Our History

The history of Newberry Springs Fire Department is closely tied to the history of the community itself. Long before there was a town, a highway, a railroad, or a fire station, people traveled through this part of the Mojave Desert because of one resource that has shaped Newberry Springs for generations—water.

Over time, Native American trails became exploration and military routes, railroads crossed the desert, Route 66 brought travelers through the community, and agriculture developed around the area's groundwater. As Newberry Springs grew, residents increasingly took responsibility for providing their own community services. That spirit of local involvement eventually led to the construction of a community center, the establishment of local government, and the creation of a fire department dedicated to protecting Newberry Springs.

Native Peoples and Ancient Trade Routes

Thousands of years before the modern community existed, Native peoples lived and traveled throughout the Mojave Desert and along the Mojave River corridor. The Vanyumé, generally identified as a Serrano-speaking people, were associated with the Mojave River region, while the Mojave, or Aha Macav, lived primarily along the Colorado River to the east. Other Indigenous peoples of the greater desert region included the Chemehuevi, Serrano, Cahuilla, and neighboring groups whose territories and travel networks connected the desert with the mountains, river valleys, and Pacific Coast.

Travel across the Mojave Desert depended heavily on knowledge of water. Native travelers developed extensive trail systems connecting springs, river crossings, food sources, villages, and trading areas. The Mojave were particularly well known for traveling great distances. Trade routes extended west from communities along the Colorado River toward Southern California and the Pacific Coast.

These routes carried more than people. Food, shells, minerals, animal products, tools, baskets, pottery, and other goods moved between communities over generations. Knowledge of where water could be found was just as valuable as the goods being traded. In a desert where traveling even a relatively short distance without water could be dangerous, springs and dependable sections of the Mojave River became important stopping points.

Learn more: National Park Service — Mojave Road and Old Spanish Trail

The Mojave Trail

One of these Indigenous transportation corridors eventually became known as the Mojave Trail.

Rather than being created by European explorers, the route existed long before Europeans entered the Mojave Desert. Native travelers established pathways between dependable water sources across the desert, including areas around Piute Spring, Rock Spring, Marl Spring, Soda Springs, and the Mojave River.

In 1776, Spanish Franciscan missionary Francisco Garcés traveled portions of the Indigenous trail system while crossing the Mojave Desert. Fifty years later, American trapper and explorer Jedediah Smith followed the route during his 1826 journey into California. Other explorers, survey parties, settlers, and military expeditions later traveled portions of the same desert corridor.

As American settlement expanded during the nineteenth century, portions of the old Indigenous trail system were developed into a wagon and military route commonly known as the Mojave Road.

Military posts were eventually established along the route to support travel and military operations across the desert. One of the most important locally was Camp Cady, established in 1860 along the Mojave River north of present-day Newberry Springs. The post became an important point along the western portion of the Mojave Road.

Learn more: National Park Service — Mojave National Preserve and the Old Spanish Trail
Camp Cady: California Office of Historic Preservation — Camp Cady

The Railroad Comes to the Desert

Another major change arrived during the 1880s when railroad construction pushed across the Mojave Desert. The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad developed an east-west route that would later become part of the Santa Fe Railway system.

Once again, water played an important role.

Steam locomotives required enormous quantities of water, making dependable desert water sources strategically important to railroad operations. The groundwater beneath the Newberry Springs area helped make settlement and development possible in a location that otherwise appeared dry and unforgiving on the surface.

The railroad also connected Newberry Springs with surrounding desert communities. Nearby Daggett developed as an important railroad and shipping point, particularly during the mining boom at Calico in the 1880s. Rail transportation brought workers, supplies, commerce, and new residents into a part of the Mojave Desert that had previously been difficult to reach.

Over time, a permanent community developed around the railroad, agriculture, and access to groundwater. The area was known by several names during its early history before eventually becoming Newberry and, later, Newberry Springs.

From Newberry to Newberry Springs

The community that developed around the railroad, agriculture, and water was known for many years simply as Newberry.

Water continued to influence nearly every part of life. Wells supported homes, ranches, agriculture, businesses, and railroad operations. That access to groundwater separated Newberry from many other small settlements scattered throughout the Mojave Desert.

In 1967, the community's name was officially changed from Newberry to Newberry Springs, a name that more clearly reflected the water resources that had played such an important role in the area's development.

Local history: Route 66 Centennial Monument — Newberry Springs, California

Route 66

The railroad was followed by another transportation route that would become one of the most famous highways in America.

Early automobile travelers crossed the Mojave Desert using roads that eventually became part of the National Old Trails Road. In 1926, much of the corridor was incorporated into U.S. Route 66, connecting Chicago with Southern California.

Route 66 passed directly through Newberry Springs.

Automobile travel brought service stations, cafés, roadside businesses, mechanics, and travelers from throughout the country into the community. Newberry Springs became one of many small Mojave Desert communities where motorists could stop for fuel, food, repairs, or simply a break before continuing across the desert.

The community's connection to Route 66 remains visible today. The Bagdad Café, located along historic Route 66 in Newberry Springs, became internationally recognized after its appearance in the 1987 film Bagdad Cafe.

Interstate 40 eventually replaced Route 66 as the primary east-west highway through the region. Although traffic patterns changed, historic Route 66 remains an important part of Newberry Springs' identity.

Learn more: Newberry Springs Route 66 History

Agriculture, Ranching, and Life in the Desert

Unlike many communities in the Mojave Desert, Newberry Springs developed a substantial agricultural identity because of its groundwater.

Residents established ranches, farms, alfalfa fields, orchards, and eventually pistachio operations throughout the valley. The availability of groundwater also made possible the development of private recreational lakes, giving Newberry Springs a landscape unlike many neighboring desert communities.

Pistachios eventually became closely associated with the community and remain part of its identity today through the annual Newberry Springs Pistachio Festival.

Despite being surrounded by desert, the community continued developing around the same resource that had attracted travelers, Native peoples, settlers, ranchers, and transportation networks for generations: water.

But rural life also created challenges. Homes and ranches were spread across a large geographic area, neighboring communities were miles away, and emergency assistance could not always arrive quickly.

As Newberry Springs grew, residents increasingly recognized the need to provide essential services locally.

The Community Builds Its Own Center

In 1957, residents of Newberry Springs came together to construct the Newberry Springs Community Center.

According to the Newberry Community Services District, the building was constructed by local residents using private funds, donated materials, and donated labor.

The building became much more than a meeting hall. It served as a gathering place for residents, became part of the community's emerging local government, and also housed the community's original fire station.

That effort represents an important part of Newberry Springs' history. Rather than waiting for another community or government agency to provide everything it needed, local residents worked together to create services for themselves.

Official history: Newberry Community Services District — About Newberry CSD

Formation of the Newberry Community Services District

The following year, Newberry Springs took another major step toward local self-government.

In 1958, residents established the Newberry Community Services District, creating an independent local government responsible for providing services specifically for the Newberry community.

The District was authorized to provide several community services, including fire protection. Instead of incorporating as a city, Newberry Springs developed around the Community Services District model, with local residents electing a Board of Directors responsible for governing the District and overseeing the services provided to the community.

That government structure continues today.

The Newberry Community Services District remains the local government entity responsible for the Newberry Springs Fire Department.

Official CSD website: Newberry Community Services District
Government records: San Bernardino LAFCO — Service Reviews

A Community Fire Department

Fire protection developed out of the same community effort that created the Community Center and the Community Services District.

The original fire station was located at the Community Center property built by residents in 1957. When fire protection became one of the responsibilities of the newly established Community Services District in 1958, Newberry Springs began developing a fire service of its own.

For much of its early history, the department relied heavily on volunteer firefighters and community participation.

Providing fire protection in Newberry Springs presented challenges very different from those faced by traditional municipal fire departments. Properties were separated by long distances, many roads were rural or unimproved, resources were limited, and much of the community lacked a municipal fire hydrant system.

Those conditions helped shape the type of fire department Newberry Springs needed.

Engines, brush apparatus, and water tenders became essential to protecting a rural desert community. Firefighters also had to be prepared for more than structure fires. Vegetation fires, traffic collisions, medical emergencies, rescues, hazardous conditions, and incidents occurring far from the station all became part of the department's responsibilities.

Historical government records: San Bernardino LAFCO

Stations 391 and 392

As Newberry Springs developed, so did its fire service.

Historical San Bernardino County LAFCO records document the Community Services District's continued responsibility for fire protection and the department's expansion over the following decades.

By the late 2000s, records identify two Newberry Springs fire stations.

Station 391 was associated with the Community Services District property and was reactivated in January 2009. Apparatus, including a water tender and rescue vehicle, were assigned there.

Station 392, historically known as the Mid-Valley Station, provided another response location more centrally positioned within the department's service area.

The department also continued developing mutual-aid relationships with surrounding fire agencies. Those partnerships remain especially important in the High Desert, where major structure fires, vegetation fires, traffic collisions, and other emergencies can quickly require more personnel, equipment, or water than any single rural department can provide.

Historical records and service reviews: San Bernardino LAFCO — Service Reviews

From Ancient Trails to Interstate Highways

Transportation continues to shape Newberry Springs just as it has for generations.

Indigenous trail networks were followed by exploration and military routes. The Mojave Road crossed the desert using many of the same dependable water sources. Railroads followed during the nineteenth century. Automobile roads developed into the National Old Trails Road and Route 66, which was eventually replaced as the primary highway by Interstate 40.

Today, Newberry Springs remains positioned along one of the most important transportation corridors in the American Southwest. Interstate 40, nearby Interstate 15, historic Route 66, and active railroad lines continue to bring travelers, commerce, freight, and emergency-response challenges through the region.

At the same time, agriculture, pistachio farming, ranching, recreation, renewable-energy development, Route 66 tourism, nearby military installations, and rural residential properties continue to shape the community.

Newberry Springs Fire Department Today

Today, Newberry Springs Fire Department continues operating under the Newberry Community Services District and responds from Fire Station 392.

The department provides all-hazard emergency response across approximately 114 square miles of rural High Desert terrain. Firefighters respond to structure fires, vegetation fires, medical emergencies, traffic collisions, rescues, hazardous conditions, and other calls for service.

Newberry Springs Fire Department also works with neighboring fire agencies through the regional mutual-aid system, allowing personnel, apparatus, water tenders, and other resources to assist when larger incidents occur.

Thousands of years separate the earliest Native travelers crossing the Mojave Desert from the firefighters serving Newberry Springs today. Transportation has changed, technology has changed, and the community has grown—but many of the forces that shaped Newberry Springs remain remarkably familiar.

Water, distance, transportation, self-reliance, and community have defined Newberry Springs throughout its history.

The fire department that serves Newberry Springs today grew from that same story.