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The
acreage located at Cook Street and Frank Sinatra Drive looks deceptively barren
and unproductive. The history of
its previous inhabitants spanning hundreds of years, tells a different story. It
was alive with activity when the early Desert Cahuilla Indians camped nearby as
they harvested native seeds and plant materials, and fortune-hunting miners
trudged across it on their way to the Colorado River Valley, while
underestimating the property’s future value.
In more recent times, the property was cherished by a courageous grower
of table grapes, who stood against the will of his fellow growers to side with
the plight of the Hispanic migrant laborers, struggling in the fields to harvest
the fruit.
The
area’s first inhabitants could visualize the nutritional value of the desert’s
native flora, and prized its underground artesian rivers flowing beneath the
sandy soil. Long before White
settlers came into the desert valley, Native Americans had discovered that wells
dug deep into the sand could reach into water sources deep below the surface and
satisfy all their water needs. “Civilized” society saw only a barren “Sand
Hole,” which is the name originally given to the area now known as Palm
Desert.
- Mid-1800 Desert Cahuilla Indian retrieving water
from a spring in Coachella Valley. Reprinted courtesy of the Denver Public Library Western
History Archives.
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The
main tribe inhabiting Coachella Valley in the 1800’s was called the Desert
Cahuilla (pronounced Kah-we-ah), which means "Master."
Their members were fiercely resourceful in surviving our blistering
temperatures, digging the desert’s first successful wells. They set up
temporary shelters around the valley to coincide with the ripening of
native plant foods and seeds scattered throughout the area.
Creative
methods were devised for using plant material to construct baskets and utensils,
especially the fan palm trees growing in natural groves situated along desert
springs. They built their homes
called "kish," by utilizing reeds and brush as building materials and
increased the protein in their diet by harvesting mesquite beans and pinions.
They lived in harmony with and for the land.
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Early settlers to the Coachella Valley frequently
constructed homes using the style and building materials of their Cahuilla
neighbors. 1890 photograph Reprinted courtesy of the Denver Public Library
Western History Archives. |
Early
in the last century, land in the valley passed from the Cahuilla Indians to
farmers who increased its productivity. According
to Dan Callahan of the Historical Society of Palm Desert, the World War years
put a special demand on the property to contribute to the need for raw materials
for the war effort. As part of the
Bell Ranch, the property at Cook and Frank Sinatra took part in a fleeting
experiment to grow rubber plants, which could supply tire manufacturers with the
raw materials needed to increase production of Army trucks and Jeeps.
The value of this slow-growing crop came to an abrupt halt when World War
II ended. Rubber was no longer
needed.
A
new crop soon took the place of rubber plants, rooting deep into the desert’s
sandy soil. Local growers had discovered that table grapes grew hardily
in the desert climate and could be harvested cheaply by migrant workers.
With 60% of its acreage being planted in grape vineyards, the value of
the property was booming.
Suddenly,
a labor strike in 1959 threatened the local grape vineyard industry, and
eventually set a new standard by which the property’s value would be decided.
Valley growers struggled to harvest the grapes, dates, and citrus that
dotted the landscape. Work in the vineyards stopped completely in 1965, as migrant
farm workers under the leadership of nonviolence advocate César Chávez
launched a strike against all California grape growers including Lionel
Steinberg, who owned the property that would eventually become the new CSUSB
Center site. The farm workers
demanded better working conditions and fair wages, and staged boycotts and
marches that left the grapes clinging to the vines to broil in the desert sun.
Known
for his compassionate willingness to side with the migrant workers’ plight,
Steinberg stood virtually alone among growers in his decision to negotiate with
Chavez and his ragtag union. He
riled fellow growers throughout the Coachella Valley, while acquiring the
historical distinction of being the first grower in California to sign a labor
contract with Cesar Chavez and his United Farm Workers in 1970.
Ironically, the increased labor costs required under the new union
contracts reduced the land’s value as a grape vineyard.
It lay fallow and unappreciated until housing and business districts
began rising up from the barren sands encircling its boundaries.
The
future value of this precious land took an unexpected turn when it was purchased
in 1993 by the Palm Desert Redevelopment Agency.
Palm Desert’s forward-looking City Fathers set its final course when
they officially donated it to the California State University to serve as the
new home of CSUSB’s Palm Desert Campus. Local
funds are currently being raised from generous members of the community to build
beautiful buildings designed to grace the contours of the land.
The lands newest inhabitants will occupy the first of three university
buildings completed in January 2002. The
next few decades promise to bring large numbers of people who themselves will
grow, learn and cherish their experiences on this property.
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Mary Stuart Rogers Gateway Building opened in 2002.
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