Rancho Dos Palmas Gets Historical Designation

Roy Wilson, District 4 Supervisor
Riverside County Board of Supervisors
News Release

The Riverside County Historical Commission voted to designate Rancho Dos Palmas a Historical Site at their meeting on Jan. 17. Dos Palmas, a favorite hangout decades ago for artists, rock hounds and celebrities, is located in the desert just east of North Shore.

An old adobe building is the chief man-made feature on the site, currently owned and managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM has been considering razing the site because of seismic and subsidence issues.

The site also contains other cultural, recreational and habitat resources.

The next step toward historical designation would be a decision by the Board of Supervisors at a future board meeting in Riverside.

“I am now moving forward with the application process for the National Register,” says Dos Palmas champion Jenny Kelly, who is also founder of the East Valley Historical Society and is a member of the North Shore Community Council. “I don’t know what's involved in gaining approval for the National Register, but I have every confidence we meet all the criteria for that designation.”

The East Valley Historical Society is also examining the potential of Hilton's Art & Gem Shop, across Highway 86 from the old Valerie Jean date shop.

“The owner's have requested a written lease proposal for the property. They are leaning towards demolition if we don't come up with a financial arrangement,” Kelly says. “Unfortunately, our fledgling East Valley Historical Society is not in a financial position to lease the property. I’m open to ideas and suggestions.”

The Riverside County Historical Commission is charged with discovering and identifying persons, events and places of historical significance in Riverside County and advises the Board of Supervisors in historical matters. The Commission consists of eleven members, appointed by the Board of Supervisors.

The Historical Commission generally meets at 1:30 p.m. the third Thursday of January, March, May, July, September and November. The agenda gives the meeting location. Occasionally the meeting date will change. The agenda will reflect the new date.

Park District staff provide support to the Historical Commission and can be reached at (951) 955-4306 or (951) 955-4310 or by email at lnorris@co.riverside.ca.us. Mailing address is: Riverside County Historical Commission Riverside County Park District, 4600 Crestmore Road Riverside, CA 92509.

More East Valley Historical Commission info is available in the Oct. 12 story.

Blythe Calif Station Burns

Author: Winks
Blythe area paper

The historic Santa Fe Depot, a Blythe landmark that has graced the city since 1926, was destroyed by fire the afternoon of May 2. No one was injured in the fire. Witnesses told police they saw sparks from overhead electrical wires and that is believed to have been the cause of the inferno. Despite being closed for years, the depot still had electric and gas turned on.

Jim Green, manager of the Blythe Food Pantry, which sits adjacent to the former depot, said he and a friend were working on his car out back of the Pantry facing the depot when they smelled smoke.

"I said 'darn, it smells like rubber burning,'" Green said. "I ran around to the other side of the car and was fixing to look at the vehicle when I noticed the smell coming in from the southwest. I looked at the dock of the building and flames were coming up from under the loading dock."

Green's friend dialed 911 and Blythe Volunteer Fire responded.

Fire Chief Billy Kem said it was the first big fire he's been on since being appointed to the position last month.

"It was a shame," he said about the fire that took down the 80-year-old building. "It was just an old wooden structure-type building that had been there a long, long time. We don't know the cause and there was no putting it out - it got up into the top real quick."

Kem said the blaze started at the south end of the building and burned through to the front.

Located at Rice and Commercial streets, the building was first constructed in 1926, 10 years after rail service first came to Blythe. The depot was listed in Riverside County's Historic Resources Inventory by the Riverside County Historical Commission in 1983.