Skip to main content

Museums, associations & others

29 Palms Historical Society

The Society’s mission is to collect, preserve and display information, artifacts and memorabilia pertaining to the culture and history of Twentynine Palms and the greater Morongo Basin.

Fort Tejon Historical Society

Fort Tejon is located in the Grapevine Canyon, the main route between California’s great central valley and Southern California.

Mohave Museum

The Mohave Museum of History and Arts is dedicated to the purposes of preserving the heritage of Northwestern Arizona and of presenting that history to the public.

Rand Desert Museum

The Rand Desert Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the cultural and architectural history of the Rand Mining District and adjacent historic sites in the Upper Mojave Desert Region of California. Information about the communities of Randsburg, Johannesburg, Red Mountain (Osdick), Atolia, Garlock, Saltdale, and Cantil may be found at the museum. In 1942 amateur archaeologists discovered what they believed to be primitive stone tools in this area. Fragments were embedded in the sediments of the shoreline of an ancient Pleistocene Era lake, called Lake Manix.

Barstow Route 66 Mother Road Museum

The Route 66 “Mother Road” Museum was dedicated on July 4, 2000 in the historic Casa del Desierto, Harvey House, in Barstow, California. The Museum displays a collection of historic photographs and artifacts related to Route 66 and the Mojave Desert Communities. Displays include development of the United States Route 66 from early pioneer trails, railroads, automotive history, businesses and sites.

Western America Railroad Museum

The Museum collects, preserves and shares the history of railroading in the Pacific Southwest for all who love railroads and railroading. W.A.R.M. provides educational forums with interpretive and historical displays that focuses on both Railroad History and the development of Railroad Technology.

NTC and 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment Museum

The museum houses two storylines under one roof–the history of military presence since 1844 on what is present day Fort Irwin and the history of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment from 1901-Present.

Maturango Museum

Museum of the cultural history, natural history and geology of the Northern Mojave Desert emphasizing our Indian Wells Valley. Located in Ridgecrest, California.

Goffs School House Museum

Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Association

To research and conserve the natural and cultural history of the Mojave Desert region for the purpose of preserving and sharing these resources in perpetuity. We accomplish this through operation of a research center, library, and archives, restoration of significant structures, conservation of historic open space, interpretation of backcountry trails, and production of educational guidebooks and historical publications in concert with government agencies and people of good faith everywhere.

California Route 66 Museum – Victorville

The California Route 66 Museum maintains and displays a collection of historic photographs and artifacts related to the history of Route 66 and it’s communities. The displays include automotive history, cultural and economic impact as well as the development of the highway itself. Exhibitions incorporate corresponding topics such as early pioneer trails and the railroad.

Old Spanish Trail Association

Protecting, Interpreting and Promoting the Old Spanish National Historic Trail.

Desert Explorers

The Desert Explorers is a four-wheel drive (4WD) group within the Mojave River Valley Museum Association. Trips, normally at least once a month, focus on sightseeing (rather than “rock crawling”) and often include an optional hike to explore mines, petroglyph or pictograph sites, old emigrant trails, or other points of interest.

Mojave History

Select histories of the Mojave Desert by Richard Thompson.

Digital-Desert

Points of interest in the Mojave Desert & natural histories.

Mojave Desert Net

Mojave Desert historical and cultural information.

Calico Ghost Town

Calico was developed in 1881 during the largest silver strike in California. Located at the side of towering King Mountain, the town was named for the variety of colors in the mountain that were “as purty as a gal’s calico skirt.”

Antelope Valley Indian Museum

The Antelope Valley Indian Museum is a unique and eclectic folk art structure located in northeastern Los Angeles County. The museum houses objects created by the American Indian cultures of the western Great Basin, California, and the Southwest.

Searles Valley Historical Society

The Searles Valley Historical Society was founded in 1979 as a non-profit corporation. Its primary purpose is to bring together people interested in history, especially in the history of Searles Valley, and to preserve the history of Searles Valley for future generations.

Beatty Museum

Beatty Museum

The Beatty Museum and Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Beatty, Nevada area, including the Bullfrog Mining District. The museum presents you with an opportunity to experience life in the early 1900s; learn how the early miners lived, worked and played; venture through the; “Bullfrog Gold Rush” era; and learn about the ghost towns and attractions in the area.

The Way of Things

The Way Of Things is a series of instructional videos by Carlos Gallinger. The videos discuss the high desert covering a wide array of topics including Awareness & Presence, Tracking & Reading Sign, The Wind and much more.

Searchlight Museum

This museum was established to report the history of one of Southern Nevada’s most fascinating boomtowns. Searchlight once surpassed Las Vegas in population and came close to being designated as the Clark County seat.

Ridge Route Communities Historical Society

Dedicated to collecting and preserving the history and artifacts in the mountains south of Bakersfield and north of Castaic.

Twenty Mule Team Museum

The mission of the Twenty Mule Team Museum is to acquire and document artifacts pertaining to local history and to the history of borax mining in Death Valley and Boron. These displays and archives are for the enjoyment and enlightenment of visitors and for research by students and others.