History On The Hill

Driving up Highway 62 and reaching the top of the grade at Morongo Valley, I have often noticed a house built of rocks just to left of the road. It's an ominous structure and looks to have been there for quite awhile. There are no signs around it claiming significance but yet there's something special about this house that led me to believe it has a past. It surely has a history, right?

Morongo Valley is a small community and other than a post office it has no government buildings. There is no library to research the property however hanging on the wall in The Morongo Valley Café is an old picture of a structure strikingly similar to the house. In this picture though, the house is referred to as The Morongo Valley Inn. I just knew it would have a past so I quickly turned to the internet and a Google search which revealed nothing but that didn't stop me. I decided I would ask around and inquire with the locals and get their version of the house's past.

At this point I must make a disclaimer. I talked to many people and all of them had a story to tell. It seemed like everyone I ran into knew about the house and its illustrious history. But, and I emphasize, none of this can be documented. There are no history books, court records, photographs or references to support the claims of the locals. As they seemed passionate about their recollections, some of it must be based in truth or maybe this story is nothing more than folly from simple town folk. It doesn't really matter because I've created a story about the house and with this article I've made up my mind - the house does have a history and a story worth preserving. It's not up to me to decide which parts are fact and which are fiction.

According to the county tax assessor the structure was completed in 1924 but even that is disputed by one local. Supposedly the first floor rock structure was completed in 1890 and was intended to be a layover and stagecoach stop for the line between Prescott, AZ, and Los Angeles, CA. Long before Palm Springs was ever conceived as a city, people were spending the night at this little structure in Morongo Valley on their way to The City of Angels. According to local lore, Morongo Valley is the birthplace of area enterprise and because of this rock structure; other businesses began to spring up.

As travel increased and the desire to have a more luxurious overnight stay the second floor was added so private rooms could be rented. Shortly thereafter individual cabins were built for the ultimate in luxury and privacy of the more savvy travelers. Another local told me that because of the success of this inn, additional cabins were built about a mile away to house prostitutes hoping to benefit from wayward tourists. I'm told the women were highly profitable.

As roads were built and the automobile became more and more popular, The Inn still thrived as more of a motel in later years. The cabins became rentals for hunters from the city looking to snag quail during season. For decades it would seem the Inn would thrive and gain in popularity.

Many people have always longed to have a place in the Southern California desert and Al Capone was no exception. It is acknowledged as true that the spa, Two Bunch Palms, was originally constructed as Al's desert getaway. He supposedly spent many months out of the year there and one legendary rumor states that he buried $1,000,000 somewhere out in the open desert. To this day people still look for it. That, however, is another story.

According to the Morongo Valley locals, Al Capone lived at the Morongo Valley Inn during construction of Two Bunch Palms renting the entire place for his purposes. He liked that from the second story corner window one could see for miles in all directions making it virtually impossible to sneak up on the place. He felt secure. Locals also tell the tale of wild parties, lots of alcohol and drunken fights into the wee hours of the morning upsetting the calm and quiet of this tiny desert valley.

After Al Capone moved on the parties continued. A large concrete slab was poured onto the back of the property where locals would come to dance and listen to live music. Apparently it was the town center and the hub of activity.

No one though could recall when the last guest checked out. No one really knew when the house was abandoned. Almost everyone though said at some point the structure had been left to ruin and had fallen into a period of extreme deferred maintenance and disrepair. It sat there for years lifeless, sad and forgotten.

The current owners managed to obtain if from a tax sale I'm told and then spent many years restoring the property to its current condition. The Morongo Valley Inn is a private residence today and not open to the public. The owners use the property to raise and breed Missouri Foxtrotters. One private cabin remains today. A few years ago there was another but it fell victim to the Paradise Wildfire in 2005 as did much of the surrounding landscape.

It's a pioneer structure worthy of homage. I don't think anyone could gaze upon it and not fall into a daydream. For me it seems that if Prince Charming had been a cowboy then this would have been his castle.