Historic watering hole Willow Springs, one of the most historic watering holes in the Mojave Desert, is one of the three oases in Antelope Valley, an area of more than 2,000 square miles. But there was water, and that was enough to draw the migratory Indians of the area, as well as herds of wild horses and antelope. As early as 1776, European born travelers began taking advantage of the watering hole on their long journeys through the desert. Other visitors included the Jayhawk Party, who struggled into the oasis in 1850, after their grueling trip through Death Valley. And according to Mary Nelson, who with her husband has lived there since 1947, Willow Springs' provided water for horse thieves escaping with their stolen goods along Horse Thief Trail.
Stagecoach stop More than horse thieves used that particular route through Willow Springs.
From 1860 on, it became a stage and freight station and general watering place used by Remi Nadeau in freighting silver from Cerro Gordo. Nadeau, the Searles Brothers, Borax Smith and others used the station while developing the Death Valley borax deposits and the Inyo and Kern River mining operation. They followed Horse Thief Trail, which later became known as Walker Trail. For eight years after 1864, Willow Springs became a station on the Los Angeles-Havilah Stage Lines. From 1872-76, Nelson Ward, who owned part of the land, kept the stage station operating until the railroad made stagecoaches obsolete.