Felicity, California

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Felicity, California
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Felicity, California
Location in California
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Felicity, California
Felicity, California (the United States)
Coordinates: 32°45′01″N114°45′55″W / 32.75028°N 114.76528°W / 32.75028; -114.76528
Country United States
State California
County Imperial County
Elevation
[1]
285 ft (87 m)

Felicity is an unincorporated community in Imperial County, California. [1] [2] The town was established in 1986 by Jacques-Andre Istel who bought the land in the 1950s and developed it in the 1980s after selling off his parachute business. The town is "Dedicated to Remembrance" and named for Istel's wife Felicia. [3] It is 2,600 acres and lies at an elevation of 285 feet (87 m). [1]

It is accessible from Interstate 8 in the far southeast of the state, just west of Yuma, Arizona. [4]

The Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation is located nearby. During World War II, the town was the site of Camp Pilot Knob, the US Army's training center. [5]

The town's key features are a 21-foot-tall stone-and-glass pyramid (6.4 m), a church on a man-made hill, and the Museum of History in Granite, which Istel has been developing since the town's founding. The museum consists of dozens of granite panels, most of them over 100 feet long and weighing approximately 500 tons. Etched on the panels is a historical record of humanity as chronicled by Istel. The lead artist on the project is Gene Britton. [3]

In May 1985, the Imperial County Board of Supervisors designated Felicity as the Official Center of the World. [2] [4]

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The Camp Pilot Knob was a sub camp of the US Army, Desert Training Center in Imperial County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Pilot Knob was designated a California Historic Landmark (No.985). Camp Pilot Knob is near Felicity, California, in Imperial County, California. Camp Pilot Knob is 2 miles north of the US-Mexico border, just north of the now Interstate 8. The camp is five miles northwest of Yuma, Arizona and 2 miles west of the Colorado river. The camp was built just north of the Felicity train station, which was used to bring the troops and supplies to the camp. The camp is named after a hill south of the camp.

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Camp Seeley' was a United States Army World War II training camp near El Centro, California in the Imperial Valley. At Camp Seeley was: the Camp Seeley Combat Firing Range, Camp Seeley Ordnance Desert Proving Ground and Camp Seeley Ordnance Training Center. The 17,574 acres Camp Seeley was 10 miles northwest of the City of El Centro, near the city of Seeley, California. The town is named after Henry Seeley, a pioneer of the Imperial Valley. The camp was north of what is now California State Route 98. The tent camp, in the Yuha Desert, opened November 1940, first based at the camp was the 11th Cavalry Regiment, the troops and Army horse came from the Presidio of Monterey, California. At the camp the 11th Cavalry Regiment took part in desert training and teaching horses to swim across rivers with rider. 11th Cavalry Regiment moved to Camp Lockett at Campo, California in December 1941. The 11th and 28th Cavalry Regiment also trained at the camp, along with the 75th Horse Field Artillery Battalion. In 1942 Camp Seeley was converted to a US Army ordnance proving ground. While the camp is closed the area of Camp Seeley the home of the Historical "The Colonel's Own." 11th Cavalry Horse Honor Guard.

References

  1. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Felicity, California
  2. 1 2 Anton, Mike (April 16, 2008). "See it now: the center of the world; The History of Humanity is being etched in stone in the California desert. The real story is the builder". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Mooallem, Jon (February 19, 2014). "A Journey to the Center of the World". The New York Times Magazine . Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. 1 2 Burke, Anne (2 January 2019). "A strange museum at the 'centre of the world'". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019.
  5. "Camp Pilot Knob, California". Desert Training Center . Retrieved January 17, 2021.