- Abandoned truck at Wall Street Stamp Mill Joshua Tree National Park
One of the aspects I love about mechanical antiques is that someone used them. At the time they were thought of as modern inventions and conveniences. Today they seem quaint or clumsy. Regardless, old tools, machinery, cars and, my favorite, mechanical wind-up alarm clocks were integral to someone’s life. Daily, people would use the antiques to move forward in business or life. For me and others, antique mechanical objects can transport us back into the past and provides a nice contrast to our modern conveniences of today.
At Joshua Tree National Park there were several business operations before it became a park: cattle ranching, sheep herding and stamp mill to name a few. The remnants of this past are an old dam, wind mill, foundations of homes, a fairly intact stamp mill and an assortment of rusting trucks. Had these business ventures been successful we would not have the park today. But scratching a living out of the desert, no matter how much you love the landscape or believe in the business, is no match for economics and high desert climate.
Backside of Barker Dam, notice high water mark. Stored spring water was used for the cattle.
Old ranch house new Barker Dam and Wall Street Stamp Mill
Abandoned truck near ranch house
Real spoke wheels of an old truck
Old truck with fallen tree.
Wall Street Stamp Mill Top View
Rails for ore carts leading to top of stamp mill.
Belt wheels inside stamp mill
Actual stamp or crushing mechanism inside mill.
Incident marker: Here is where Worth Bagley bit the dust at the hand of W.F. Keys, May, 11, 1943. The property was part of the Keys Ranch. Not sure if victim was animal, human or machine.
Old wind mill
