When Apple Valley Was a Healing Desert Retreat: Turkeys, Trout, and Tuberculosis
The Surprising Agricultural and Healing History of Apple Valley
In the early 1900s, Apple Valley California was still a small desert settlement surrounded by ranches and open land.
Then doctors across the country began recommending something unexpected to their patients.
Move to the desert.
Before antibiotics were developed, tuberculosis was one of the most feared diseases in America. Physicians believed that dry climates and fresh air could help patients recover from respiratory illnesses.
Soon the Mojave Desert, including Apple Valley, became known as an “outdoor hospital.”
Patients suffering from tuberculosis, asthma, and other respiratory conditions traveled to the High Desert seeking relief in the clean, dry air.
One of the most inspiring places from this period was the Lone Wolf Colony, founded in 1922 by World War I veteran Sam Coldwell, whose Native name was Lone Wolf.
Coldwell had been exposed to mustard gas during the war and believed the desert environment could help other veterans recover. Determined to create a place of rest and healing, he organized volunteers to help build a retreat for recovering soldiers.
In 1926, 250 Pacific Bell volunteers helped construct the colony, building a large ranch house and several cabins where veterans could recover in the quiet desert landscape.
While some people came to Apple Valley seeking healing, others came seeking opportunity.
Agriculture soon began to flourish across the valley. Farmers experimented with crops suited to the desert climate, raising alfalfa, corn, dairy cattle, and other agricultural products.
By the 1950s, Apple Valley farms were producing more than one million dollars in crops annually, an impressive achievement for a region once considered too dry for agriculture.
One of the most well-known operations was Jess Ranch, run by Stoddard Jess.
The ranch became one of the largest turkey farming operations in the western United States, processing nearly 80,000 turkeys every year.
But turkeys were only part of the story.
Jess Ranch also operated 19 trout lakes, producing nearly two million trout annually, all in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
Wait… I Never Knew That!
Visitors touring Apple Valley ranches in the 1950s were warned not to honk their car horns because the noise could panic the thousands of turkeys being raised in the valley.
For a brief time in Apple Valley history, traffic rules were influenced by turkeys.
Charlotte’s Desert Reflection
The people who settled Apple Valley saw possibility where others saw limitations. Whether they were building healing retreats or creating farms in the desert, they approached the valley with creativity and determination. That spirit of resilience still feels very much alive here today.
About Charlotte Volsch
Charlotte Volsch is an Apple Valley real estate broker specializing in probate and trust real estate throughout the High Desert and Inland Empire. Over the past 25 years in real estate, including more than 16 years focused specifically on probate and trust transactions, she has guided families through more than 774 estate-related property sales.
Charlotte works alongside attorneys, personal representatives, executors, administrators, and trustees, helping them navigate the often complex process of handling a loved one’s estate.