Title supplied by cataloger. Twentynine Palms is the home to the world's largest Marine Corps Base, and is the premier training facility in the world for Marine operations, drawing military personnel from all over the world for Combined Arms Exercises. The oasis of Twentynine Palms (or 29 Palms) was discovered in 1885 by Col. Henry Washington. During his survey of the area, he found Chemehuevi and Serrano Indian tribes living in the surrounding hills and near the springs they called "Marrah" (Land of Little Water), now known as the Oasis of Mara. From about the 1880s to about 1910, gold was discovered and prospectors mined the desert hills near the Oasis. Sadly, because of this influx, the natives began to disappear from the area by 1913. Mining continued sporadically but ended with the start of World War I, when gold production was curtailed by the government. The area encompassing Twentynine Palms is the Morongo Basin, which is classified as having an arid, upland desert climate and terrain consisting of steeply sloped mountains with flat intervening valleys. It is said Twentynine Palms was named for the number of large, fine palm trees once found in the middle of the Oasis of Mara. When the area was settled by gold miners, there were 29 palm trees growing in the Oasis, most of which are still standing today. The recording of 29 is attributed by various authorities to either Col. Washington, or to the gold miners themselves. Twentynine Palms was incorporated in 1987, and as of the 2000 census, has a population of 14,764. View of the Cholla Motel located somewhere between Palm Springs and 29 Palms. When the photograph was taken in 1939, Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Perkins were the proprietors of this rather large Spanish-style motel.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;14 x 25 cm. on sheet 21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
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