Historical Timeline
1882: The Southern Pacific Railroad set up a siding named “Kramer,” after Moritz Kramer, a German immigrant. At first, it was just a dusty stop in the middle of nowhere, but it didn’t stay quiet for long.
1884: Prospectors discovered gold and copper nearby, which led to the creation of the Kramer Mining District. It didn’t turn into a boomtown, but it put the place on the map.
1898: The Randsburg Railway opened, connecting Kramer Junction with Johannesburg, California. This short rail line helped move minerals from the Rand Mining District to the rest of the world — and gave Kramer a bit of economic steam.
1926: The Herkelrath brothers struck gold in the Kramer Hills, just southeast of town. A little boom followed, complete with a general store and even a library. But the ore wasn’t very good, and water was hard to come by. The rush fizzled out by 1931.
Late 1940s–1950s: The Darr family gave the area a second wind. They bought property at the junction, opened a gas station, and built the Darr Motel. To do this, they moved old duplexes from Edwards Air Force Base and turned them into guest rooms—practical and memorable.
1980s: Kramer Junction became a pioneer in solar power. The Kramer Junction Company built five solar thermal plants (SEGS III through VII) outside town. These mirrors-in-the-desert produced 150 megawatts of electricity and helped put Kramer on the renewable energy map.
2018–2019: Traffic at the Highway 395 and Route 58 intersection had become a headache — long lines, slow trucks, and frequent backups. Caltrans built a new expressway to bypass the worst of it, and by late 2019, the new 13-mile stretch of Route 58 was up and running.
Present Day: Kramer Junction, known by many simply as “Four Corners,” is still a crossroads in the Mojave. The mines are quiet now, but solar panels gleam in the sun, trucks rumble past, and travelers stop for burgers, gas, and a break from the road. It’s a small place with a long history — part of the rhythm of the desert.