Daggett - Worth a visit

 

Original Blacksmith shop in Daggett, Ca

According to Mark Staggs, President of the Daggett Community Service District, the small town of Daggett has big plans.

“We have big plans,” Staggs stated.

I have always had a soft spot for this little berg, ten miles east of Barstow on Interstate 40. I used the town of Daggett for one of my novels, Operation Scorpion. I spent some time there, doing research for the fictional piece, and met some really nice folks. 

But, since the publication, I haven’t been back. Sure, I drive by quite often, on my way to here and there along the interstate, but I rarely stop.

So, when I heard Staggs was giving a historical tour of the town, I knew it was time to revisit and learn more about the history of the town.

Staggs is a nice guy – truly nice. He immediately made our little group of tourists feel right at home. He is one of those fellas who likes to tell a joke, while being serious about the history of the town he truly loves.

“The history of Daggett isn’t known by a lot of tourists, but we are in the works to change that,” he shared.

Those are the big plans Staggs had mentioned earlier while conducting a fascinating tour of the Daggett Museum.

Old downtown of Daggett

For many, Daggett is not known at all. A dot on a map between Barstow and Needles along the black ribbon of a busy interstate. But back in 1939, with the publication of John Steinbeck’s novel, Grapes of Wrath, the small town got a mention. When the Joad family, from Oklahoma, drove through the inspection station just east of town, those refugees from the Dust Bowl had officially arrived in California.

According to the Daggett Historical Society, the town was founded in the 1860s, but did not become known as Daggett until 1883. At this time, the mines were running full steam in the nearby Calico Hills. The residents realized having the mining town of Calico near Calico Junction may be a bit confusing – so, the folks decided that the name Daggett may fit the bill, using the last name of then Lieutenant Governor of California, John Daggett. 

It is rumored, and don’t we all love rumors, that the Lieutenant Governor had visited Daggett at some time. 

Well, here’s something of note about Daggett which isn’t a rumor. Helen Muir, the daughter of the famous naturalist, John Muir, resided in Daggett. She was instrumental in assisting her father with his writings and correspondence, but being in poor health, the family moved her from northern California to the warmer climate of Daggett. 

Other visitors to Daggett during its heyday included Walter E. Scott – better known as Death Valley Scotty, Francis Marion Smith – better known as the Borax King, Tom Mix – better known as Silver Screen Cowboy, and Wyatt Earp – better known as ‘I get around the West a lot.’

There is a lot of history in this town.

One of the original water towers

After the museum tour, Staggs offered a hands-on tour of the area.

Actually, it wasn’t exactly hands-on, but more of a drive-by and get out of your vehicle sort of visit to the numerous historical sites in and around Daggett.

According to Staggs, there were quite a few indigenous peoples who had lived in the area, long before the settlers arrived looking for rich minerals or good lands for farming and grazing.

“People have been living here for thousands of years,” he stated. “In fact, the Vanyume, or Desert Serrano were some of the Native Americans first encountered by the Catholic missionaries in the late eighteenth century.”

As to point this out, Staggs had us drive approximately a mile or so to the north of Daggett, where, behind a tall chain link fence, was a huge pile of dark colored rock. Upon those rocks were dozens of petroglyphs. 

“We’re not really sure who created these glyphs, but we know they are hundreds of years old.” 

“I know they’re at least older than nineteen-forty-seven,” I replied. “Some local carved his name and date on one of the rocks.”

Staggs nodded. “And, thus the reason for the fencing.”

The town of Daggett kept growing as more and more silver was being mined out of the ground in Calico. The ore was shipped to Daggett, where it awaited a mill with ten heavy stamps, ready to start breaking up the ore and releasing the precious metals.

In fact, there was so much ore being ground up in Daggett that property values started rapidly increasing. So, when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe (ATSF) railway were contemplating a location to build a heavy rail yard, the company decided on a small place named Barstow, since the land in Daggett was too expensive.

Daggett continued to prosper and became a populated and happening town. At its peak in the late 1890s, it had three stores, two restaurants, three saloons, three hotels, a lumberyard, and many other establishments which would interest miners, visitors and locals.

I followed Staggs to where remains of the Columbia stamp mill can still be seen. A large structure, nestled next to a hill, and when looking northeast, the viewer can easily see the ghost town of Calico.

“They used wagons pulled by mules to bring the ore from Calico to here for crushing,” Staggs explained.

Original wagon used in the early days in Daggett

It could take sometimes two days to reach Daggett for milling, depending the amount of ore being towed in the wagons behind the mules. That's a long time for a mere seven miles.

“Let’s speed up, Roger,” one drover may have been heard yelling at his partner on another ore wagon.

“We’re going as fast as we can,” Roger may have replied. “Ole, Bessy is moseying at her top speed.”

As it usually occurs with mining camps, the silver or gold ore eventually runs out. This was the case for Calico – once a rich and rowdy mining camp, it soon turned into a deserted dwelling. And in the late 1890s, the population of Calico dwindled until it became a ghost town.

But one of the by-products which was found while mining in Calico was the substance, Borax.

Turns out, Borax had many uses which made being human even more enjoyable. It can be used in toothpaste and as a laundry additive. It can be used for acne cure, skin creams, and lotions. It can be used for paints and ceramic glaze. But, most importantly, it can be used for making slime for kids.

This product was a wonder find.

So, in 1891, Francis Marion Smith – the Borax King - moved to Daggett from Death Valley and installed mining operations at the Borate mine, a few miles east of Calico. It was such a successful venture that in 1898, the Borate and Daggett Railroad was built to move the Borax to Daggett, which was easier and cheaper than the twenty mule team wagons which were being used.

Unfortunately, in 1911, richer Borax finds were located back in Death Valley, and the Borax King left.

The population and economy of Daggett soon decreased through the years, to its present day figure of two hundred citizens.

Lawrence Vintus, a member of the Daggett Historical Society and employee of the Community Services District, believes there is a rebound coming for the town in which he was born and raised.

This is a pretty ambitious belief for a young man who graduated high school in 2020. His love of Daggett is evident in every word he uses when discussing his hometown.

“We’re going to make this town a tourist destination,” Vintus announced, while showing the tour group around Alf’s blacksmith shop, built in the late 1800s. His family has owned the property, where the shop is located, for decades – a lot of decades.

Some of the treasures inside the blacksmith shop

As I walked through the tall dusty wooden doors into the interior of the blacksmith shop, I felt as if I had just walked back in time. Tools, from the late 1890s were lined up everywhere around the shop. It was though the blacksmith had just left for an afternoon break.

“This is how my grandfather left it for us,” Vintus said. “Now we want to share it with everyone.”

Staggs nodded. “Mugwumps is being renovated as a visitor’s center, with a restaurant, gift shop, and a place tourists can visit to understand the importance Daggett.”

Standing there, in the blacksmith’s shop, looking at these two men, it was hard to imagine they would fail at their dream of making Daggett a must go place to see. 

When I wrote my novel, I used Daggett as a place for the protagonist. There was a reason he had to go there. There was a reason I had to write about it. And, now it is a place for all with a love of history should venture to.

The tragic loss of a star

Perhaps no American male actor has had more press coverage than the iconic James Dean. This handsome twenty-four-year-old man had just begun his career in Hollywood when his life ended tragically on September 30th 1955.

James Dean in his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder

He had appeared in only three films, but his persona was generating a sizzle among film critics.

There are more posters and t-shirts, with him looking forever young and handsome, than most people have brain cells. And there are the famous paintings, showing Dean hanging out with Humphrey Bogart, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe in bars, pool halls, movie theatres, and one with a very chilled polar bear in a hot tub.

I bought that one. Laureen told me it was fake. But who wouldn’t buy it?

In an interview conducted by MTV with Johnny Depp in 2005, the actor had this to say about Dean.

"There are moments — behavior — in 'East of Eden' that are pure magic. ‘Giant’ is pure magic; 'Rebel' is a bit dated and is sort of a strange vision of the 1950s, but his work in that was amazing."

One recent afternoon, my son-in-law, Justin, informed me that the late actor’s transaxle from his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder sold at auction for $382,000.00.

“What?” I asked, trying to recall what a transaxle actually was.

“Yeah, part of his wrecked Porsche. The single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile’s transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly.”

Had to agree he’s one smart guy. No father-in-law actually wants to admit that. Son-in-laws are to be the brunt of jokes.

Those are the rules.

“Maybe the purchaser should have gone to Rock Auto,” I replied. “Would have been cheaper.”

Why such a high price for a piece of a car driven by James Dean? No idea, and actually there wasn’t much left of the Spyder after the collision at the intersection of Route 466 and Route 41. 

Dean was an amateur road racer, and had recently purchased the Spyder for a race in Salinas. Because the vehicle was new, it didn’t have enough break-in miles on the motor. So, his Porsche factory-trained mechanic, Rolf Wutherich, suggested driving the Spyder to Salinas for the race.

Okay, instead of towing the sports car to Salinas, there was a chance to drive it all the way there – who’d give that up? Dean didn’t.

On September 30th, he left Sherman Oaks around two in the afternoon, headed for the Grapevine and Fresno. From there, he and his companion would take the route toward Salinas.

Just south of Bakersfield, Dean was ticketed for speeding by the California Highway Patrol at three-thirty in the afternoon.

Duh, a brand new Porsche 550 Spyder. 

If I had been driving that vehicle, there would have been a message sent to the CHP’s offices along the route prior to my leaving.

‘Please pre-fill out the tickets for speeding, and send them to Laureen. I just can’t drive fifty-five.’

That would make a great title for a song. In fact, I could imagine Sammy Hagar performing it.

Dean and his mechanic, Wutherich, stopped at Blackwell’s Corner to fill up the Spyder before taking off to meet up with some friends in Paso Robles later in the afternoon.

A bit peckish, Dean bought an apple and a Coke before leaving the store. He smiled, took some photographs, and then got back into the Porsche heading west on Route 466 (later changed to Highway 46).

The corner store was located near the town of Lost Hills, forty-two miles west-northwest of Bakersfield.

Being a race car, and the fact the windshield was rather limited, Dean may have donned his favorite pair of goggles when leaving Blackwell’s Corner for the drive to Paso Robles.

That’s an important thing to remember – the goggles.

Just before six in the evening, a Ford Tudor Coupe entered Highway 466 from Highway 41 and within seconds crashed head-on with Dean’s vehicle.

Witnesses said the Spyder was sent into the air, and flipped over numerous times before coming to a rest in a gulley alongside Route 466.

What was left of Dean's Porsche after the crash

Wutherich was horribly injured but survived the crash. Dean did not. He died soon after being placed into an ambulance.

The driver of the Ford Tudor Coupe, Donald Turnupseed, ended up with a bloody nose and some facial injuries.

I was about to type something about Turnupseed’s name sounding a lot like ‘turn-up-the-speed’, but Laureen thought it would be better if I didn’t. Not classy, considering.

The twenty-three-year-old Navy veteran and Cal Poly student, may not have seen the Spyder heading west along Route 466. The grayish-silver, low-profiled speedster may have been hard to spot at that time of day.

It was a sadly tragic accident.

A twenty-four-year-old was dead, and a twenty-three-year-old might blame himself forever for that accident.

Laureen and I were heading to Monterey, not long ago and were traveling Highway 46 westbound.

“Did you see that sign?” she asked.

“Spiritual? Or highway?”

“The one we just passed that said this was the James Dean Memorial Junction.”

Missed that. A quick and safe U-turn took us back to the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 46.

John at the junction of 46 & 41

We parked far off the pavement, looked both ways, and then sauntered off toward the highway sign Laureen had noticed. There was also a memorial to Dean along a chain-linked fence on the north-west corner of the highways.

Make-shift memorial to James Dean

Even with traffic speeding by us on all sides, the location was eerily serene. Here, at this spot, one of America’s up and coming actors had been killed by a freak accident.

The memorial had flowers, ribbons of various colors, hand painted signs about James Dean, and a small heart shaped locket hanging from the fence.

Laureen at the intersection where James Dean lost his life

We wondered and pondered, what it must have been like when those first people came across such a horrific car crash. It must have been heart-rending. 

It was touching. We didn’t say much to each other, the place deserved quiet and reflection.

Forgetting for the moment that we were originally heading west toward Monterey, we turned around and headed east, back to Blackwell’s Corner, located at the intersection of State Route 46 and State Route 33. George Blackwell had opened a rest stop at the location in 1921 for road weary travelers. The name of the corner is in honor of him.

The place was hopping with tourists. Besides being a gas station, this is the place to go for any kind of pistachios. They had garlic onion, hickory smoked, roasted salted and peppered, chili lemon, and more than I wanted to jot down. There was home-made fudge, home-made cookies, home-made pickles, and a bunch of other home-made products that were never made in my home.

John standing next to a very tall James Dean

It’s a large place, this Blackwell’s Corner, and everywhere the guest would look there was the history of the region along the walls and the floor space.

Photographs of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and others showing Hollywood’s best during the 1950’s. 

There was a tribute to John Steinbeck, one of my favorite authors, depicting a pick-up truck loaded down like the one the Jarod family may have driven to the West along Route 66. Packed to the gills with everything a fleeing family would need to make a new home for themselves in California.

And of course, there is an entire hallway in honor of a customer who had stopped by on that fateful September 30th day in 1955.

There are photographs of him adorning the walls. Newspaper clippings of his film success as well as his obituary. And one piece of equipment the young actor may have worn that day - that last day of his life.

His goggles.

After the accident, passersby, stopped by the crash site and some decided that pieces of the carnage laying around were free to take.

There’s a tale of a young woman snatching Dean’s goggles from the ground, and hiding them in her purse.

Sixty-two years later, a family member donated them to Blackwell’s Corner as a museum piece – and they are now there behind bullet proof glass.

James Dean goggles, picked up by a passerby

There’s debate over whether Dean was wearing the goggles at the time of his death, or if they just happened to be in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Does it really matter?  

A celebrity is killed - grab what can be taken from the scene and auction them off. But, in this case, the family finally did the right thing. 

Driving a highway is one of the great adventures we can enjoy. You never know what you may run across.

Even a memorial to a forever twenty-four-year-old actor, by the name of James Byron Dean.

Needles - on Route 66

A wonderfully sad tale of hope and despair

As John Steinbeck wrote in The Grapes of Wrath – ‘Then out of the broken sun-rotted mountains of Arizona to the Colorado, with green reeds on its banks, and that’s the end of Arizona.  There’s California just over the river, and a pretty town to start it. Needles, on the river.’

Welcome to Needles - the starting point on Route 66 in California

Being a Steinbeck fan, I knew there was much to explore in the city of Needles. Of course, we had passed by the city a million times while traveling along Interstate 40, but never had taken the time to stop and really look around.

That small city of Needles hugs the western shore of the Colorado River. It’s a peaceful town with a long and rich history. A short drive along Route 66 to the center of town, can easily let the visitor know that this town needs to be explored.

And explore we did.

Steinbeck had been correct with his musings. Needles is truly a pretty town and with such an eclectic history, it draws visitors from around the world.

According to the president of the Needles Regional Museum, Marianne Jones, “I would say we receive over three thousand visitors each year to our museum from all over the world. People are fascinated with the lore of Route 66. We get people from China, France, New Zealand, Ukraine, and from anywhere imaginable. As a matter of fact, most of our visitors are from Germany.”

It is the city where Charles Schulz, of Peanuts fame, spent part of his childhood – thus the reason why Snoopy’s brother, Spike, resides in Needles. This lovely little burg is also where Bess Houdini, the wife of the internationally famous magician, passed away in 1943. Alice Notley, a 1999 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry, grew up here. Oh, this town has seen it all.

Charles Schulz - spent a part of his childhood in Needles

And Spike is glad - he loves Needles

The construction of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, brought Needles into existence in 1883. A tent city quickly erupted along the desert floor for the railroad workers and those taking care of the workers – dry goods stores, laundry facilities, restaurants, and of course, saloons. Folks get awfully thirsty in the desert.

Soon, the tent city turned into a permanent settlement, with Needles being the largest river port north of Yuma. Yes, a port city. This is before the dams were built further north along the Colorado River, shrinking the flow and thus negating the need for paddle wheels and barges which had plied the crystal blue waters.

Model of a paddle-wheeler that plied the Colorado River near Needles

Railroads took the place of delivering goods, and now, according to Jones, “The city gets a lot of train buffs who spend time here because of the rich history of the railroad and the Harvey House across the street.”

Harvey House? Sounded like a frat house. Nope.

Fred Harvey, was a genius when it came to taking an idea and turning it to fruition. With the development of the railroad, the entrepreneur decided there was a need for high class food and service along the railway lines. He opened his first restaurant in Florence, Kansas in 1878 and expanded westward. Harvey is considered by many, to be the creator of the concept of chain restaurants and by the late 1880’s, there was a Fred Harvey dining experience every 100 miles or so along the Santa Fe railroad line.

The man himself, Fred Harvey

The waitresses, Harvey Girls, were trained to be the best in the business. Fred Harvey had strict guidelines for all employees – guests should be treated with first class food and first class service. The waitresses became so well known that in 1946, Judy Garland, starred in a film based on the novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams, entitled, The Harvey Girls.

Needles happens to be home to one of the most luxurious depots that houses a Harvey House – the original depot burned down in 1907, but when rebuilt, the railroad spared no expense to reconstruct the masterpiece the following year. The two story structure was named after Father Francisco Garces, who in 1776, traveled through the Mojave Desert and became known as the first European to make such a venture. The El Garces is a short walk from the Needles Regional Museum and is definitely worth the steps.

The Harvey House was located within the beautiful, El Garces building

The name of the town, Needles? Where did that come from? I remember my grandmother wielding sewing needles like the Vikings swung broad swords. Get out of the way! But what kind of name is Needles for a town?

Turns out though it’s rather simple. There are a group of large sharply pointed pinnacles just southeast of the current city of Needles, on the Arizona side of the border, stretching skyward.
“It’s funny,” Jones mused. “Our name comes from across the river, in Arizona, yet we’re in California. Oh well, the name stuck and we like it.”

She also mentioned that most travelers believe that Route 66 is one block south, but is actually on Front Street. “They realigned the streets, we are on the actual original route.”

The entire town is worth a visit for anyone interested in Route 66 lore, early California history, the railroad, and so much more. Laureen and I only spent a few hours but know we will return to continue to investigate and explore.

Needles offers many exciting events every year keeping the rich history of the town alive. On March 13th, Laura Tohe, the daughter of a Navajo code talker will be discussing her father’s involvement in this highly secretive but critically important job during World War II.

We plan on visiting – perhaps you should too.

And bring the pets, Needles is a dog friendly town

For further information.
http://needlesregionalmuseum.org/