Guide to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection
California State Parks Photographic Archives interns and Sam Skow
California State Parks Photographic Archives
© 2016
4940 Lang Avenue, Dock H
McClellan, CA 95652
Phone: (916) 263-0997
Fax: (916) 263-1007
URL: http://www.parks.ca.gov/
California State Parks. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection
Collection number: Consult repository
California State Parks Photographic ArchivesMcClellan, California 95652
- Processed by:
- California State Parks Photographic Archives interns and Sam Skow
- Date Completed:
- 2016
- Encoded by:
- Sam Skow
© 2016 California State Parks. All rights reserved.
Title: Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection
Dates: 1960-2015
Bulk Dates: 1978-1986
Collection number: Consult repository
Creator:
California State Parks
Collector:
California State Parks
Collection Size:
196 images
Repository:
Photographic Archives.
California State Parks
California State Parks
McClellan, CA 92262
Abstract: The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection contains 196 cataloged images that
date from 1960 through 2015. Images depict the property as a state natural reserve.
Physical location: For current information on the physical location of these materials, please consult the Guide to the California State Parks
Photographic Archives, available online.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research by appointment.
Property rights reside with the repository. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records. For permission to reproduce
or to publish, please contact the Head Curator of the California State Parks Photographic Archives.
[Identification of item including photographer and date when available], Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural
Reserve Photographic Collection, [Catalog number], California State Parks Photographic Archives, McClellan, California
Images generated by California State Parks staff.
Further accruals are expected.
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve contains roughly 1,781 acres of natural resources. Located
in northwestern Los Angeles County, the park lies along the western edge of the Mojave Desert in Antelope Valley between the
Tehachapi Mountains to the north and Liebre Mountain to the south; it is roughly 15 miles west of the city of Lancaster. The
park is accessible by car via Lancaster Road.
The area containing the present-day park was occupied by the Kitanemuk tribe, a Shoshone band, for 2,000 to 3,000 years before
Europeans arrived. The Kitanemuk people formed small settlements and used the area for hunting antelope, as a work site, and
as a travel route. The Spanish first encountered and traveled through the area in the late eighteenth century. Under Mexican
rule, the valley was used for seasonal sheep grazing and as an antelope hunting preserve. With the completion of the Southern
Pacific Railroad in 1876, American farmers and developers began entering—and altering—the desert region. Antelope Valley farmers
thrived for a period, growing wheat and grazing cattle before a 10-year drought and economic depression plagued the area in
1895. Although many farmers lost their properties and left the valley, those that stayed were soon rewarded. In 1906, Elias
and Eric Munz established Munz Ranch in the current park’s location just in time for the construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power used Munz Ranch as its headquarters. Aqueduct construction, crop diversification,
the introduction of electricity, and the construction of a paved state freeway after the turn of the twentieth century all
helped Antelope Valley’s economic recovery.
In 1970, the Lancaster Women’s Club formed the Wildflower Preservation Committee and sought to establish a natural preserve
for California poppies. The California State Parks Foundation received its first donated parcel in 1974. California State
Parks—having purchased acreage from Munz Ranch in addition to the granted land—acquired and dedicated the property two years
later. Classified a “state reserve” in 1976, the park was reclassified a “state natural reserve” in 2004 via legislation.
California State Parks, coordinating with the Poppy Reserve Mojave Desert Interpretive Association, maintain a vast expanse
of annual and perennial wildflowers at Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve. Between March and May,
visitors are treated to vivid blooms painting the hilly landscape. Open to the public during wildflower season, the Jane S.
Pinheiro Interpretive Center offers informative videos and displays. The park also offers eight miles of trails and guided
tours during bloom season. Camping is prohibited as the park is day-use only.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection spans the years 1960-2015, with
the bulk of the collection covering the years 1978-1986. There is a total of 196 cataloged images, including 99 photographic
prints, scans, and negatives, 92 35mm slides, and 5 born-digital images. Photographs originated primarily from California
State Parks staff.
The collection mainly documents blooming wildflowers and other features of the landscape. Imagery includes several ground
and landscape views of California poppy fields, the Tehachapi Mountains, grasslands, roads, a reservoir, and numerous non-poppy
wildflower varieties, such as lupine, sage, prince’s plume, owl’s clover, coreopsis, filaree, and goldfield patches.
The collection also documents the Jane S. Pinheiro Interpretive Center. Imagery includes the building’s 1981 construction,
numerous landscape and aerial views of its exterior, and several shots of the interior that feature exhibit panels, paintings,
plaques, and the information desk.
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection primarily focuses on the park unit’s
premier resource: its wildflowers. Less known within the park and unrepresented by the collection are the cultural and historical
resources contained there. The collection would definitely benefit from the inclusion of images depicting Kitanemuk archaeological
evidence, like workshop sites, house rings, quarry sites, and surface artifact scatter as well as images featuring the remains
of the Los Angeles Aqueduct construction project, an undertaking which left the concrete foundations of a quarry rock crusher
on the property.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Antelope Valley (Calif.)
California. Department of Parks and Recreation
California poppy
California State Parks Foundation
Los Angeles Aqueduct (Calif.)
Los Angeles County (Calif.)
Mojave Desert.
Natural resources
Shoshoni Indians
Wildflowers
Related Material at California State Parks
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve Collection
Related Material at Other Repositories
Antelope Valley, Lancaster, Kern County Scrapbook, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: Seaver Center for Western
History Research