Artist Monty Brannigan poses with three of his celebrity portraits (Charlton Heston, Robert Redford, Tom Selleck). | Photo: Kim Stringfellow. The Mojave Project is an experimental transmedia documentary by Kim Stringfellow exploring the physical, geological and cultural landscape of the Mojave Desert. The Mojave Project reconsiders and establishes multiple ways in which to interpret this unique and complex landscape, through association and connection of seemingly unrelated sites, themes, and subjects thus creating a speculative and immersive experience for its audience.
Darwin lies tucked away in a depression between the Argus and Coso Ranges in a desolate high desert scrubland still populated with freely wandering wild burros. The southern boundary is a stone's throw from the China Lake Naval Air Weapon Station and its only paved access is via California State Route 190 -- the main thoroughfare for tourists traveling from the Eastern Sierra into Death Valley proper. The road to Darwin is easy to miss unless you happen to stop to read the E Clampus Vitus interpretive monument at the pullout near the crest of the pass.
The southwestward six-mile drive into Darwin leads past a smattering of dilapidated but picturesque mining structures spread across the eastern slope. This is the old Anaconda Mine, of which the tailings feature the characteristic pastel hues of other extraction remains common to this region. Directly west of the mine is a large, playful arrangement of rocks forming the much-parodied Christian ichthys symbol complete with legs, sans the name Darwin within its body. The stone marker signals to the newcomer they are definitely entering a place off the beaten path.
This modified Christian ichthys stone marker greets visitors upon arriving in Darwin, CA. | Photo: Kim Stringfellow.
Just beyond the mine is a ramshackle collection of old buildings, misfit shacks, wind-ravaged double-wides, abandoned cars, homes featuring clever travel trailer additions, various junk piles of rusted tin cans, obsolete mining machinery and, curious enough, modern art.
At the end of the road is downtown Darwin. A first-time visitor surveying their surroundings is immediately drawn to the luminously white minimalist cast marble sculpture of a couple sensuously embracing. Placed in front of its creator's local retreat, this striking artwork was created by the renowned California sculptor Jim Hunolt. Directly across the street is Hunolt's vertically mounted pairing of two very impressive raw dolomite monoliths.
Jim Hunolts cast marble sculpture of a couple embracing stands in Darwin, CA. | Photo: Kim Stringfellow.
Jim Hunolts paired dolomite monoliths stand in Darwin, CA. | Photo: Kim Stringfellow.
Other architectural details, such as the adjacent geodesic dome with the door placard identifying the structure as the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Systemwide Offices suggest that Darwin is not your typical living desert ghost town.
Darwin began its life as a mining camp during the 1870s. It is known that the Paiute and Shoshone people have traveled through and occupied this area long before the camp came into existence. The settlement had been named after Dr. Erasmus Darwin French who was led into the spot in 1850 by a Native American guide while searching for the legendary Lost Gunsight lode -- which French and his expedition party failed to locate even after a second exploratory trip was conducted ten years later.
Prospecting had occurred in the Darwin area for many years prior to autumn of 1874 when a rich silver-lead ore called galena had been discovered leading to Darwin's founding shortly thereafter. The town's most productive mines -- The Defiance (named after questionable legal maneuvers landed an original Mexican American mining claim into the hands of its white investors)1 and associated mines are said to have produced up to $1,500,000 in revenue by the late 1870s when nearly 60 mines were operational with five smelters processing ores around the clock.
Although the Defiance closed its doors during the late 1880s the mine itself changed ownership several times over the last 100 years, first as Darwin Silver, Darwin Lead, Consolidated, American Metals, Signal Oil and, in 1945, as the Anaconda mine.
The Darwin Store run by Reynolds and Etcharren Partners, 1906. | Photo: Courtesy of the Eastern California Museum.
This extraction of mineral wealth resulted in explosive boom development early on -- first as a canvas tent city and then by the end of 1875 with permanent structures: a hotel, three restaurants, seven saloons, two butcher shops, and a livery stable plus several stores.2 Notably, Darwin has never had a church. At its highest count the town's population was believed to be at least 3,500 and likely higher, if one takes into account that census recorders often overlooked transient miners and many nonwhites living within the surrounding area.
Not surprisingly Darwin's rampant growth brought with it more than an occasional act of violence, earning the town a reputation as being rough and tumble. The Panamint News reported in March 1875 that robberies were occurring every few days on nearby roads leading to and from the encampment. Darwin also had its share of shootings, gun and knife fights, and outright murders -- at least 30 known and confirmed total incidents during the town's boom period between 1875-1879. Petty crimes including public drunkenness were the norm. Armed bandits robbed the Wells Fargo express numerous times between 1876 and 1880. During one of these stagecoach robberies, passenger Jack Lloyd was shot and killed, perhaps by accident, in 1877.
The most famous Darwin murder was of Nancy Williams, 45, on September 13, 1877. Williams was a well-liked retired madam running a boarding house at the time of her de
