, pumped out gold left and right, while Wall Street Mill crushed Desert Queen’s ore and extracted its golden bounty with much high drama of its own. Desert Queen Mine and Wall Street Mill are both accessible via trailheads at the end of Wall Street Mill Trail road.

Ryan Ranch, down Park Boulevard, was the main homestead of the entrepreneurial Ryan Brothers. It was also the headquarters for another Joshua Tree standout, the extremely profitable Lost Horse Mine. Ryan Ranch is easily explorable from Ryan Ranch Trail or Jumbo Rocks Campground.

National Register of Historic Places sites in Joshua Tree National Park include:

• Keys Ranch (Desert Queen Ranch) – Exemplifies desert homesteading between 1894 and 1969. Access via a private ranger-led tour only. Book online at http://www.recreation.gov
• Cow Camp – Exemplifies agriculture and livestock raising in the 1890s to 1920s. Access via a tricky unofficial trail.
• Barker Dam – Exemplifies a common 1900s-era agricultural structure put up by desert cattle ranchers. Access via Barker Dam Trail.
• Wall Street Mill – Exemplifies 1800s-era and 1900s-era industrial mining technology and mechanics. Access via Wall Street Mill Trail.
• Ryan Ranch & Lost Horse Well – Exemplifies 1890s engineering and industrial mining technology. Access via Ryan Ranch Trail or Jumbo Rocks Campground.
• Desert Queen Mine – Exemplifies mining in Joshua Tree from 1894 to 1961 as one of the area’s most successful and long-lived high-desert mines. Access via Desert Queen Mine Trail.