California Travel Tips
The Legends of Twentynine Palms
Published on: March 15, 2014
One of the most frequently asked questions about a certain desert city is, “How did Twentynine Palms, California get its name?” Nobody knows for certain but there are several explanations described as legends, each with a slight variation. Here’s what three sources have to say:
- CITY OF TWENTYNINE PALMS: Legend says that the name of Twentynine Palms was first used by these gold miners because of the twenty-nine palm trees surrounding the Oasis.
- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: The Serano came to the Oasis of Mara because a medicine man told them it was a good place to live and that they would have many boy babies. The medicine man instructed them to plant a palm tree each time a boy was born. In the first year, the Serrano planted 29 palm trees at the oasis.
- TWENTYNINE PALMS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: A legendary stand of 29 Washingtonia filifera palms at the oasis—noted by the first desert surveyor Col. Henry Washington in 1855—inspired the city’s name.
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