Historical Society

Click here to join our email list to receive updates from the Historical Society! At the Historical Society of Palm Desert's Museum, you'll experience a fascinating collection of historical photos, newspaper and magazine archives, as well as oral history on the early settlers of Palm Desert, California. Prominently displayed on the walls are breath... -taking aerial views from the 1940s thru the 1980s of Palm Desert and the surrounding majestic moutains. Did you know General George Patton established his Motor Pool on Portola Avenue in Palm Desert during the 1940s? The Motor Pool supported the training of troops prior to battling the Germans in North Africa during WWII. We've got the history and pictures. So come on by! Original Palm Desert Fire Station, home of the Historical Society and our fire engine The Mission of the Historical Society of Palm Desert: To collect, preserve and record the history of our city and communities: and to provide access to the society's archives and artifacts through exhibits, publications, programs and events. HSPD is organized as a non-profit (501.c.3) corporation that supports its mission and purposes in a responsible manner. The Society cares for the materials and pieces in its possession as unique and irreplaceable objects of local history and strives to protect and preserve its collections for posterity. The early maps labeled it as a Sand Hole. In the 1930's a few homes were built and lots sold in a development north of Highway 111 called Palm Village. World War II brought General Patton to Portola Avenue and to the Colorado Desert to train for African warfare; but no one ever dreamed this would become a world-class destination resort. No one except Cliff Henderson and his brothers Randall, Phil and Carl, who with brother-in-law Tommy Tomson and investors, including Edgar Bergen, Leonard Firestone and Harold Lloyd, turned a sand hole into a sparkling jewel called Palm Desert. The brothers' first glimpse of Deep Canyon and the Santa Rosa Mountains triggered a sense of the ...Read More