Keys Ranch:
Where Time Stood Still

(Photo by Harmon and Nelda King, National Park Service) I n the high desert of California, flesh-colored boulders rise up out of the stark landscape and embrace a small valley where Keys Ranch stands. Strangely shaped trees cast long shadows on the sides of the simple wooden ranch structures. Animal tracks in the sand tell of the previous night's adventures when scorpions, kangaroo rats, snakes, and bobcats battled for survival. This seemingly hostile desert environment was settled much later than other more productive areas of the West. Yet it was here, in 1917, that Bill Keys chose to establish a ranch and raise a family. Keys and other 20th-century homesteaders lived much as earlier pioneers in the West had, working hard to make their marginal land holdings successful. Today, Keys Ranch is preserved as part of Joshua Tree National Park.

TABLE OF CONTENTS About This Lesson Getting Started: Inquiry Question Setting the Stage: Historical Context Locating the Site: Maps 1. Deserts of the Southwest 2. Portion of Joshua Tree National Park Determining the Facts: Readings 1. Settling in the CA Desert 2. Life on Keys Ranch 3. Excerpts from Emerson's Essay "Self-Reliance" Visual Evidence: Images 1. Colorado Desert 2. Mojave Desert 3. Keys Ranch Complex 4. Wonderland of Rocks 5. Ranch House Putting It All Together: Activities 1. Self-Reliance 2. Local Community History Supplementary Resources

RELATED INFORMATION How to Use a TwHP Lesson Lessons on Related Topics TwHP Home National Register Home About the National Register How the National Register Helps Teachers Contact TwHP Joshua Tree National Park This lesson is based on Keys' Desert Queen Ranch, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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