Cabot's Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs
Cabot Yerxa homesteaded in the Coachella Valley in 1913. Digging for water, he found two springs right next to each other, one hot and one cold. The hot water later gave Desert Hot Springs its name. He spent years away from the desert, and after coming back, in 1941, he started building a pueblo-style home on the hillside.
He went on building for the rest of his life. Over four stories the place grew to about 35 rooms, 150 windows and 65 doors. He used adobe, reclaimed wood, old railroad ties, telephone poles and whatever else he could haul in. A lot of the windows don't match in size because each came from a different building.
Touring Cabot's Pueblo Museum
Yerxa died in 1965, and Desert Eccentric gives him a chapter. Today the pueblo is Cabot's Pueblo Museum, run by the city together with a nonprofit, and it's open for guided tours. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours cover Yerxa's life, his collection of Native American artifacts and the town's spring water.
Sources: Cabot's Pueblo Museum (cabotsmuseum.org); City of Desert Hot Springs; National Register of Historic Places listing.
Illustration: AI-generated, artistic interpretation.