User:Asiaticus/sandbox/Marl Spring

Marl Spring is a spring in San Bernardino County, California. It lies an elevation of 3,901 miles / 1,189 meters on the northeastern part of the Marl Mountains.


 * At mile 70 on the Mojave Road you find Marl Springs. Marl Springs was a vital watering hole on the Mojave Road, next water was 30 miles west at Soda Springs, and 18 miles east at Government Holes.

On October 17, 1867, when the little stone outpost building with the associated corral was being completed at the upper spring, a band of desert Indians, estimated at 20 to 30, attacked the station. This may be the only occasion on which the desert Indians attacked a fortified position along the Mojave Road in California. There were only three soldiers there at the time, and they took shelter in their partially completed outpost building. In the best traditions of the romantic old west, early the next morning a column of more than 150 soldiers came over the hill and down into Marl Springs. The Indians melted into the rocks and disappeared. The siege was lifted. There had been no casualties - only anxious moments. Marl Springs was never attacked again. Mojave Road Guide - Dennis Casebier

Current Status Sources:
 * Camp Marl Springs (1867-1868) - A U.S. Army Camp first established in 1867 as an outpost of Camp Cady near present day Baker in San Bernardino County, California. Named Camp Marl Springs after the Marl Spring. Abandoned in 1868.
 * History of Camp Marl Springs Established on 5 Oct 1867 as an outpost of Camp Cady by a detachment of troops from that camp. The troops were positioned there to protect the water supply along the Old Government Road. The post was abandoned on 22 May 1868.
 * Ruins about 25 miles east of Baker, San Bernardino County, California. 35.16944°N, -115.64806°W
 * Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 76.
 * Historic California Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields: Camp at Marl Springs