Desert Center, California
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Desert Center is a
census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
in the
Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado De ...
in
Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...
. It is in southern California, between the cities of
Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índio ...
and
Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People * Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...
at the junction of
Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
and State Route 177, about halfway between
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. The ZIP Code is 92239, and the community is in telephone
area codes 442 and 760 Area code 760 is a California telephone area code that was split from area code 619 on March 22, 1997. Area code 442 is an overlay of 760 that became effective on November 21, 2009. It encompasses much of the southeastern and southernmost portion ...
. The elevation is . The population was 204 at the 2010 census.


History


Beginnings: "Desert Steve" Ragsdale

The town was founded in 1921 by Stephen A. Ragsdale, also known as "Desert Steve", and his wife, Lydia. Ragsdale was an itinerant
preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...
and cotton farmer, originally from
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
. In 1915, he left his farm in the Palo Verde Valley along the
Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
to attend to some business in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. The road between
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
and Los Angeles was mostly sand, and Ragsdale's vehicle broke down near a place called Gruendyke's Well. This featured a hand-dug well and was inhabited by a prospector named Bill Gruendyke. Gruendyke rescued Ragsdale and gave him food, shelter, and water until his vehicle was repaired and he could resume his journey to Los Angeles. Upon his return, Ragsdale bought out Gruendyke and moved his family to the remote spot, where they constructed a small shack with a lean-to that served as a repair garage. A Model T truck was modified to serve as a tow car. Gasoline was pumped by hand from a 55-gallon drum. Lydia served food and refreshments to thirsty and weary travelers. In spite of the remote location— in any direction from anything—the Ragsdales prospered. Ragsdale named his outpost "Desert Center". In 1921, it was announced that the sand road running through Desert Center would be relocated about north, straightened, paved, and named U.S. Route 60, a modern "high-speed" highway. In March 1926, The San Bernardino Daily Sun reported that 21 miles of grading was being done on a new road from Desert Center to Hopkins Well, changing the location of the desert highway and running over better soil. :”’The old highway there will be abandoned when the new work is completed,’ said Mr. . Q.Sullivan ivision_engineer_for_the_ ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission">California_Highway_Commission.html"_;"title="ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission">ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission_‘and_we_will_later_surface_such_stretches_of_the_new_road_as_are_necessary.’_F._C._Payton_is_the_contractor_handling_the_grading_work.” Ragsdale_abandoned_"old_Desert_Center"_and_built_a_poured-concrete_café_in_the_adobe_style_with_an_attached_gasoline_station_and_a_huge_
ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission">California_Highway_Commission.html"_;"title="ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission">ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission_‘and_we_will_later_surface_such_stretches_of_the_new_road_as_are_necessary.’_F._C._Payton_is_the_contractor_handling_the_grading_work.” Ragsdale_abandoned_"old_Desert_Center"_and_built_a_poured-concrete_café_in_the_adobe_style_with_an_attached_gasoline_station_and_a_huge_Automobile_repair_shop">service_garage._Across_the_road,_a_series_of_wooden_structures_were_built,_including_a_ ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission">California_Highway_Commission.html"_;"title="ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission">ivision_engineer_for_the_California_Highway_Commission_‘and_we_will_later_surface_such_stretches_of_the_new_road_as_are_necessary.’_F._C._Payton_is_the_contractor_handling_the_grading_work.” Ragsdale_abandoned_"old_Desert_Center"_and_built_a_poured-concrete_café_in_the_adobe_style_with_an_attached_gasoline_station_and_a_huge_Automobile_repair_shop">service_garage._Across_the_road,_a_series_of_wooden_structures_were_built,_including_a_Market_(place)">market_ Market_is_a_term_used_to_describe_concepts_such_as: *Market_(economics),_system_in_which_parties_engage_in_transactions_according_to_supply_and_demand *Market_economy *Marketplace,_a_physical_marketplace_or_public_market _Geography *Märket,_an__...
_(which_at_one_time_was_the_largest_Coleman_Company.html" ;"title="Market_(place).html" "title="Automobile_repair_shop.html" ;"title="California_Highway_Commission.html" ;"title="California_Highway_Commission.html" ;"title="ivision engineer for the California Highway Commission">ivision engineer for the California Highway Commission">California_Highway_Commission.html" ;"title="ivision engineer for the California Highway Commission">ivision engineer for the California Highway Commission ‘and we will later surface such stretches of the new road as are necessary.’ F. C. Payton is the contractor handling the grading work.” Ragsdale abandoned "old Desert Center" and built a poured-concrete café in the adobe style with an attached gasoline station and a huge Automobile repair shop">service garage. Across the road, a series of wooden structures were built, including a Market (place)">market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...
(which at one time was the largest Coleman Company">Coleman camping equipment dealer in the country), and a post office. He also built several cabins for travelers, and a large "plunge" (swimming pool) next to the café where travelers could escape the desert heat. Ragsdale was a desert eccentric of the first order, and his advertising for Desert Center in publications such as ''Desert Magazine'' reflected his personality: "U Need Us – We Need U", "Our Main Street is 100-miles long!",spring 2004 lrl
 "We lost our keys...we can't close!" (a reference to the fact that the café has been open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since it opened in 1921), "Free Room and Board Every Day The Sun Doesn't Shine In Desert Center", "If You Don't Believe Me, You Can Go To
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
, or Visit Me in Desert Center in August! Nuf sed, Steve". When Ragsdale needed a teacher for his own children and the few others in the town, the county declined to send one; there weren't enough students to warrant the expense. Ragsdale hastily built a basic structure of stick framing with paper board walls to use as a schoolhouse, and placed an ad in Los Angeles newspapers asking for an auto mechanic with a large family, which he got, and a teacher was indeed provided by the county. Ragsdale frequently retreated to his writing shack near the north tip of the rock formation called "The
Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
" (across I-10 from Desert Center) where he composed poetry—the stanzas are referred to as "Spasm #1", etc.—to be distributed in booklet form to travelers. Ragsdale was a close friend of many classic "desert people" such as Randall Henderson, founder of ''Desert Magazine''; Marshall South, the
hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
of Ghost Mountain; desert painter John Hilton; noted biologist Edmund C. Jaeger; and
Harry Oliver Harry Oliver (April 4, 1888 – July 4, 1973) was an American humorist, artist, and Academy Award nominated art director of films from the 1920s and 1930s. Besides his outstanding work in Hollywood, he is now best remembered for his humorous w ...
, with whom Steve co-founded the annual Pegleg Smith Liar's Contest in Anza-Borrego. Oliver often printed items about Desert Steve in his 'newspaper,' the '' Desert Rat Scrap Book''. Within a few years, Ragsdale operated a number of satellite businesses in locations such as Cactus City,
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
, Skyway, Box Canyon, and Shaver's Well. Around 1950, he left Desert Center, living the rest of his days at his log cabin retreat near the summit of Santa Rosa Mountain. His sons, Stanley, Thurman, and Herbert, took over operations of Desert Center, and Stanley eventually purchased the town from his father. Stanley ran it for decades, adding a hamburger stand and the Stanco gasoline station.


Early prepaid health insurance

In the early 1930s, Dr. Sidney R. Garfield, who had just graduated from University of Southern California, went to visit a former classmate with a practice in
Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índio ...
. The practice was thriving to capacity, while Garfield was nearly without business in Depression-era Los Angeles. Garfield's friend explained that he was the closest doctor (50 miles) to 5,000 men digging the
Colorado River Aqueduct The Colorado River Aqueduct, or CRA, is a water conveyance in Southern California in the United States, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The aqueduct impounds water from the Colorado River at Lake Hav ...
under direction of The Seven Companies, Inc. The project site's headquarters was just southeast of Desert Center. Garfield borrowed money from his father and constructed a 4-bed
clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...
near the construction site. The clinic was cooled by an ammonia
air-conditioning system Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
and at the time was the only air-conditioned building between
Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
and Phoenix. Garfield would treat the men, who would promise to pay on payday, but who would usually go to Blythe or Indio and drink their paychecks. Within a year, Garfield was broke and announced that he would pull up stakes. Hearing this,
Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...
, whose division of the
Six Companies, Inc. Six Companies, Inc. was a joint venture of construction companies that was formed to build the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in Nevada and Arizona. They later built Parker Dam, a portion of the Grand Coulee Dam, the Colorado River Aqueduct ...
was building the stretch of the
Colorado River Aqueduct The Colorado River Aqueduct, or CRA, is a water conveyance in Southern California in the United States, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The aqueduct impounds water from the Colorado River at Lake Hav ...
through the Desert Center vicinity, visited Garfield at his clinic. His idea was to take a nickel a day out of each man's paycheck to prepay for that man's future medical treatments, should an injury occur while he was working. If the man wanted to be covered for the remainder of the day, after work hours, another nickel would be deducted. If the man had a wife and/or children he wanted to cover, this would cost another nickel. Within a short time, Garfield had a steady income stream and things improved for him immensely. When the aqueduct project was finished, Kaiser's next venture was the construction of the
Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerh ...
, and he took Garfield with him to manage the workers' health care, but this time there were 50,000 men, not just 5,000. Garfield's Contractors General Hospital evolved into
Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente (; KP), commonly known simply as Kaiser, is an American integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield. Kaiser P ...
, the largest managed health care system in the world, but its origins are in Desert Center. In 1992 a roadside historical marker at the site was unveiled by Garfield's sister next to the grocery honoring Desert Center as the birthplace of Kaiser Permanente.


General Patton – Desert Training Center

By 1942, Desert Center had very few residents. It was then that the Army, under the direction of Maj. General
George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
, established the
Desert Center Army Air Field Desert Center Airport is a private-use airport located five nautical miles (6  mi, 9  km) northeast of the central business district of Desert Center, in Riverside County, California, United States. The airport located at the en ...
and the
Camp Desert Center The Camp Desert Center was a sub camp of the US Army, Desert Training Center in Riverside County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was statione ...
to support operations in the California-Arizona Maneuver Area. The base covered . Its purpose was to train troops for combat in the deserts of
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
against the forces of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The enormous operation came to a close in 1944, when the Allies were victorious in the North African theatre. A museum honoring Patton and his training complex is located in Chiriaco Summit. After the military's departure, the town became quiet again, remaining relatively unchanged as the old U.S. Route 60/ 70 was replaced by
Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
.


Eagle Mountain Mine and Prison

The site of
Kaiser Steel Kaiser Steel was a steel mill near Fontana, California, founded by Henry J. Kaiser on December 1, 1941. The plant's first blast furnace, "Bess No. 1" (named after Kaiser's wife) was fired up on December 30, 1942, and the first steel plate was p ...
Eagle Mountain Mine, which was one of the largest
open-pit Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of mining ...
iron mining Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
operations in the world at the time of opening, is located about north of Desert Center. The rich iron ore deposit was discovered by geologists employed by
Henry J. Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...
during construction of the
Colorado River Aqueduct The Colorado River Aqueduct, or CRA, is a water conveyance in Southern California in the United States, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The aqueduct impounds water from the Colorado River at Lake Hav ...
in the early 1930s. The Eagle Mountain Mine operated at capacity from World War II until Kaiser closed the mine and the town of Eagle Mountain in early 1982. Movies & TV shows have used the mine as a
filming location A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage. In filmmaking, a location is any place where a film crew wil ...
, including scenes from the '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''—first ''
Terminator Terminator may refer to: Science and technology Genetics * Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription * Terminator technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation s ...
'' movie in 3-D. A for-profit prison was operated by Utah's
Management and Training Corporation Management & Training Corporation or MTC is a contractor that manages private prisons and United States Job Corps centers, based in Centerville, Utah. MTC's core businesses are corrections, education and training, MTC medical, and economic & soci ...
here in facilities leased from Kaiser Steel. Nine weeks before it was closed on December 31, 2003, a race riot claimed the lives of two black prisoners. Plans for a project to operate an enormous
waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...
landfill at the mine site were stopped by environmentalists' legal actions taken to protect the surrounding
Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado De ...
ecosystem and the
groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
.


Desert Center today

Today, the town barely survives. The United States Post Office is the only remaining business. The nearest gasoline and fast food are at Chiriaco Summit, over 19 miles away. Desert Center is home to agricultural farms, two
mobile home parks A trailer park,caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and eas ...
frequented by "
snowbirds The Snowbirds, officially known as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron (french: 431e Escadron de démonstration aérienne, links=no), are the military aerobatics flight demonstration team of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The team is based at 15 Wing ...
", and the Lake Tamarisk community, which includes a golf course and that was founded by the Kaiser Steel Corporation for mine management. Desert Center Airport has a runway, but last operated as a public airport in 1992. It is now privately owned and since 2010 has been the site of the Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, a professional-grade track that can be rented by clubs and individuals. The 1980s saw a surge of growth in Desert Center as
jojoba Jojoba (; botanical name: ''Simmondsia chinensis'')also commonly called goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bushis native to the Southwestern United States. ''Simmondsia chinensis'' is the sole specie ...
gained popularity. The brackish water, sandy soil, and dry weather make the area ideal for cultivation of this hardy desert plant whose oil is used chiefly in cosmetic products. In the early 1990s, Stanley Ragsdale commissioned the planting of several hundred
palm trees Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm ( ...
in strange patterns on the town's frontage with Interstate 10. When asked why, he said he always wanted a "tree-ring circus". Since his death in 1999, the trees have been left unattended and many have died. a large portion of the town has been purchased by a
Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
resident and is in escrow.


Services

The community is served by State Route 177 and
Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...
. Most wireline phone numbers in Desert Center and Lake Tamarisk are served by
Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas i ...
from the (760) 227-xxxx exchange. Additionally, Desert Center is served by Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) via the (760) 205 and (760) 437 exchanges (per the Telecordia Local Exchange Routing Guide). , a
Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
maintenance station existed at 29476 Ragsdale Road. Local schoolchildren are part of the Desert Center Unified School District. Elementary and middle school students attend Eagle Mountain School in
Eagle Mountain, California Eagle Mountain, California, is a modern-day ghost town in the California desert in Riverside County founded in 1948 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. The town is located at the entrance of the now-defunct Eagle Mountain iron mine, once owned by t ...
, while high school students are bussed daily to
Blythe, California Blythe is a city in eastern Riverside County, California, United States. It is in the Palo Verde Valley of the Lower Colorado River Valley region, an agricultural area and part of the Colorado Desert along the Colorado River, approximatel ...
. Palo Verde Valley Transit Agency operates lifeline transportation services to Indio and Blythe for local residents.


Lake Tamarisk

Lake Tamarisk is a community about one and three quarter miles north of Interstate 10 off Kaiser Road at , and on the Desert Center 7.5-minute quadrangle. The community has a golf course with low greens fees. Both the Lake
Tamarisk The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...
Library and Riverside County Fire Department Station 49 are located in Lake Tamarisk.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the CDP covers an area of , all of it land. In the vicinity of Desert Center are the
Chuckwalla Mountains The Chuckwalla Mountains are a mountain range in the transition zone between the Colorado Desert—Sonoran Desert and the Mojave Desert, climatically and vegetationally, in Riverside County of southern California. Geography The range spans abou ...
,
Corn Springs Corn Springs is a palm oasis situated in the Chuckwalla Mountains of the Colorado Desert in Riverside County, California, United States, seventeen miles southeast of Desert Center. Native Americans relied on the springs, and they engraved m ...
, Eagle Mountain (Kaiser Steel's former iron mine), and Chiriaco Summit and museum.


Climate

As the name suggests, the town is in a desert—a hot desert (Köppen BWh).


Demographics

The
2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
reported that Desert Center had a population of 204. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 6.7 people per square mile (2.6/km). The racial makeup of Desert Center was 164 (80.4%)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
(76.5% Non-Hispanic White), 1 (0.5%)
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 3 (1.5%) Native American, 2 (1.0%)
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0 (0%)
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 25 (12%) from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 9 (4%) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 38 persons (18.6%). The census reported that 203 people (99% of the population) lived in households, 1 (<1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 85 households, out of which 20 (24%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 37 (44%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 10 (12%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1 (1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 3 (4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 33 households (39%) were made up of individuals, and 15 (18%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39. There were 48
families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
(57% of all households); the average family size was 3.19. The population was spread out, with 40 people (20%) under the age of 18, 12 people (6%) aged 18 to 24, 43 people (21%) aged 25 to 44, 64 people (31%) aged 45 to 64, and 45 people (22%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males. There were 140 housing units at an average density of 4.6 per square mile (1.8/km), of which 61 (72%) were owner-occupied, and 24 (28%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 9%; the rental vacancy rate was 33%. 147 people (72% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 56 people (28%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States census, Desert Center had a median household income of $27,031, with 28.8% of the population living below the federal poverty line.


In popular culture

* A critical scene in the 1945 film ''
Detour __NOTOC__ A detour or (British English: diversion) is a (normally temporary) route taking traffic around an area of prohibited or reduced access, such as a construction site. Standard operating procedure for many roads departments is to route an ...
'' takes place, according to the film's narration, outside a highway gas station "near the airport at Desert Center". * A portion of the
Eagle Mountain Railroad The Eagle Mountain Railroad (EMRR) was a private railroad in California, owned by the Kaiser Steel Corporation, and is owned today by Kaiser Steel's successor, Kaiser Ventures, Inc. of Ontario, California. The EMRR is long and is located in Riv ...
south of Desert Center was used in the filming of the movie ''
Tough Guys ''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the final ...
'', which is a 1986 comedy starring
Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...
, Kirk Douglas,
Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...
and
Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...
. ''Tough Guys'' was the final collaboration for Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. * Films using Desert Center locations:Titles with locations including
Desert Center, California, US<
/ref> ** ''
Tough Guys ''Tough Guys'' is a 1986 American action comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach, Charles Durning, Dana Carvey and Darlanne Fluegel. It is the eighth film of Touchstone Pictures, and the final ...
'' (1986) ** '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991) ** '' H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds'' (2005) ** ''Desert Road End'' (2006) ** ''Falling Objects'' (2006) ** ''
Unknown Unknown or The Unknown may refer to: Film * The Unknown (1915 comedy film), ''The Unknown'' (1915 comedy film), a silent boxing film * The Unknown (1915 drama film), ''The Unknown'' (1915 drama film) * The Unknown (1927 film), ''The Unknown'' (1 ...
'' (2006) ** ''Battle of Los Angeles'' Eagle Mountain Mine site (2011)


References


External links


The Center for Land Use Interpretation: museum show


* * {{authority control Census-designated places in Riverside County, California Populated places in the Colorado Desert Populated places established in 1921 1921 establishments in California Census-designated places in California