Beautiful Las Flores Ranch lies peacefully in the fertile valley of the West Fork of the Mojave River. In the foothill country of the San Bernardino Mountains, the West Fork and Deep Creek merge to make the Mojave River proper. The ranch is well watered.
The ranch is probably the oldest settlement of the Mojave Desert. Cattle have roamed the foothills and the valley lands for fully a century. There is a plaque on the ranch noting the little Indian village of Guapibit where the Spanish priest Garces paused to mingle with the Indians almost two centuries ago. Las Flores has had several names during its past, but none have been more appropriate than Las Flores. It is said that the early settlers of Arrowhead named the wide, pretty valley for the wildflowers that grew abundantly.
The ranch lands lay in the path of the old Indian trail that led from the inner lands through the Mojave Desert and on to the wide valley of San Bernardino.
The site of the ranch was an early crossroads for legions of people — the native Indians, military expeditions and immigrants going westward. The ranch valley was once considered for a military fort for defense from hostile Indians and horse thieves. The site was too far off the beaten trails to make it a successful army post.
Several battles ensued in and near the ranch between a band of Indians camped in the Narrows of the Mojave River, where Victorville is today, and white men who were building sawmills in the Indians' hunting lands.
After several warring years, the pathways began to be peaceful and settlements were permanent. Throughout the years the lovely mountain valley has been a prosperous region.