Timeline
This shows the timeline of significant events in the history of Death Valley Junction.
Abbreviations
AOH - Amargosa Opera House Inc.
DVJ - Death Valley Junction
DVNM - Death Valley National Monument
DVNP - Death Valley National Park
DVRR - Death Valley Railroad
PCB - Pacific Coast Borax Co.
TTRR - Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
prehistory
-7000
Earliest inhabitants
900
Shoshone and Paiute arrive
1800-1899
1830
Antonio Armijo goes through Tecopa
1848
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
1849
Jayhawkers, Bugsmashers, and Bennett-Arcan parties
1861
Owen and Beale survey
1870
Clay deposits discovered west of Ash Meadows
1871
Wheeler and Lyle survey
1881
Borax discovered in Death Valley by Aaron and Rose Winters, bought by William Coleman
1882
Harmony Borax Works begins operation
1883
Monte Blanco borax deposit found by Philander Lee, Harry Spiller, and Billy Yount and sold to William Coleman
1883
Borax discovered at Borate
1884
Lila C. deposit found by the Lee brothers and sold to Coleman
1890
Francis Smith acquires Coleman's holdings and creates Pacific Coast Borax Co.
1891
Death Valley Expedition
1893
William Coleman dies
1899
Smith and British partners form Borax Consolidated
1900-1909
1903
Lila C. development begun
1903
traction road started
1904
traction road finished
1904
Lila C. begins operation
1904
Smith attempts to use Old Dinah on traction road
1904
Smith begins construction on LV&TRR but is stopped by Clark
1904
Smith founds T&T Railroad Co.
1905
TTRR construction begins
1906
TTRR survey - this is when DVJ location is defined
1906
Robert and Kitty Tubb open saloon and brothel in DVJ in advance of RR construction
1906
TTRR construction reaches Zabriskie
1908
rotary kiln opens at Lila C.
1908
Lila C. renamed Ryan
1909
Cook and Hoff saloon opens in DVJ
1910-1919
1912
Land patent granted to Robert Tubb
1913
DVRR route surveyed from Horton to new Ryan
1914
DVRR reaches Biddy McCarthy
1914
Robert and Kitty Tubb divorce
1915
Lila C. shuts down, tracks removed
1915
Bess Davis opens DVJ school
1916
Dad Fairbanks patents clay claims
1916
Roasting mill moved to DVJ
1916
California Red Light Abatement Act
1920-1929
1920
Lila C. reopens, tracks replaced
1920
Zane Grey writes article in Harper's magazine
1922
PCB purchases additional land
1923
Tubb sells property to PCB, closes saloon and moves to Ash Meadows
1923
Civic Center construction begins
1924
Fire destroys the wet concentrator
1924
Civic Center construction completed
1925
Patent 1487806 granted to Clarence Rasor for Colemanite refining, assigned to PCB
1926
Lila C. shuts down, tracks removed
1926
PCB creates the subsidiary Death Valley Hotel Company
1927
Borax discovered at Kramer by Rasor
1927
Furnace Creek Inn opens
1927
Spur built from Bradford Junction to Clay Camp
1928
DVJ mill begins clay processing
1928
PCB moves operations to Boron
1928
Death Valley View Hotel opens
1929
Furnace Creek airport opens
1930-1939
1930
Death Valley View Hotel closes
1931
Alwilda Ragsdale Scholl begins teaching school in DVJ
1932
Old Dinah towed to Furnace Creek Ranch
1932
Amargosa Hotel and Cafe open
1933
TTRR shops at Ludlow moved to DVJ
1937
Highways 190 and 127 paved
1938
TTRR damaged after severe floods
1940-1949
1940
TTRR ceases operation
1942
TTRR track demolition started
1942
Furnace Creek Inn closes
1943
TTRR demolition finished
1945
Furnace Creek Inn reopens, run by Charles Scholl
1946
Harry Rosenberg graduates HS in Corkill Hall
1950-1959
1956
Pacific Coast Borax Company merged with United States Potash Corporation to form U.S. Borax
1956
Amargosa Hotel leased to Fred Harvey
1958
Brothel at Ash Meadows Lodge opens
1959
Wesley Casey buys DVJ from Fred Harvey
1960-1969
1960
Ettie Lee buys DVJ from Wesley Casey
1961
Ettie Lee sues Wesley and Harriet Casey
1964
Ettie Lee wins lawsuit
1967
Rio Tinto acquires U.S. Borax
1967
Marta Becket and Tom Williams arrive in DVJ
1968
Becket's first performance in Opera House
1968
Becket begins painting theater murals
1970-1979
1970
DVJ population about 30
1970
Vicky Starr buys Ash Meadows Lodge and renames it Ash Meadows Sky Ranch
1973
Amargosa Opera House (AOH) nonprofit formed by Marta Becket and Tom Williams
1974
Becket finishes murals
1974
Peter Simon begins upgrades in hotel and theater
1976
AOH buys theater and adjacent apartment from Ettie Lee estate
1976
Peter Simon buys DVJ from Ettie Lee estate
1979
Amargosa Hotel closes
1980-1989
1980
AOH buys DVJ from Peter Simon
1980
DVJ added to National Register of Historic Places
1983
Tom Willet moves to DVJ
1983
Theater seats installed
1983
Marta and Tom Williams divorce
1983
Robert Plant music video "Big Log" filmed at hotel
1986
Scenes for "The Hitcher" movie filmed at gas station and cafe
1988
AOH pays off mortgage
1989
Documentary "Motel" filmed at hotel
1990-1999
1991
Scenes for "Delusion" filmed inside and outside hotel
1992
Amargosa Hotel reopens
1997
Scenes for "Lost Highway" filmed in hotel and gas station exterior
1998
"Welcome to Serendipity" filmed in hotel
2000-2009
2000
Timbisha Shoshone tribal lands established including 1000 acres adjacent to DVJ
2000
"Amargosa" documentary filmed
2001
"My Bounty Hunter" filmed in hotel
2009
Marta Becket quits dancing, initiates the Sitting Down Show
2010-2019
2010
DVJ population about 4
2010
Bio Centric Energy begins construction of algae farm at DVJ
2010
Bio Centric Energy goes out of business
2011
Amargosa Cafe closes
2011
Peter Lik art gallery constructed
2012
Marta Becket's final performance
2016
Amargosa Cafe reopens
2017
Timbisha Shoshone marijuana grow facility built on adjacent tribal land
2018
50th anniversary of Amargosa Opera House
2020-2029
2020
Cafe, hotel, and theater close due to COVID
2021
Hotel reopens with limited theater tours
2023
Hurricane Hilary causes flooding
