Since 1928, the 29 Palms Inn has hosted weary travelers and desert explorers from far and wide. In this “Historical Highlight,” Reporter Heather Clisby looks back at some of the Inn’s key milestones …
The 29 Palms Inn spans over 70 acres and includes the Oasis of Mara, one of the last true oases in the area. The Serrano tribe made the Oasis their village until the 1870s, when it was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad.
In the 1920s, W.P. Roberts purchased the Oasis from the railroad. Around 1923, George and Bob Michels were hired to build the Gold Park Hotel – a grouping of small cabins for miners and cattleman – just east of Park Blvd, but Roberts eyed the Oasis as a more ideal location. So, he re-hired the Michels brothers and their one-ton Chevy pickup to drag each cabin eastward to the Oasis. Renamed 29 Palms Hotel, it became the town’s post office, library, dance hall, and favorite gossip spot. Several of the original cabins still exist to this day – namely, Gold Park, Faultline, #1, and The Hermitage.
In 1928, Harry Johansing and David Faries purchased the hotel and 480 acres from Roberts. Initially run by Roberts’ daughter, Frances, and Rae Chamberlin, Grace Brock took over daily operations in 1930 and under her skilled guidance, it became the 29 Palms Inn. Brock also added bathrooms with hot showers – a huge luxury. During this time, the Stubbs brothers built the adobe fireplace in the main lodge.
In 1938, Johansing and Faries parted ways with Johansing keeping the Oasis and the Inn. In 1939, Johansing’s daughter, Mary Claire, and her husband, Bob Van Lahr, took over daily operation of the Inn, while raising their four children: Anne, Mary, Jane and Leo.
In 1964, a fire burned all but two of the old frame cabins. Then, in 1965, another fire took the main building leaving only the huge adobe fireplace that still remains on the lawn today.
In 1977, Jane took over the operations, repair and maintenance of the Inn with the help of her husband, Ron Grunt, and their four children: Heidi, Brock, Hans and Gretchen.
In the 1990s, Jane remarried Paul Smith and they ran the Inn together. In 2015, Jane’s daughter, Heidi, retired from nursing and took over as Jane stepped back. Today, Heidi gets help running the place from two of her five children, Aden and Ryan, as the 29 Palms Inn remains a family affair.
