Cabot Yerxa was has been described as a visionary, artist, writer, builder, architect, adventurer, explorer, collector, idealist entrepreneur, and highly degreed Mason. Moreover, he was a human rights activist concerned with the legal, economic, and cultural crisis of Native Americans.

Before settling in the California desert, he traveled to Mexico, Alaska, Cuba, and Europe. He studied at the Academie Julian art school in Paris. In 1913 (at the age of 30), he homesteaded 160 acres in what is now Desert Hot Springs. Pressed for water, he dug a well with a pick and shovel, and discovered the now famous hot mineral waters of Desert Hot Springs. Nearby, he dug a second well and discovered the pure cold water of the Mission Springs Aquifer. These two wells, hot and cold, gave his homestead its name — Miracle Hill.

In 1941 (at the age of 57), he began building his museum “Cabot’s Pueblo Museum” and continued building util his death in 1965 (at the age of 81). The structure was built of found and reclaimed materials from the abandoned cabins that had housed the men who built the California aqueduct in the 1930’s, and handmade adobe bricks. It was inspired by a replica of a Hopi pueblo at the Chicago World Fair he saw as a young boy. The structure is four-stories, 5,000 square feet, with 35 rooms, 150 windows, and 65 doors.

67616 Desert View Ave, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240