Preserving the Kelso Depot

posted on October 1, 2010

If you were to try to choose the finest natural feature of the Mojave National Preserve, you might have trouble choosing from dozens of possibilities. But it’s not nearly as hard to choose the finest of the Preserve’s historical features. As rich in history as the Preserve is, from its native rock art to its legacy of migration, mining, and ranching, the Kelso Depot is the crown jewel of the Preserve’s human history.

Seeing the Depot today, with its comfortable and stylish Mission Revival interior, it’s hard to believe it was almost torn down. The building was only spared demolition after preservation activists got together to work to save it.

The Union Pacific Railroad built the Depot in the 1920s. Ore shipments from the nearby Vulcan Mine and routine service on “helper engines” that pushed trains up the long grade to Cima kept the Depot busy, especially during World War II. The Vulcan Mine closed in 1947, however, and during the 1950s diesel locomotives were developed that needed no help getting to Cima. Union Pacific discontinued passenger service and the station agency at Kelso in 1964, and for two decades the building served only as a lunch counter. In 1983, fearing the unused depot would be “a target for vandalism, unauthorized entrance, and a legal liability,” UP Division Superintendent G.R. Jenson proposed the Depot be demolished.

In response, a group of environmental and historic preservation activists organized the Kelso Depot Fund, which succeeded in preventing demolition. The costs of restoration turned out to be more than the private group could afford. They turned to local politicians and the federal government for assistance. In 1992, the BLM – which owned the surrounding land as part of the East Mojave National Scenic Area – took title to the building. With the passage of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994, title passed to the National Park Service as part of the Mojave National Preserve.

Restored as a visitor center in 2005, with stunning exhibits detailing the Preserve’s natural and cultural history, the Depot now welcomes thousands of visitors to the Preserve each year. With the re-opening of the Depot’s historic lunch counter – the “Beanery” – the Depot is once again a welcome rest stop for the tired, hungry Mojave traveler.

The Kelso Depot Visitor Center is open daily (except Christmas Day), 9–5.

– Chris Clarke