Preserving the past is the mission of the Coachella Valley History Museum. The facility showcases more than 100 years of desert history, and a visit to the six-acre campus in Indio feels like stepping back in time.
A collection of buildings, gardens and exhibit spaces replicate early life in the valley—before air conditioning or widespread refrigeration. A 1926 adobe home, a schoolhouse from 1909 and an authentic blacksmith’s shop are just some of the highlights.
The world’s only Date History Museum is here; you can learn how to propagate a date palm tree and hear how the museum won an award from an Arab sheikh. Or peek inside the Desert Submarine—a place engineered to allow sweltering farm workers could cool off. At the CVHM, it’s a challenge to take it all in; stepping back in time here takes time.
The museum grounds include a rose garden, a date palm grove and a recently refurbished and re-dedicated Japanese Memorial Garden, with more in the works.
Rebecca Rizzo is the immediate past president of the Coachella Valley Historical Society, the volunteer board responsible for steering the museum’s operations. She said the gardens are often used for special events, or just moments of solitude.
“One of the prettiest places in the Coachella Valley is the garden in the middle of the season,” Rizzo said. “When it’s the morning, in the rose garden, and the sun’s coming over the mountains, and you’re sitting there on that bench, it just feels wonderful.”
Rizzo and Gloria Franz, the second vice president, spoke with the Independent about the museum’s ongoing mission to promote the history of the region. Franz said the Coachella Valley’s history is an important link to the future.
“People who move (here) don’t really understand our origins, right?” Franz said. “I mean, our pioneers definitely had a heck of a challenge when they first got here to make this a livable space for those of us who are here now. So that’s our biggest thing—to preserve, share and interpret the history of the Coachella Valley.
“For me, the adobe house is pretty cool, because you think about how people lived before the invention of air conditioning. You think about how it was built, how it was designed. They had a basement specifically, because in the summer, you would sleep downstairs (where) it’s cooler.”
Inside the well-appointed adobe house—once home to the families of Smiley and Tyler, two of the valley’s first medical doctors—you can forget that outside the temperature is climbing into the triple digits. The foot-thick walls keep the heat out even today. Some of the rooms are essentially as they were in the 1920s. You can walk through the original full-service kitchen, replete with a dumb waiter (an elevator-like platform on pulleys that allowed food service to be delivered to the downstairs dining room) and other artifacts of turn-of-the-century food preparation.
The doctor’s office features tools of the optometry trade, including examination equipment seemingly awaiting the next patient. Some artifacts were imported; there is a replica of a country store, a fire station and an early telephone switchboard, as well as basketry and artwork from the native Cahuilla people.
The CVHM isn’t just resting on its antique laurels. This fall, it will begin the installation of a new permanent exhibit, the Garden and Railway Project. Tracks are being laid for this “final piece,” said Franz; it’s an elaborate undertaking that will bring an authentic train car onto the museum campus.
“That came from an idea that (this region was) a rail stop, and that’s how the Coachella Valley actually began,” Franz said. “Southern Pacific Railroad had us as one of their main stops. They had a train that ran from Los Angeles, to (here), to Phoenix, to New Orleans and back. A lot of people used that railway to travel right from one big city to another. So, we thought, how cool would it be?”
The dining and lounge car will be outfitted to invoke the bygone era of elegant train travel. “We’re looking at rebuilding what was considered the New Orleans look,” Franz said. “There were four styles; (this one) reminds me a little bit of Palm Springs, the modernism thing.”
Once the tracks are laid, the train car will be transported here from Indiana. It’s a slow-moving process involving oversized vehicles on the freeway and cranes. Next, the gardens will be laid, and then the museum will begin fundraising to refurbish the interior of the car. Portions of the project will roll out over the next 12 months, with costs estimated to exceed $1 million. Franz said initial support for the project has come from the Indio Water Authority and the city of Indio, along with donations from contractors and the train-restorer. Private donors have also stepped up.
“Since we are doing it in phases, it’s hard to have a number,” Franz said about the total cost. “The price keeps going up. We’ve applied for grants, but they are very difficult, and so far, we have not been successful.”
The Garden and Railway Project will include a demonstration garden with drought-tolerant plants, an exhibit space dedicated to the story of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and two specialty gardens designed to attract monarch butterflies and hummingbirds.
Additionally, there are plans to build a full-scale replica of the Desert Submarine. “We want people to be able to step inside and go, ‘Oh my god, this does work.’ Too cool, right?” Franz said.
Rizzo said it takes a particular type of spirit to be a part of this mission. She applauded the all-volunteer cadre of docents, tour guides and board trustees who dedicate their time to learning the rich history of the valley and sharing it with their neighbors.
“You realize that you really are a part of something extreme, being here in the Coachella Valley and being a part of this weather and this climate,” Rizzo said. “Going to the museum allows you to see that you are a part of that resilience. You are a part of that unique group of people who can find beauty in the areas where others may not see that. … You have to be an extreme individual to love living in the valley.”
The Coachella Valley History Museum is located at 82616 Miles Ave., in Indio. The museum is open from Friday through Monday from September through May; hours vary during extreme summer heat. Admission is $10, with discounts; children are admitted for free, and admission is free for all during the first full weekend of each month. Learn more at cvhm.org.
