Palmdale

One of the nation's fastest growing cities and a center for the aerospace and defense industries, Palmdale began in 1886 with the doomed colony of Palmenthal in a land plentiful with Joshua trees and jackrabbits but very little water. The gateway to the southern Antelope Valley, Palmdale has enjoyed a rich, diverse, and eventful history while resourceful pioneers created neighboring communities of unique character. Littlerock, a pearadise, became the fruit basket for the Antelope Valley. Neil Armstrong, before becoming the first man to walk on the moon in 1969, resided in Juniper Hills. Pearblossom's rustic landscape was ideal for early cowboy movies. The crumbling site of Llano del Rio is the location of perhaps the most important nonreligious utopian colony in Western American history. Valyermo owes its existence to the San Andreas Fault, and the Big Rock Creek area became known for Noah Beery Sr.'s Paradise Trout Club, a favorite rendezvous for many Hollywood movie stars and notables.

Author: Norma H. Gurba, Nicholas J. West
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
Published: 08/16/2010
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.40w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780738581224

About the Author
Gurba, Norma H.: - Author Norma H. Gurba is a longtime Palmdale resident, historian, and former City of Lancaster Museum/Art Gallery curator. Working with curator Nicholas J. West, Gurba has written and compiled this evocative pictorial narrative of Palmdale and its environs. Vintage images were drawn from the museum s photographic archives and residents collections.