Homesteaders

The Keys family’s Desert Queen (Keys) Ranch illustrates the best preserved story of early 20th century desert homesteading in the park. Situated in an area where water was naturally available, we know from the archeological record that Native Americans used this area extensively before development of the natural water resources by cattlemen. The dam system the cattlemen started, and Mr. Keys expanded, provided the family with sufficient water to successfully homestead the property.

William F. (Bill) Keys had worked on several cattle ranches, hunted outlaws as a deputy sheriff along the Utah-Arizona border, and prospected and mined along the Colorado River and in Death Valley before he arrived in the Joshua Tree area. His wife Frances Mae Lawton, a stenographer for Western Union in Los Angeles before marrying Bill in 1918, thrived at the ranch in spite of growing up in the city. According to the Keys children, childhood at the ranch was filled with lots of chores, but also opportunities for adventure.