Rock Springs Land & Cattle Company

Rock Springs Land & Cattle Company ranch, divided between 1928-1931 into the Kessler Springs Ranch, the OX Ranch and the Valley View Ranch, is significant at the local level for criterion A; period of significance is 1894 to 1954.

The former Rock Springs Land & Cattle Company ranch, divided between 1928-1931 into the Kessler Springs Ranch, the OX Ranch and the Valley View Ranch and now located within Mojave National Preserve, is significant on a local level for its contributions to the settlement, industry and economy of San Bernardino County and, specifically, the east Mojave Desert of California. This huge arid-country ranch operated for more than 110 years under adverse conditions yet managed to be an important part of California’s cattle and beef industry. The period of significance for the Rock Springs Land & Cattle Company Historic District is 1894 to 1954. Although the ranch has seen a continuity of traditional use through 2001-2003, it was the labors of the owners into the 1940s that established the important extant physical attributes of the ranch, while the owners of the last 50 years continued to improve features in a compatible manner but did not add to the significance of the ranch.

The Rock Springs Land & Cattle Company Historic District comprises about one million acres of high desert in Mojave National Preserve, in California. The vast property, in use as cattle range from the 1880s to 2001, is scattered with hundreds of buildings, structures and features dating from the 19th century to the present, most of which are related to water distribution. Between 1928 and 1931 the original million-acre ranch was broken up into: Kessler Springs Ranch, 300,000 acres; OX Ranch, 400,000 acres; and Valley View Ranch, 300,000 acres. During the 1930s the new owners developed their ranches into well-organized, post-Taylor Grazing Act cattle raising operations, setting the scene for their successors who continued traditional ranching until recently. The district possesses historic integrity in regard to aspects of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. Due to its age and continuing use, the extant features range from good to poor condition.