Junction Ranch

USA / California / Darwin /
 cattle ranch  Add category
The only permanent ranch known to have been located on China Lake was Junction Ranch, which was located near the present project area by that name. It was established by Mr. and Mrs. Green from Lone Pine, CA between 1875 and 1877 at a crossroad of Remi Nadeau’s wagon freight route. The Greens later moved their ranch one mile north.

Domingo Etcharren later filed a patent for the abandoned Junction way station/ranch in 1888, and the patent was received in 1901. By about 1890, John Carricart was also residing with the Etcharrens. At the turn of the 20th century, Carricart worked as a blacksmith and boilerman at the Millspaugh mine, and as a maintenance worker at Coso Hot Springs. When area residents were being evicted due to the formation of NAWS China Lake in the 1940s, Carricart was allowed to stay and acted as a caretaker in this remote area until his death in 1945.

From the 1880s to the early 1900s, the ranch served as a way station, from which trails branched to Darwin, the Panamint Valley, and along the ridge of Renegade Canyon.

www.chinalakeleis.com/system/assets/38/original/nawscl_...
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   36°4'22"N   117°30'53"W

Comments

  • John Carricart was my grandfather. When NOTS was created, the Navy evicted everyone, except John and wife Marie, John being hired as caretaker for the remote valley. John is credited with discovery of nearby Little Petroglyph Canyon in the 20's, and worked a time at Coso Hot Springs in maintenance in the 30's. John died in a traffic accident in Los Angeles in 1945. Local Sewell 'Pop' Lofink was the next caretaker to live at Junction Ranch. His book, Mojave Desert Ramblings is a great read with some good historical info. I've been granted access twice, visiting Millspaugh Mine, Junction Ranch, El Conejo Mine, Coles Flat, Coso Hot Springs, and of course, Little Petroglyph Canyon. Sadly, virtually none of my photos were cleared by the Navy so unable to share.
  • Added family photo of Junction Ranch cabin, from approx 1930's. It's the original cabin, which burned IIRC, 1948. The Navy built a new cabin on the site of the original for Pop Lofink, it's the small rectangle in the rectangle of trees above the large building. The green circle is a pond, fed from a spring in the nearby hills, maintained by the Navy for the local wildlife. Just to the right is an arrastra, Can't say for sure, but probably used by my grandfather, who worked more than one nearby mine.
This article was last modified 5 years ago