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Desert Market
The Desert Market in Daggett, California, isn’t just a place to pick up snacks, smokes or a cold drink—it"s one of the oldest buildings in the area and a quiet witness to the town’s long, dusty history.
Originally built as Ryerson’s General Store, the first version of the building was destroyed in a fire, which was all too common back then. When it was rebuilt in 1908, it was done in cement—a bold move for the time—and it earned the distinction of being the first fireproof building in the Mojave Desert. That alone makes it a little piece of engineering history out here in the desert.
Back in the early 1900s, miners used to come in and trade gold dust for supplies. The store even had Shell gas pumps out front and sold everything from groceries to tires and tubes—whatever folks needed to keep going, whether they were heading east toward Needles or back west toward Barstow.
Today, it still functions as a small grocery store on Santa Fe Street, right along old Route 66. And while the shelves are filled with modern goods now, the bones of the building are over a century old. If you step inside and listen close, it almost feels like you can still hear the echo of boots on the old floor and the hum of distant engines pulling into town.
So whether you’re a traveler chasing the legend of the Mother Road or just someone who appreciates forgotten corners of California history, the Desert Market is worth a stop—not just for what’s on the shelves, but for what’s been through its doors.