FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GOFFS, CA – May 23, 2005 –The Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA) has received final funding approval for construction of the Mojave Desert Archives research library. The California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE) Board of Directors met on May 18, 2005 in downtown Los Angeles to review the status of 33 grant finalists selected last December. The Board's resolution to grant $499,500 to the MDHCA is the only CCHE grant awarded within the County of San Bernardino and one of thirteen to be approved out of the original 276 applications.
Funds from (CCHE) will support the construction of the Mojave Desert Archives, a research library that will preserve and present the collections of the MDHCA. The library will be built on the grounds of the 75 acre Goffs Cultural Center and in the image of the historic Goffs Railway Depot (1902-1956). The objective of the Mojave Desert Archives project is to build a repository to process, protect, and make available to our community a unique, extensive and ever-increasing volume of gathered materials pertaining to Mojave Desert history.
The Mojave Desert Archives is the largest single collection of historical materials covering the American history of the Mojave Desert—a history rich in the stories of western migration and pioneering spirit. This unique collection of archival materials, formed by renowned desert historian Dennis Casebier over the last fifty years, consists of more than 6,000 volumes of published works, tens of thousands of pages of news clip files, 50,000 historical photographs, 4,500 maps of the region dating from earliest times, 2,000 loose subject files pertaining to individuals of interest and specific cultural sites, 700 oral histories, an extensive collection of old area newspapers, periodicals and pamphlets, and materials culled from federal records in the National Archives.
Proposition 40 called for the creation of the California Cultural and Historical Endowment to support the “acquisition, development, preservation, and interpretation of buildings, structures, sites, places, and artifacts that preserve and demonstrate culturally significant aspects of California's history and for grants for these purposes.” To carry out Proposition 40's mandate, the Endowment will eventually distribute $122 million of $276 million in Proposition 40 funds.
ABOUT THE MDHCA — www.mdhca.org
The mission of the Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Association is to research and conserve the natural and cultural history of the Mojave Desert region for the purpose of preserving and sharing these resources in perpetuity. We accomplish this through operation of a research center, library, and archives, restoration of significant structures, conservation of historic open space, interpretation of backcountry trails, and production of educational guidebooks and historical publications in concert with government agencies and people of good faith everywhere.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Chris Ervin
Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association
info@mdhca.org
