Abbreviated History of Joshua Tree and Joshua Tree National Park by Wally Barker

Joshua Tree is a small California community that is the gateway to Joshua Tree National Park.  The town, with a population less than 10,000 people, is located is 35 mile north and east of Palm Springs but lies within a three-hour drive of more than 18 million people.  The town name, Joshua Tree, obtained global recognition in 1987 with the release of U2's - "The Joshua Tree" Album.   However, the area has been a regional hub for adventurers dating back to the days of the gold miner in the mid to late 1800s, who combed the region for mineral deposits. 

Mining and Ranching:  1865 to 1936

In 1865, the first mining claim in the region was filed within an area which would later become the Joshua Tree National Park.  That claim was in Rattle Snake Canyon which is the Indian Cove Area of the Park.   Thereafter, significantly more productive claims were files and developed.  There are over 3,000 mining shafts and digs within the current park boundaries.  The region's big mines - the Desert Queen, the Lost Horse and the Eldorado, are inside the current park boundaries but are no longer mined.    At the same time that mining activity was booming in the 1890s, the park with its lush grass and vegetation attracted cattlemen in search of winter ranges. At one time, as many as 400 head of cattle grazed in "the park's" valleys at the higher elevations.   The McHanney brothers, Bill and Jim, moved to the region in 1879.  It is said that the "McHaney Gang" were in the cattle rustling business and that the spot where they hid the stolen cattle inside the park - the area now know as Real Hidden Valley.   The last holder of a grazing permit was County Sheriff, Jim Stocker, who was still running cattle in 1945 when all grazing was terminated.

Conservation:  1936 - Present

The federal government has had an important role in the region's development (or lack thereof), since most of the land was "government land."   The mining era gave way to a prolonged period of conservation.  On August 10, 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt issued a proclamation establishing 825,340 acres of the California desert as the Joshua Tree National Monument.  The Monument was administered by the National Park Service but did not have the full protection afforded our nation's national parks.  In 1976,  Congress designated about half the area inside the monument as wilderness, protecting them from any future development.   Finally, on October 31, 1994, Joshua Tree National Park was established  by President William Clinton as part of the California Desert Protection Act which signed created the largest protected wilderness area ever for the lower 48 states. His signing added 234,000 acres to the already existing national monument boundaries and elevated it to national park status.