KELSO-CIMA ROAD HAER CA-2317 Mojave National Preserve HAER CA-2317 East of the intersection with Kelbaker Road Kelso vicinity San Bernardino County California
PHOTOGRAPHS
WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA
HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD PACIFIC WEST REGIONAL OFFICE National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior 333 Bush Street San Francisco, CA 94104 HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD
KELSO-CIMA ROAD
HAER No. CA-2317
Location: In the southwestern portion of Mojave National Preserve, San Bernardino County, California, at the historic railroad stop of Kelso Depot. This HAER report focuses on the 400’ of the Kelso- Cima Road just east of the intersection of Kelbaker Road. Latitude: 35.011923 Longitude: -115.654121
Dates of Construction: 1904-1905.
Architect/Engineer/Builder: San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad
Original Owner and Use: The road was first used to access the Kelso Depot and Union Pacific Railroad construction site, and then to provide access to and from the Kelso Depot. Present Owner and Use: National Park Service
Significance: Kelso-Cima Road served the Union Pacific Railroad as it built the railroad line between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. The road lies within the Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel Historic District. The district is significant for its association with the development of railroads in the western United States, and specifically with the historic Kelso Depot, a Mission Revival railroad station built by the Union Pacific in 1924. During World War II, the Kelso Depot facilities ensured provision of essential services for train crews moving war materials and for troops heading to the West Coast before leaving for the Pacific Theater. The road provided access to and from the historic railroad town of Kelso as well as the Vulcan Mine, which produced iron ore, and area ranches.
Description: Kelso-Cima Road is located in Mojave National Preserve, a 1.6 million acre expanse of desert that contains mountains, volcanic features, sand dunes and dry lakebeds. The section of road that is the focus of this report is located on the western edge of the Kelso Wash in the Ivanpah Valley. The Kelso Mountains lie to the east and the Providence Mountains are set to the west. The intersection is just west of the Kelso Depot. This portion of the road, and the intersection, lies an elevation of 2126’. The site sits at the base of Cima Hill, which slopes upward to the northeast at a steady 2.2% grade; as explained in the history, the location of Kelso Depot is KELSO-CIMA ROAD HAER No. CA-2317 (Page 2)
due to its location at the base of Cima Hill. The landscape is sparsely vegetated, with creosote.
Kelso-Cima Road is one of the two main roads in the preserve. It runs northeast from Kelso Depot for about 19 miles to the ghost town of Cima; the road ends at a junction with Cima Road and Morning Star Mine Road. Cima Road continues to Interstate 15 at the preserve’s northern boundary. Most of Kelso-Cima Road parallels the railroad tracks; the alignment has remained the same since 1921. The road is asphalt, approximately 20 feet wide, and paved with gravel shoulders. It cuts through the rear of the Kelso Depot property and intersects with Kelbaker Road northwest of the depot. Kelbaker Road runs northwest from the depot.
Kelbaker Road extends from Interstate Highway 15 at Baker to its north terminus to Interstate Highway 40 to the south. Like the Kelso-Cima Road, Kelbaker is presently asphalt-paved and approximately 20 feet in width. Kelbaker Road is not a contributing resource to the Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel Historic District.
History: Kelso-Cima Road was built around 1905 by the Union Pacific Railroad to facilitate railroad construction and maintenance. Construction of a railway line between Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and Los Angeles began in 1901 when by Senator William Andrews Clark created the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad Company. In 1902 the Union Pacific Railroad, which had hoped to build a line from Ogden, Utah to the Los Angeles area, obtained half of the railroad's stock. The San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad reached the site of Kelso Depot from the west in April 1904. The railroad built a construction camp at the site, along the new road, with tent housing for workers and three warehouses. The camp was first known as Siding No. 16 (a siding refers to a separate section of track used for loading), and it later became the site of Kelso Depot. The road was used to transport construction supplies and workers to the railroad line under construction. The road was unpaved when it was built, and was likely paved sometime in the mid-20th century. The railroad line was completed by and first used in May of 1905.1
1 Gordon Chapelle, et al, 19‐21. KELSO-CIMA ROAD HAER No. CA-2317 (Page 3)
Kelso-Cima Road continued to serve the Kelso Depot site as it grew from a construction camp into a “helper station” for the railroad. The helper station designation referred to the fact that the depot was used as a location for train engineers to obtain a second locomotive to help the train scale the 2,078’ Cima Grade, the steepest part of the rail line, to the east. The Kelso Depot site was a natural choice for a siding also since nearby wells provided a plentiful source of water for refueling steam locomotives. By 1906 the Union Pacific added an engine house, a lunch room (for workers and train passengers traveling on trains without dining cars), sleeping rooms, a post office, and a small wood frame depot to the site.
In 1921 the Union Pacific bought the remainder of the railroad's stock from Senator Clark, and so was sole owner of the line. Hoping to compete with the Santa Fe Railroad’s Harvey House train stations, the company built the Spanish Mission Revival-style Kelso Clubhouse and Restaurant (now called Kelso Depot) in 1924. At its height in the 1940s, when the nearby Vulcan Mine operated, the town of Kelso had over 2,000 inhabitants. The Kelso- Cima Road served employees of the railroad, Vulcan Mine and residents of the booming town.
Throughout subsequent decades, the road continued to be utilized by miners with claims in the areas and by area ranchers. It is now one of two main roads that cross Mojave National Preserve; the other is Kelbaker Road. Kelso Depot is now a visitor center, and the road is used by tourists.2
Sources: Chappell, Gordon. Kelso Depot Historic Structures Report. National Park Service, 1998. Mojave National Preserve. Environmental Assessment: Reconstruct Road Segments to Improve Safety. November 2014. National Park Service Pacific West Regional Office Files. Unrau, Harlan. Kelso Depot, Restaurant and Employees Hotel, National Register of Historic Places nomination form. 2001.
2 Chapelle et al, 199. KELSO-CIMA ROAD HAER No. CA-2317 (Page 4)
Project Information: In 2015, a number of changes will occur in an effort to improve safety at the intersection of Kelso-Cima Road and Kelbaker Road. 400 feet of Kelso-Cima Road will be moved about fifty feet to the northwest just east of the intersection with Kelbaker Road, and the road will be widened to 22 feet, with two-foot shoulders on each side. Kelbaker Road will be raised approximately three feet as it approaches the railroad crossing. New curbs, speed humps and a new parking lot will be constructed. These changes will improve sight lines around the Kelso Depot, better define the traffic flow, and improve pedestrian and vehicle safety. This HAER report was stipulated as mitigation for this undertaking.