A Frontier Stop on California’s Bullion Trail
Hidden deep in California’s high desert once stood a rugged outpost known as Fort Nadeau—a supply and rest station that helped fuel one of the West’s most ambitious freight operations. Though long gone, its story remains a vivid chapter in desert mining and transport history.
A Private Fort for a Public Need
Fort Nadeau wasn’t a military base. It was a privately built station founded in the early 1870s by Remi Nadeau, a French-Canadian entrepreneur who created a central freight line to support the booming silver mines in the Inyo Mountains, especially the Cerro Gordo Mine, the largest in the area.
As silver flowed from the hills, Nadeau’s mule teams carried bullion and supplies between the remote mining camps and the bustling port of Los Angeles. His route became known as the Bullion Trail, and it quickly expanded to include over 1,000 mules, 80 freight teams, and numerous fortified stops like Fort Nadeau.
Strategically Located in Indian Wells Valley
Fort Nadeau, also known as Kelly’s Station, sat at the northwest end of Indian Wells Valley—near today’s China Lake Naval Weapons Center. Located at the base of the steep Taylor Grade, the station provided water, protection, and a place to change teams before the difficult climb to Wild Horse Mesa.
It wasn’t just a rest stop—it had thick adobe walls, corrals, and defensive features. Evidence of bullets and musket balls found decades later suggests it may have been attacked during its heyday.
Echoes from the Past
In 1927, local schoolchildren visited the site and found musket balls scattered around the fort walls—perhaps remnants of a long-forgotten skirmish. One visitor recalled finding a Wells Fargo box imprint in the old corrals’ dried manure, hinting at the valuable cargo that once passed through.
Nadeau’s operations eventually declined with the mines. By 1881, he had moved on to Arizona, and by the 1940s, the Navy acquired the entire region. Fort Nadeau was reportedly bulldozed into a gulch as part of a military cleanup.
Legacy of the Bullion Trail
Though little remains of Fort Nadeau today, its legacy lives on in the stories of early freight travel, the courage of desert teamsters, and the vital role these way stations played in connecting California’s rugged interior to the coast.
For more on this historic route, explore works like Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of California by Remi A. Nadeau, great-grandson of the original trailblazer.
adapted from:
Fort Nadeau
by Justin Ruhge
militarymuseum.org