Kelso Depot: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Mojave National Preserve, National Park Service

Koch, Kimball; Luellen, Mark; Provencher, Shaun

The Kelso Depot and the surrounding town of Kelso are located in the southwest portion of Mojave National Preserve. The town is located in a relatively flat portion of an alluvial fan set between the Kelso and Providence Mountains. The depot was built to provide a rest and fueling stop for steam locomotives that were either preparing to ascend or finishing their descent of the Cima Grade. The period of significance begins in 1923 with the construction of the current depot building and continues through the closure of the Vulcan Mine in 1947 to the cessation of depot functions in 1964. Throughout this 41‑year period, the building and its surroundings functioned as a Union Pacific depot, as well as a transportation hub for Vulcan Mine ore extracted for the war effort between 1942 and 1947. Within the desert setting, the Union Pacific Railroad wanted to create the sense of an oasis that would be welcoming to the railroad passengers and employees who worked in the town. The landscape surrounding the depot was a designed landscape developed by the Union Pacific Railroad to create the feeling of a lush oasis in the desert for its passengers, employees and other depot visitors. The shade of the elms, cottonwoods and palms, the lawns and the other lush vegetation, created this cool respite from the Mojave desert heat. Due to this welcoming setting and in part to the Kelso Lunch Room, the depot became an important local gathering spot for both the passengers and residents. The current boundary for the depot contains approximately 2 acres and consists of a rectangular plot of land within the town of Kelso at the intersection of Kelbaker and Cima Roads. However, the exact location of this boundary is unclear. The area outside of the depot site retains only remnants of many of the original landscape elements associated with the landscape’s period of significance. Currently the depot's historic landscape is in poor condition. This is a direct result of decisions made during the 1992 the land transfer from the Union Pacific to the Bureau of Land Management. At that time BLM stopped irrigating and maintaining the grounds of the depot. This action resulted in the eventual elimination of most of the vegetation at the site. The elms, cottonwoods, shrubs, and lawn that created the image of the oasis in the desert either sickened or died and were then removed. Only five Canary Island date palms have survived from the site's period of significance. Other important features, such as the loading platform brick surface, were also removed. After the bricks were removed, a metal fence was installed to prevent the public from approaching the railroad tracks. The historic landscape characteristics which retain integrity include natural systems and features, spatial organization, topography, circulation, buildings and structures, and views and vistas. Those which do not retain integrity include land use, vegetation, small scale features, and archeological sites.

Kelso Depot: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Mojave National Preserve, National Park Service

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