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22. OLD WOMAN SPRINGS . .
This was the second watering place to bear this name . The first was
the present Cottonwood Springs which lies about a mile east of this Old
Woman Springs. Cottonwood was originally given the name by Col. Henry
Washington who camped there in 1856 while he was running the San Bernardino
base line east from Mt. San Bernardino. As his party approached, a band
of Chemehuevi Indians left the spring, but an old squaw, too weak to travel,
was left behind. The second Old Woman Springs, about 16 miles east of
Lucerne Valley and just south of the Lucerne Valley-Yucca Valley road,
became an important crossroads. It was on the northern and best wagon road
between the Victorville area and the Dale Mining District, a supply point
and overnight stop. Reportedly, George C. Lee, who made the first mineral
discovery in the Barstow region, was killed here by Indians while on a
solitary mining expedition. The springs have been the center of an area
dedicated to homesteads and winter cattle range since settlers came into
the Lucerne Valley region. In 1909 it boasted a ranch house, orchards, and
nine acres of alfalfa in its environs. At the present time, it is part of
a private cattle ranch.

23. STODDARD MOUNTAINS

These mountains northeast of Victorville were an early survey point
and later exploited for mining. Sheldon Stoddard's Well lies to their east.
A cutoff for the wagon trains went through this area in the 1870s before the
railroads were built.

24. MOJAVE RIVER FISH HATCHERY

In 1947 the Mojave State Hatchery took over two irrigation wells eight
inches in diameter and set about creating this facility, one of the largest
in the state. Here, water comes from the ground at just the right tempera-
ture for trout: 60°F. Standing water is 40 to 50 feet deep in the under-
ground lake below the hatchery, but its wells go down 200 feet. The
fishery pulls 300 gallons of water per minute from each of its wells, using
three or four wells at a time. The hatchery is not the largest pumper from
these water sources , as both the cement plant and the Jess Stoddard Ranch
pump more. The trout at this facility come as small fry since they are
hatched at a plant near Fillmore. Here they grow until they are large
enough to be released in mountain streams

25. VERDE RANCH

The ranch was first settled in the 1860s; since it was located in an
area of fertile land, population around it grew. It served as a rendezvous
point for the whites before the last big Indian fight at Chimney Rock. In
the 1870s it was the terminus of the John Brown Toll Road coming through
Cajon Pass and a supply point for travelers. Marked by lush green meadows
and large cottonwood tree forests, it now contributes to the Mojave Narrows
Regional Park, the Spring Valley Lake Estates, and the Kemper-Campbell Ranch
The Campbell family bought into the land in the 1920s

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