Goffs Schoolhouse Museum - Essex, California, USA.
N 34° 55.272 W 115° 04.052
11S E 676521 N 3866008
The first Schoolhouse in Goffs, was in use operation from 1914 to 1937. Restored in 1998, as a Museum and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. A roadside attraction located in the Ghost Town of Goffs, California.
Waymark Code: WMNCCC
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/13/2015
Views: 1
This small Museum & surrounding land is rapidly becoming the premier repository for cultural artefact's of the Mojave Desert. List of attractions & activities in the One Room Schoolhouse Museum.
"Visit the schoolhouse and see our collections of historical artifacts
•Hear stories of life as a student in the 1930s from a former Goffs student
•Watch TWO historic ore crushing stamp mills operate as they did in the heyday of mining in the Mojave Desert
•Hear how the U. S. Army brought camels to the desert in the 1850s
•Prizes to children for identifying historic "mystery" objects
•Learn the games children played at the Goffs School in the 1900s"
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"The Goffs Schoolhouse is a historic school building located at 37198 Lanfair Road in Goffs, California. Opened in 1914, the one-room schoolhouse was the first in Goffs used solely as a school; prior to its construction, the school district had used a rented building. Architect Anthony Beimer designed the Mission Revival building. The district served students in a 1,000-acre (400 ha) region surrounding Goffs; its students were the children of the area's miners and railroad workers. Many of the students came from Mexican immigrant families, and bilingual students often served as teacher's assistants to translate for the teacher. Goffs residents also used the school building as a community center, and it housed a branch of the San Bernardino County Library. The school closed in 1937, when the Goffs School District merged with the Needles district. During World War II, the school building served as a canteen for the Desert Training Center, the largest Army training facility in the United States. The Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association now uses the building as a museum and cultural center." Text Source: (
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"Goffs prospered until late 1931 when U. S. Highway 66 was realigned, missing Goffs by six miles. A shortcut was developed through the Piute Mountains to the south - the grade had been too steep for the railroad, so the railroad had opted for the longer route back in 1883. But automobiles could climb the steeper grade and save eight miles. On December 4, 1931 the new road was opened to traffic and Goffs began "ghosting."
The beautiful school continued in operation until 1937. By then the Goffs School District had been absorbed into the Needles Unified School District. A school site along the active route of U. S. Highway 66 was favored. A new school was built in Essex and the last classes were held in the Goffs School in the spring of 1937. The Goffs School property passed into private hands and over the next ten years Goffs nearly faded from the map." Text Source: (
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