Zzyzx, the Soda Springs was a popular stop for Indians in search of fresh water. Then came Spanish explorers, then a US Army outpost -- Camp Soda Springs -- a godforsaken posting in the 1860s, protecting government supplies from the (thirsty) Indians. Later there were miners who harvested lake minerals, and then the railroad passed through (highlights are mentioned on an E Clampus Vitus historical marker near the entrance, and on interpretive panels around the property). The Zs arrived in 1944. LA radio evangelist Curtis H. Springer, self-proclaimed minister (and quack doctor), decided the mineral springs were the ideal location for a health resort. He and his wife filed a mining claim on a 12,800 acre parcel of what were public lands. He named it Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Resort, touted as the last word in health and the last word in the English language -- a gimmick so it would be the last listing in any directory. Springer made a fortune promoting his useless medical products, shipping them all over the world to cure various ailments, even cancers and baldness. He and his wife had failed in a string of earlier health spa attempts, but Zzyzx was a concept whose time had come. The charismatic Springer recruited skid row bums from his Los Angeles mission to live in a tent encampment to help build Zzyzx. He planted rows of palm trees to enhance the oasis atmosphere. In its heyday, Zzyzx must have been a great destination. The natural hot springs feeding the cross-shaped mineral baths were completely artificial, heated by a hidden boiler. The enterprise grew to include a 60-room hotel, church, a private airstrip (the Zyport), and even a castle built along streets with names such as the Boulevard of Dreams. Springer added a radio station that provided his syndicated program of music, scripture, and rantings nationwide. Senior citizens came to Zzyzx for decades seeking the healing waters, attendance peaking in the 1960s, all donating to Springers ministry. Springer even bottled the water and sold it to passing motorists. Inevitably, Dr. Springer went too far with his nutty utopia -- even pulling money into his coffers from gullible followers who wanted to build homes in Zzyzx. In 1974, the government woke up and realized the King of Quacks (a name bestowed on him by the American Medical Association) had no legit claim to the land, evicting him and his followers. Federal marshals arrested Springer, who spent a short stint in jail for FDA laws hed broken with his bogus medicine. Springer retired to Las Vegas and died in 1985. The kingdom of Zzzyzx were taken over by the Bureau of Land Management. Today, the site is operated as a protected habitat for the Mohave tui chub -- Springer had stocked his pond (also artificial -- dubbed Lake Tundae) with the fish, and theyd died off almost everywhere else. A group of California State University campuses manage Zzyzx as a Desert Studies Center, with apartments, offices, and a small gift shop.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 18:36:36 +0000
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