Mojave Road
The Mojave Road is a historic desert corridor of about 140 miles between Camp Cady on the Mojave River and Fort Mohave on the Colorado River. Long before it became a wagon road, it was part of a network of Native trails linking the Colorado River with springs, valleys, and communities to the west.
The Mojave people, whose villages lay along the Colorado River near present-day Needles, traveled and traded across this country by moving from one dependable water source to the next. Routes varied with season and water conditions, but the trail followed places that later became familiar names on the Mojave Road: Piute Springs, Rock Springs, Marl Springs, and Soda Springs. The trail was not a single fixed road; it was a practical network shaped by water, terrain, and the needs of travel.
In 1776, Father Francisco Garces made the first documented European journey through parts of this trail system. In 1826, American trapper Jedediah Smith followed Mojave paths across the desert and became the first known non-Indian to reach California overland from the interior of North America. Lt. Amiel Weeks Whipple surveyed the route in 1853 during his railroad reconnaissance.
Between 1857 and 1860, Lt. Edward F. Beale supervised the improvement of the trail into a government wagon road. The work made it possible to move wagons, supplies, mail, and troops between Southern California and the Colorado River. In April 1859, the Army established Camp Colorado, soon renamed Fort Mohave, at Beale's Crossing on the Colorado River.
The road became especially important during the 1860s. Camp Cady was established on the Mojave River in May 1860, and small redoubts were built near Soda Springs, Marl Springs, and Bitter Springs. The Army used these posts to protect water sources, escort mail, and support travel through a country where distance between reliable water could decide whether a party survived.
From 1864 through 1867, the Mojave Road served as the principal mail route between Southern California and Prescott, then the capital of Arizona Territory. The road carried soldiers, freight, miners, livestock, and mail coaches, but it also became a place of continuing conflict as outside traffic crossed Native homelands. Floods in the winter of 1867-68 damaged parts of the road, and the Army began withdrawing from its smaller posts. Camp Cady closed in 1871.
Steamboats on the Colorado River and new railroads reduced the road's importance. The Southern Pacific completed its Barstow-Needles line in 1883, south of the old road, and the railroad connection through the desert soon made wagon travel less necessary. By the late nineteenth century, the Mojave Road had ceased to be a major transportation route.
Today, much of the eastern road lies within Mojave National Preserve. Modern travelers can still follow long stretches of its course, although the present driving route includes detours around sensitive areas and places no longer passable by motor vehicle. Marl Springs, Seventeen Mile Point, Soda Springs, Camp Cady, and Fort Mohave remain reminders that this was once a hard-won route across one of the driest parts of the Southwest.
Timeline
Before European contact - Native trail networks link the Colorado River, desert springs, and western California.
1776 - Father Francisco Garces makes the first documented European journey through portions of the Mojave trail system.
1826 - Jedediah Smith follows Mojave trails across the desert.
1853 - Lt. Amiel Weeks Whipple surveys the trail during a transcontinental railroad reconnaissance.
1857-1860 - Under Lt. Edward F. Beale, the trail is improved into a government wagon road.
April 1859 - Camp Colorado, later Fort Mohave, is established at Beale's Crossing on the Colorado River.
May 1860 - Major James H. Carleton establishes Camp Cady on the Mojave River. Redoubts are also built at Soda Springs, Marl Springs, and Bitter Springs.
1861 - Fort Mohave is temporarily abandoned as regular Army troops leave for Civil War service.
1863 - Fort Mohave is reoccupied; California Volunteers again patrol the Mojave Road.
1864-1867 - The road serves as the principal mail route between Southern California and Prescott.
June 1866 - Camp Cady is re-garrisoned to protect mail and civilian travel. Additional military protection is planned at Rock Springs, Soda Springs, Marl Springs, and Piute Creek.
Winter 1867-68 - Flooding damages sections of the Mojave Road.
May 1868 - The Army decommissions the small redoubts at Rock Springs, Marl Springs, and Soda Springs.
1871 - The Army withdraws from Camp Cady.
1883 - The Southern Pacific completes its Barstow-Needles railroad line, greatly reducing regular use of the Mojave Road.
1960s-1970s - Dennis Casebier surveys and helps reopen much of the historic route.
Today - The Mojave Road remains a historic driving route, with major portions within Mojave National Preserve.
History of Eastern Mojave & the Mojave Road
Historic Mojave Road - 1863
Across America - Prescott to Los Angeles
Indian Trail
Jedediah Smith
Fr. Garces
Fort Mohave
Marl Springs
Camp Cady
Afton Canyon
Camp Cady
History of Camp Cady
Covert Operations
Fork in the Roads