A Story from 1896 to the Early Days of Borrego Springs

A Legacy of Education, Exploration, and Community

Alta Jones DuVall’s story begins on Vinalhaven Island, Maine—born in 1896, the daughter of storekeepers during the peak of the granite trade. She pursued education with focus and drive, graduating from Gorham Normal School in 1917 and later moving west to teach in the rapidly expanding Los Angeles school system.

Alta first encountered the Anza-Borrego desert on a Sierra Club trip, drawn by its vast landscapes and stark beauty. At that time, Borrego Valley was still in its early stages of development—its first deep well had only recently been drilled, and roads remained rugged and scarce. Yet a small settlement was forming around what became known as Old Borego.

It was here Alta met Eddie DuVall, one of two brothers who had taken over the local store and post office after homesteading near Clark Dry Lake. Eddie also served as Deputy Sheriff and kept the Borego Store running through tough years, even as the Great Depression drastically reduced the local population.

Alta and Eddie married in the mid-1930s. She continued teaching in Los Angeles while maintaining a presence in Borrego, traveling regularly between the city and the desert. After a miscarriage, the DuValls adopted their son Denny in 1939, and a daughter followed four years later.

Known for her quiet strength, Alta encouraged independence and curiosity in her children. Her own sense of wonder led her across the desert in a Jeep Willys, collecting Native American artifacts and learning about the region’s first inhabitants, including the Kumeyaay and Cahuilla people.

Her finds—like a fragmentary rattle—became part of the growing local understanding of Borrego’s deep human history.

Alta’s life intersected with a pivotal era in Borrego Valley. She lived through the years when the original Borego Post Office operated out of homesteader homes, when trips for supplies took five days, and when early public institutions like the school, library, and sheriff’s office were just beginning to take shape.

Today, Alta’s legacy continues through her son, Denny DuVall, who preserves and shares the stories of Old Borego. Together with her husband, Alta helped lay the foundation of a community built on perseverance, education, and connection to place.

Her story is a vital thread in the larger tapestry of Borrego Springs—a place still shaped by those early pioneers who made the desert home.

Learn More:

Borrego Beginning by Phil Brigandi tells the story of the isolated desert community of “Borego’s” pioneer homesteaders through the post-WWII rise of Borrego Springs as a resort town. Available at abdnha.org