Pioneer of the Mojave: The Life and Times of Aaron G. Lane

This well-documented history is a gold mine of information about the settlement of the California Mojave Desert in the area north of the San Bernardino Mountains. The story tells about the Mojave River way stations and homesteads that would one day become the towns of Victorville, Oro Grande, Bryman and Helendale. Aaron G. Lane was the first permanent settler on the High Desert. He operated a way station at Lane's Crossing that was at the center of activity for immigration and freighting along the Mojave Road and Salt Lake Road. He came to the desert in 1858, and it was a desolate and dangerous place. Many of the travelers who managed to reach his way station told horrifying stories of their hardships and deprivations during their grueling trek across the desert. Not long after Lane's arrival on the desert, other pioneers began settling downstream on the Mojave River. This book tells of the difficulties and dangers these early pioneers faced. It covers the development of the High Desert community up until the mid-1880s, with information on the Mormon pioneers of the area, mining, the Civil War years on the desert, Mormon horse thieves, Indians and Indian attacks, the development of the Cajon Pass Road, and early politics and education.