Cabot's Pueblo Museum - 02/25/20

During a visit to Desert Hot Springs on February 25, 2020 we visited the Cabot’s Pueblo Museum.

The house and surrounding structures were self-built by Cabot Abram Yerxa (1883–1965).

It is named as "Cabot’s Old Indian Pueblo Museum" in its application for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The California State Parks Office of Historic Preservation lists it as "Yerxa's Discovery".

Yerxa was an adventurer who first settled on 160 acres in Southern California's Coachella Valley in 1913. He established his home, The Eagle's Nest, on a hill he would later name Miracle Hill. Using a pick and shovel to dig wells, Yerxa discovered two aquifers on opposite sides of the hill, which happened to be separated by the Mission Creek Fault, a branch of the San Andreas Fault.] The first aquifer was a natural hot spring with a temperature of 110 °F in the Desert Hot Springs Sub-Basin and which would later help give rise to the area's spas and resorts. The second, on the opposite side of the fault, was a cold aquifer of the Mission Springs Sub-Basin. This same aquifer provides fresh water to the city of Desert Hot Springs and has received awards for exceptional taste.

In May, 1917, Yerxa left the desert to join the Army during World War I. He returned to the desert in 1937, and in 1939 began building a museum to house his collection of Native American and other artifacts. He fashioned the building as a Hopi Indian pueblo in honor of the Indian people, and he opened Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo in 1950. He operated it with his wife, Portia, until his death in 1965. Upon his death Portia returned to her native Texas and the structure was abandoned.

Yerxa's friend Cole Eyraud protected the settlement after his death and after it had been abandoned and vandalized. Eyraud and his family purchased the complex, restoring it and later donating it to the City of Desert Hot Springs.

Museum Hours:

October 1 to May 31
Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Closed: Monday

June 1 to September 30
Wednesday to Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Closed: Sunday, Monday & Tuesday
 

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