Needles

Founding & Origins (1880s-WWII):

The town of Needles, located in the Mojave Desert, was founded in 1883. It sprang up on the map around 1890 thanks to the construction of the Old Red Rock Cantilever Bridge. It had been populated prior to this, but the railroad caused thousands more to flood into the town.This process was enhanced with the establishment of Route 66 in 1926, which runs within ten miles of the town.[1]

Military Activity (1940s-1960s):

Once the Second World War began, Needles was encompassed within a military training program that affected much of the Mojave Desert. This process began in the 1940s, but later Needles became a more permanent training location. General Patton was the person who actually categorized this location as a Desert Training Center.[2] Needles also got some notoriety when two major military maneuvers were performed there. The first of these maneuvers was conducted in the 1940s under the leadership of General Patton. The second was done in 1964. This second maneuver included 89,000 troops and left permanent marks on the desert landscape.[3]

Contemporary Needles

In recent years the town of Needles has very little to do with the military. The Mojave Desert in general is still a part of the Desert Training Center. One of the lasting benefits of having military involvement in the area is the extensive mapping of the Mojave Desert. Before the 1940s there was never a need to map out a desert, but now there is an extensive, military-grade map of the Mojave Desert available.[4] Another interesting fact pertaining to the town of Needles is that the creator of the Peanuts comics, Charles Schulz, grew up there. Schulz later moved elsewhere, but he gave a nod to the town by depicting Needles in some of his comic strips.

Footnotes

[1] Maggie McShan, “Needles History,” City of Needles, accessed November 11, 2018, http://www.cityofneedles.com/Pages/About-Needles/Needles-back-in-the-day.html.

[2] “General Patton’s World War II Training Ground in the Mojave,” National Park Service, accessed November 11, 2018, https://www.nps.gov/articles/pattonmojave.htm.

[3] “General Patton’s.”