Cabot's Pueblo Museum facts for kids
Pueblo Museum – Main Building
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| Established | 1945 |
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| Location | 67-616 East Desert View Ave. Desert Hot Springs, California 33°57′29″N 116°28′56″W / 33.95806°N 116.48222°W |
| Type | Historic house museum |
| Visitors | 10,000+ per year (2009) |
| Public transit access | SunLine Transit Agency Line 14 |
Cabot's Pueblo Museum is a unique museum in Desert Hot Springs, California. It's a historic house built by Cabot Yerxa, an early explorer of the Colorado Desert. The museum looks like a large Hopi-style pueblo, a traditional Native American village.
Inside, you'll find amazing artworks and artifacts from American Indian and Alaska Native cultures. It also shows what life was like for early desert settlers. People sometimes call it Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo Museum or Yerxa's Discovery.
Contents
Who Was Cabot Yerxa?
The museum and its buildings were mostly built by hand by Cabot Abram Yerxa (1883–1965). He was an early settler in the Coachella Valley in the 1900s. The museum is officially known as "Cabot’s Old Indian Pueblo Museum." The California State Parks Office of Historic Preservation also calls it "Yerxa's Discovery."
A Pioneer's Story: How the Museum Began
Cabot Yerxa was an adventurer. In 1913, he settled on 160 acres in Southern California's Coachella Valley. He built his first home, called The Eagle's Nest, on a hill he later named Miracle Hill.
Using only a pick and shovel, Yerxa dug wells and made an amazing discovery. He found two different underground water sources, called aquifers. These were on opposite sides of the hill.
One aquifer was a natural hot spring with water that was 110°F (43°C). This hot water later helped the area become famous for its spas. The other aquifer, on the other side of a fault line, had cold, fresh water. This cold water still supplies the city of Desert Hot Springs today.
In 1917, Yerxa left the desert to join the Army during World War I. He returned in 1937. In 1939, he started building the museum to hold his collection of Native American and other items.
He designed the building to look like a Hopi Indian pueblo. This was his way of honoring Native American people. He opened Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo in 1950. He ran it with his wife, Portia, until he passed away in 1965.
After Cabot's death, Portia moved back to Texas, and the museum was left empty. Cabot's friend, Cole Eyraud, protected the buildings after they were abandoned. The Eyraud family later bought the complex, fixed it up, and gave it to the City of Desert Hot Springs.
The Unique Architecture of the Pueblo
The main building is a large, Hopi-style pueblo. It's built in a style called Pueblo Revival Style. This main building is four stories tall and has 35 rooms.
It also has 150 windows, 65 doors, and 30 different roof levels! Cabot built the pueblo and other buildings using mostly scrap wood and metal. He found these materials all around the desert. The building also has special vents to keep it cool in the hot summer.
What You Can See at the Museum
Museum Collections
The museum has many interesting things to see, including:
- Native American pottery and other items from American Indian and Alaska Native cultures.
- Artwork created by Cabot Yerxa himself.
- Old documents, photos, and letters related to Cabot Yerxa.
The Waokiye Sculpture
A special addition to the museum site is the Waokiye sculpture. Waokiye means "traditional helper" in the Lakota language. This giant sculpture is one of 74 Native American heads carved by artist Peter Wolf Toth. These sculptures are part of his "Trail of the Whispering Giants" series.
The Waokiye sculpture is 43 feet tall. It was carved from a huge 45-ton (46 metric ton) giant sequoia log. This tree was 750 years old and had been struck by lightning in Sequoia National Park. Only the feather in Waokiye's headband was made from a different tree, an incense cedar.
The statue was first shown on May 20, 1978. Peter Wolf Toth repaired it and rededicated it on February 21, 2009. It is currently the only one of his sculptures left in California.
How the Museum Works
Who Owns and Runs It?
The City of Desert Hot Springs owns Cabot's Pueblo Museum. A non-profit group called the Cabot's Museum Foundation runs it. This foundation is part of the American Alliance of Museums.
Cabot’s Trading Post & Gallery
In 2008, the Museum Foundation opened "Cabot's Trading Post & Gallery." This space shows artwork from local artists.
Where is the Museum?
The museum is located at 67-616 East Desert View Avenue. This is in Desert Hot Springs, California, a spa town north of Palm Springs, California. You can get there by taking Line 14 of the SunLine Transit Agency from Palm Springs.
Solar Power
The museum gets its electricity from 24 solar panels. These panels are located on a nearby hillside.
Future Plans
The museum has plans to make the visitor experience even better. They want to add an amphitheater, hiking trails, and a cultural campus.
Protecting the Collections
In 2009, many items from the pueblo were moved to a safe, secret location. In 2010, experts studied the museum. They suggested improvements for air quality, lighting, and watering the landscape. These changes help protect the valuable artifacts.
