Death Valley Junction is a tiny unincorporated community in Inyo County, California, in the Amargosa Valley which is in Mojave Desert. Located at the intersection of SR 190 and SR 127, it is just east of Death Valley National Park. The zip code is 92328, the elevation is , and the population is fewer than four people.

Death Valley Junction is home to the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel, where resident Marta Becket staged dance and mime shows from the late 1960s until her last show in February 2012. Becket died in 2017. The hotel is still operating next to the opera house, but beyond these maintained areas, the town is in a state of disrepair. There is no gas station, and the town is owned by the non-profit Amargosa Opera House Inc. which runs the Opera House and Hotel.

The community's location, east-southeast of Furnace Creek, on the east side of Death Valley in the Amargosa Valley and near Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. East/South East, 27 miles, is Pahrump, Nevada. South on SR127 is the town of Shoshone, California. The closest straight-line distance to the Nevada state line is roughly five miles northeast.

History

thumb|left|Abandoned buildings in the historic district

The town was created in 1907 when the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad was constructed through the Amargosa Valley and a spur from their main line was built to the Lila C. borax mine in the hills to the west. The town was originally owned by Robert Tubb, who operated a saloon, store, and brothel. The town first appears on the 1910 Furnace Creek Quandrangle USGS topographic map.

In 1914, the Death Valley Railroad started operating between Ryan, California and Death Valley Junction to carry borax. When it was established, it used of tracks belonging to the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad east-southeast of Death Valley Junction to Horton. She became enamored with the theater, and with help from benefactors, she leased, then purchased, the hotel and theater complex. In 1980 the town was included in the National Register of Historic Places as the "Death Valley Junction Historic District."

Government documents show an effort by the Timbisha Shoshone tribal government to acquire about in the area during 1999 to 2000. This includes areas for residences and the official federal sanction to use some government lands for traditional ceremonies. In 2017 the tribe constructed a cannabis grow facility on the land.

Postal and telephone history

The Death Valley post office opened in 1908 and transferred to Furnace Creek Ranch in 1961. and .

Federally, Death Valley Junction is in .

Notable people

  • "Shotgun" Kitty Tubb – wife of the original owner of the town, Robert Tubb

References

Notes

  • Death Valley Junction History Project
  • Ghost Towns of Death Valley: Death Valley Junction
  • LIFE Magazine Apr. 17, 1970