GOFFS SCHOOLHOUSE CENTENNIAL
September 2014. The Goffs Schoolhouse Turns 100.
Join us Sunday, October 12 to celebrate the Schoolhouse Centennial
History, Fun, and Food for the whole family
Join us to step back in time and learn about life during the early 1900s at this unique one room desert schoolhouse in Goffs, California.
- Visit the schoolhouse and see our collections of historical artifacts
- Hear stories of life as a student in the 1930s from a former Goffs student
- Watch TWO historic ore crushing stamp mills operate as they did in the heyday of mining in the Mojave Desert
- Hear how the U. S. Army brought camels to the desert in the 1850s
- Prizes to children for identifying historic "mystery" objects
- Learn the games children played at the Goffs School in the 1900s
- A special keepsake publication about the students, teachers, and events of the time collected from interviews and newspapers
- Huge book sale, specializing in Western Americana
- Lunch to be served from 12:00 - 1:00 (Donations appreciated)
Please phone (760-733-4482) or email
Goffs is located 30 miles NW of Needles, California, on historic Route 66. DIRECTIONS
Hosted by the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association.
THE MOJAVE PROJECT
June 2014. The MDHCA is a proud partner of The Mojave Project.
The Mojave Project Web Site
The Mojave Project is an experimental transmedia documentary by Kim Stringfellow exploring the physical, geological and cultural landscape of the Mojave Desert. The Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Association and KCET Artbound are project partners.
The Mojave Project reconsiders and establishes multiple ways in which to interpret this unique and complex landscape, through association and connection of seemingly unrelated sites, themes, and subjects thus creating a speculative and immersive experience for its audience. It will explore the following themes:
- Desert as Wasteland;
- Geological Time vs. Human Time;
- Sacrifice and Exploitation;
- Danger and Consequence;
- Space and Perception;
- Mobility and Movement;
- Desert as Staging Ground;
- Transformation and Reinvention.
The expected launch of the completed project is 2017. Stay tuned.
SPRING ENCAMPMENT 2014
April 2014. What our volunteers were up to at our annual working weekend.
Debbie Miller-Marschke adds new paint to a numbered signpost. (Photo by Scott Braley)
On April 11-13, the MDHCA held its 25th annual Spring Encampment at the Goffs Cultural Center.
The full story on the working weekend is detailed in the latest issue of the Mojave Road Report, #299. Also, an album of Encampment photos is here.
Do you have a great photo to add to the album? Add it to the Google+ Photos of Mojave Desert Archives. Be sure to "tag" it with "Mojave Desert Archives" so we see it. Or, just send your image to
NEW BOOK – CLAUDE COMPTON, INDIAN TRADER
February 2014. The MDHCA is pleased to announce a new book:
- Claude Compton, Indian Trader: Fort Mojave, Arizona 1899-1904
Claude Compton, Indian Trader is a fascinating historical account of the activities and developments around the trading post at the Fort Mojave Indian School in Arizona Territory from 1899 to 1904.
Compton headed west at the age of 23 to find his fortune, eventually becoming the Post Trader and Post Master at Fort Mojave on the east bank of the Colorado River, just below today's Bullhead City. Rich in historical detail, the book contains over 70 early photographs and is illustrated with maps and drawings.
Free-lance writer and historian Jere Baker has written several works on early life in Arizona. Jere is a particular authority on this subject as Claude Compton is his grandfather. The publication is 132 pages long and is softbound. We are selling this book for $15.95.
Jere's books can be purchased from our online book store.
