About the Muralist
Dedication Date: November 19, 1994
Locaton: Plaza Furniture

The Keys were pioneer homesteaders who settled at the Desert Queen Ranch in what is now Joshua Tree National Park. Bill Keys, born George Barth in Russia in 1879, came to Twentynine Palms in 1910. Over the years he was a cattleman, gold prospector, assayer, and an ingenious homesteader who could find a use for just about anything. Visitors who take a Park Service tour of the historic Keys Ranch can see that resourcefulness today. This 14- by 80-foot mural, located on 29 Palms Highway at Pine Street (Plaza Furniture), was painted by Dan and Peter Sawatzky of Chemainus, B.C. Dedicated: November 19, 1994.