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Marker Pinpoints 1943 Shootout At Joshua Tree National Park

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By NPT Staff - February 19th, 2019
A new marker has been sit on the site of a 1943 shootout at Joshua Tree National Park/NPS

A new marker has been sit on the site of a 1943 shootout at Joshua Tree National Park/NPS

Bill Keys maintained all along that he was ambushed by Worth Bagley and shot and killed him out of self-defense. A jury didn't buy that, though, and Keys was sent to San Quentin State Penitentiary in California. What does that have to do with national parks? Well, thanks to the National Park Service you can find the location of this 1943 shootout.

You see, the shootout happened on the side of the trail leading out to Wall Street Mill in what was then known as Joshua Tree National Monument. Keys was released from prison after serving half of his 10-year sentence for manslaughter and returned to the Desert Queen Ranch where he lived out his remaining years. Keys, who was given a full pardon in 1956, even placed a marker on the site of the gunplay.

Well, it turns out that the original stone was vandalized in 2014 and is now in the national park’s museum for safekeeping. But recently park staff erected a replica of the so-called Worth Bagley Marker marker on the site.

Using a combination of photographs and detailed measurements, artist Rebecca Lowry of JTLab was able to recreate a design as close to the same outline and lettering of the original as possible. The project was a collaborative effort that included park staff, JTLab, Vagabond Welding and the descendents of Bill Keys. The marker, which is fabricated from three-quarter-inch steel, will show visitors the site of one of the truly historical events in the history of the park.

Comments

Submitted by Chip Beaudette on February 20, 2019 - 2:18pm.

Some interesting info about a Nat'l Park event - BUT, it would have been a LOT more interesting with some detailed info about the who, what and why behind the shooting!


Submitted by Chuck Ellsworth on September 16, 2023 - 11:09am.

The story is told in every detail in the book entitled AMBUSH, which I purchased at the smll gift center near the south entrance of the park.    In short, Bill Keys was ambushed by another rancher named Worth Bagley.   He was tried for murder and convicted in a sham trial, details of how it was a sham are fully disclosed in the book.    After being pardoned, Keys returned to his ranch, now a yop attraction in Joshua Tree.  He erected a stone monument on the exact spot Worth Bagley fell.    That sone was vandalized in 2014 so it was removed for safekeeping and replaced by a steel duplicate.    It is a story well worth reading.


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