1604: Juan de Oñate becomes the first European to meet the Mohave Indians while searching for the “Southern Sea.”
1700s
1772: The first white men to see the San Bernardino Mountains are deserting Spanish soldiers from the San Diego Mission, pursued by Captain Pedro Fages. Fages leads an expedition along the Mojave’s edge, searching for deserters.
1774: Juan Bautista de Anza’s expedition becomes the first encounter between Europeans and the Cahuilla while searching for a trade route between Sonora, Mexico, and Monterey, California.
The Cahuilla, living far inland, had little contact with Spanish soldiers or priests, as the Spanish viewed the desert as barren and undesirable. They learned about mission life from nearby tribes near Mission San Gabriel and San Diego.
1776: Spanish explorers travel through southern Nevada. Friar Francisco Garcés becomes the first Caucasian to cross the desert.
1781: Yumas close the land route to white settlers.
1800s
1810 (May 20): Padre Francisco Dumetz names San Bernardino Valley on the feast day of St. Bernardine of Siena. Politana, a mission chapel and supply station, is established.
1811: The Cahuilla, along with the Serrano, Gabrielino, and Yuma tribes, revolt against the missions.
1812: Repeated earthquakes shake the region, leading to an Indian uprising. Politana is destroyed by Serrano Indians.
1819: Fr. Joaquin Pasqual Nuñez joins a punitive expedition against the Mojave (Amajaba) Indians. Several asistencias are also established nearby.
1826: Jedediah Smith explores a route across the Mojave from the Colorado River to San Bernardino.
1827: Jedediah Smith returns to the Mojave villages but is attacked by the Mojave; ten of his men are killed.
1829: Antonio Armijo and 60 men travel from Abiquiú, New Mexico, to California, establishing the Old Spanish Trail route and arriving in San Gabriel in January 1830.
San Bernardino Asistencia, a permanent outpost of Mission San Gabriel, is constructed.
Rafael Rivera becomes the first European to explore Las Vegas Valley.
1830: George Yount and William Wolfskill, with 20 men, arrive in California via the Mojave after a harsh journey.
1831: New Mexican traders, including Antonio Santi-Estevan and others, bring wool to California, trading it for horses and livestock.
1832: Friar Cabot of Mission San Miguel reports increased trade and theft of horses by New Mexicans.
1833: Juan de Jesus Villalpando leads an expedition to California; José Avieta and 125 men arrive in Los Angeles with serapes for trade.
1834: Mission secularization begins, redistributing lands and herds. José Avieta and his men continue to trade and steal livestock.
1837: Jean Baptiste Chalifoux leads a party of 30 men to California, stealing 1,400–1,500 animals. José María Chávez flees New Mexico after a rebellion and settles in California.
1838: Lorenzo Trujillo and others from New Mexico become the first settlers in San Bernardino.
1839: José Antonio Salazar leads an expedition, returning to New Mexico with 2,500 animals.
1840: New Mexicans, including Tomás Salazar, continue trading and stealing livestock from California.
1841: The Rowland-Workman party, including immigrants, travels to California.
1842: Juan Antonio, leader of the Cahuilla Mountain Band, grants traveler Daniel Sexton access to areas near the San Gorgonio Pass.
1845: Chief Juan Antonio supports Mexican forces, attacking the Luiseño at Temecula, killing 33 to 100 people.
The Mountain Band also supports Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale’s U.S. Army expedition, defending it against Ute warrior Walkara and his band.
1846: The Mexican-American War begins. Miles Goodyear uses the Old Spanish Trail to trade hides.
1847: Kit Carson and Lt. George Brewerton use the trail to deliver messages during the war.
1848: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the war. Miles Goodyear drives 4,000 horses from California to Utah.
1849:
The Bennett-Arcan party, while searching for gold, becomes stranded in Death Valley.
On November 4, William Manly and John Rogers leave Death Valley to find help for the stranded party.
The Lost 49ers, a portion of the Hunt Wagon Party, are the first Caucasians to cross Death Valley.
Gold-seekers increasingly traverse the Mojave Desert, paving the way for trails that would become significant transportation routes.
1850: The Cahuilla revolt alongside the Yuma and Cocopa tribes at the Cupeño village in opposition to property taxes.
The California Gold Rush brings pressures from miners, ranchers, and settlers. Conflicts arise with the neighboring Cupeño tribe. Tribal leaders like Juan Antonio resort to attacks on settlers when treaties are not ratified.
1852: The California Senate refuses to ratify a treaty granting Cahuilla control over their lands.
1855: First gold is reported in Big Bear Valley.
1858: John Cook files the first mining claim in Big Bear Valley. Butterfield Overland Mail begins stage service through the Mojave.
1859: The Mojave Road is established, linking Fort Mojave to Los Angeles. Mining begins in Big Bear Valley.
1860: Southern California’s largest gold rush begins in Holcomb Valley.
1863: A devastating smallpox epidemic spreads through the Cahuilla population, allegedly caused by infected blankets distributed by white settlers.
1866: The Mojave Road is used as a mail route, with military outposts established.
1868: Copper is discovered in the Clark Mountain area by Johnny Moss.
1870: Gold, silver, and lead are rediscovered in the Coso Range. Mining activities increase in the Mojave Desert, with early exploration in the Calico Hills.
1874–1876: Southern Pacific Railroad connects San Francisco to Los Angeles, including the Tehachapi Loop.
1877: The government formalizes reservation boundaries, leaving the Cahuilla with only a small portion of their traditional lands.
One former village, Tekwite (Tikwit), near a natural hot spring, is converted into a railroad station, later becoming the modern-day town of Indio, California.
1880s: Founding and Early Growth
1882: Southern Pacific Railroad extends a line from Mojave to the Colorado River; Daggett is established as a transportation hub.
1883: The Stone Hotel is constructed by Victor Van Briesen as a two-story building with thick stone walls and a glass dome.
1885: Seymour Alf purchases the hotel and begins operating Alf’s Railroad Eating House.
1888: The Calico Railroad is completed, transporting silver ore from Calico to Daggett; Daggett becomes a bustling town with 20 saloons and significant economic activity.
1890s: Mining Boom and Infrastructure Development
1890: The Stone Hotel survives a fire but is significantly rebuilt with a central staircase and turret.
1893: Southern California Improvement Company begins work on the Daggett Ditch (Minneola Canal) for irrigation and hydroelectric power.
1894: Alf’s Blacksmith Shop is rebuilt after a fire; it continues crafting borax wagons.
1897: The Daggett and Borate Railroad replaces 20-mule teams, connecting borax mines in Mule Canyon to Daggett.
1898: The Southern California Improvement Company goes bankrupt; plans for the Minneola farming colony fail.
1900s: Transition and Decline
1901: Theodore and Dix Van Dyke revive the Daggett Ditch project, irrigating 320 acres east of Daggett.
1907: The Daggett and Borate Railroad is decommissioned as borax operations move elsewhere.
1908: The Stone Hotel suffers another fire, leaving it as a single-story structure.
1909: Daggett begins losing prominence as Barstow develops into a major railroad hub.
1910s-1940s: Daggett’s Role Diminishes
1912: Walter Alf moves Alf’s Blacksmith Shop to its current location.
1924: Minneola’s school district closes, marking the end of the settlement’s revival efforts.
1940s: During World War II, the Daggett Garage serves as a mess hall for soldiers guarding railroad bridges.
1950s-1970s: Later Years
1950s: Fish are reported in the Daggett Ditch, still in use for limited irrigation.
1970: Walter Alf passes away, marking the end of Alf’s Blacksmith Shop as an active operation.
1970s: Interstate 40 bypasses Daggett, further reducing its economic activity.