NEWBERRY SPRINGS, CA
D e s e r t W a t e r W o n d e r l a n d "
[slogan name by: NEWBERRY SPRINGS BUSINESS ASSOCIATION]
When it was founded in 1911
it was named WATER and for
years before that, was recognized as the first water
point for wagon trains west
of the Colorado River.
Through archaeological
activity evidence exists
that indicates the presence
of Indian tribes from the
early ages of man. The
National Geographic Society
maintains a "dig" near Newberry Springs and many sites
boast prehistoric finds including fossils, limestone
caverns, historic sites from
every age of American development.
Newberry Springs is located in the Great Mojave
Desert covering around 244 sq
miles of Silver Valley. (177 sq mi in the Community Services District and the other 124 sq mi is the area known as Harvard. It's all in the 257 prefix) It
shares Silver Valley with
Harvard, Yermo and Daggett
to the east of Barstow. The
boarders are Mojave River
(north), Cady Mountains
(east), Minneola Rd (west),
and Newberry Mountain (south).
The area north of Mojave
River is known as Harvard
Area. Then North West is
Yermo where to the north is
Calico. With Daggett being
West on the way to Barstow.
Two major highways cross
Newberry Springs. I-15 to
the north delivering traffic
between L. A. and Vegas.
I-40 begins in Barstow and
follows Route 66 through
the Mojave Desert into Arizona.
With Laughlin building up
there is a lot of traffic
cutting off I-15 at Barstow
from L. A. going to the
River Resorts at Laughlin.
The climate in Newberry
Springs is mild. With annual
averages of 50 to 85 degrees
and the hottest getting to
110 in July and the low at
35 once in a while dipping
to 10 or so in Jan-Feb. Or
climbing to 120 in Jul-Aug.
The wind kicks up though
and gets everyone upset, but
then the rain of an average
4 inches settels the dust.
The elevation is from
1,840 to 2,100 feet, depending on where you are.
Health services are available in Barstow. They have
one hospital with a 56 bed
capacity, 30 physicians &
surgeons, 13 dentists, five
optometrista, five chiropractors and one convalescent
hospital. Also the new Veterans Home.
The San Bernardino
County Health Nurse holds a
clinic on the third Monday
of each month at the
Community Center Building on
Newberry Rd.
The Community Center Building was built entirely by
private funds and is used 28
days out of every month for
meetings or classes by one
of the many local groups.
The Senior Service Assn
now has its own building
built from the proceeds of
Bingo, Rummage Sales, Mini Center income and matching
funds from the Government.
It is located at 33383
Newberry Rd (257-3284).
Located on an ancient
lake Newberry has a large
basin of underground water.
Providing precious moisture
for the area. There are well
over 300 man made lakes in
the region, supplied from
wells. A number of these
lakes are public recreation
resorts, some are private
ski lakes, others are
catfish farms and private
lakes.
Ample irrigation sources
have made agriculture a top
pursuit in the area.
Newberry currently has
alfalfa, pistachio, tomatoes
and other vegi's & melons.
Also cattle ranches, horse
ranches and dairies.
The land contributes in
other ways too, as the
nearby high desert mountains
are rich in mineral
deposits. This is the area
from which the historic
twenty-mule teams hauled out
valuable borax.
The area to the west of
Newberry, in Daggett has
been the site of several
inovative new methods of
producing power for the ever
increasing power demands of
our times.
The Daggett-Barstow Airport, a 1082 acre county
owned facility, affords
access to the latest in air
travel, with 50,000 sq ft of
manufacturing space and
hundreds of acres available
for future growth.
BLM wilderness lands
surround Newberry Springs offering
much to see and explore.
----------------------------
For more information
about Newberry Springs, the
current status of various
projects and status of
applications for land usage
the County is reviewing, or
general community services
information please contact
the Newberry Community
Services District office at
30884 Newberry Rd, POBx 206
(760) 257-3613
THE ABOVE ARTICLE IS A REPRINT FROM THE "NEWBERRY SPRINGS COMMUNITY DIRECTORY" (most spelling errors corrected 6-00, 10 years after the fact.)
Published by; L & P Publishing.
© Patrick J Wright 1998 - 2000
