Before the city of Palm Desert, there was Palm Village
Palm Desert was a post-World War II community that started out on the south side of Highway 111. Palm Village was established before the War on the north side of the highway. Both would come together to form the Palm Desert as we know it today.
Early maps referred to the area as a “sand hole.” One of the very first area pioneers, Walter Schmid, began drilling wells there in 1910. By 1919, the “sand hole” had 18 wells, allowing crops to be grown.
In 1929, King C. Gillette, of razorblade fame, bought up land parcels creating a 480-acre ranch with two wells, an irrigation reservoir of unknown origin, and some dead vineyards. King had dreams of another Palm Springs, but the Great Depression put a hold on those dreams, and he started liquidating the ranch.
In 1933, William Johnson, President of American Pipe and Construction Co., acquired 320 acres of the Gillette land. Johnson had big plans, too. He hired renowned landscape architect Charles Gibbs Adams to lay out the development. Adams had previously designed the Hearst Farm, the Kellogg Ranch, and the city of Beverly Hills. Johnson built several houses, and planted dates, grapefruits and flowers. The old irrigation reservoir was converted to a community swimming pool. Sales of lots began in earnest.
Johnson had other pressing business so in 1940 he sold out to the Mollin Investment Company. Mollin acquired another 60 acres and named the project Palm Village. Sales were brisk, and the future looked rosy. Palm Village was off to a good start, but then World II War got in the way.
In 1942, General George S. Patton established the Desert Training Center to train troops for combat in North Africa. In 1943, the Army commandeered land near the Indio Highway (Highway 111) and Portola to support the Desert Training Center. Initially, solders trained in the Deep Canyon area for “deployment under attack,” or the art of concealment using camouflage. Patton was big on his troops learning how to conceal themselves in the desert, especially from aircraft. Later, the Palm Village Motor Pool was established on the same land to help meet the vehicle training and repair needs of the Desert Training Center.
The Palm Desert Motor Pool trained officers and enlisted men to operate, maintain, and repair all types of military vehicles in the harsh desert environment. The Motor Pool also repaired equipment used at the Desert Training Center. Patton believed that combat training should be as realistic as possible and that support services should not be unrealistically “convenient” for the troops. That might explain why the Palm Village Motor Pool was located so far from the actual combat training.
Although overrun with GI’s, Palm Village didn’t change much during the war. It was basically a “wide spot in the road” consisting of a store, a gas station, and a small hotel. The residents of Palm Village did their bit to support the War. Motorists fortunate enough to have vehicles with serviceable tires and gas were happy to give GI’s rides, sometimes with seats full and solders standing on the running boards. The community swimming pool was given over to the Army so that solders could get some relief from working and training in the desert heat.
With the Allied victory in North Africa assured, the Desert Training Center was no longer needed and started winding down. The Palm Village Motor Pool became responsible for patching up the equipment from the Desert Training Center and shipping it off to where it was needed. By mid-1944 the Desert Training Center and the Palm Desert Motor Pool were history. All that remained of the Motor Pool were six large concrete slabs where tanks and other large vehicles were repaired.
After the War, Palm Village flourished. The Palm Village Land Company touted the abundance of pure water from artesian wells and other amenities the community enjoyed—such as a shopping center, schools and churches, a bank, motels and restaurants. An anchor for the community was the venerable Palm Village Inn.
The Inn featured steaks, chicken, and cocktails, not necessarily in that order. The owners believed that they had to provide good food and service in order to entice patrons to make the ten-plus-mile journey from either Palm Springs or Indio. Apparently it worked, as the December 18, 1947, issue of The Desert Sun ran an article entitled “Many Parties at Palm Village Inn.”
A majority of Palm Village residents voted to merge with Palm Desert. The county approved and, in 1951, the two communities became one. The official reason given for the merger was to avoid post office confusion. The real reason was that Palm Villagers wanted to be associated with the new, growing, and decidedly upscale community of Palm Desert.