Images of America: Joshua Tree National Park

Human use of Joshua Tree National Park may extend as far back in time as 10,000 years. From the early Pinto Culture to modern tribes, native peoples have lived and hunted here for centuries. During the 1920s, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt found a unique beauty in the desert’s sweeping vistas, and she worked tirelessly for the Joshua Tree area’s preservation within the National Park System. Success came in 1936 when Pres. Franklin Roosevelt created Joshua Tree National Monument. With the Desert Protection Act, Joshua Tree was designated a national park in 1994.