Zzyzx is the last word listed in a dictionary! Just kidding — it definitely will not appear in any dictionary, but it is a whimsical “word” nonetheless! Previously known as Soda Springs and sitting at an elevation of approximately 933 feet, Zzyzx is the name of a sparsely populated unincorporated community found in the Mohave Desert. It is located in central San Bernardino County off the Zzyzx Road exit along Interstate 15. Zzyzx is pronounced as zye zix; zye sounds like the xy in xylophone, while zix rhymes with the number six. This barely existing community is home to the Desert Studies Center, Soda Dry Lake salt flat, Lake Tuendae, and abandoned structures of the former Zzyzx Springs health spa and resort.
Founded by Curtis Howe Springer in 1944, the Zzyzx Springs health spa and resort was a two-story building with 60 rooms inside; this locale included a pool shaped like a cross and a boiler-heated “natural hot spring bath.” The town of Soda Springs was renamed to Zzyzx in the 1940s by Curtis, who joked that zzyzx is the last word listed in a dictionary! According to Jeopardy! game show winner and Maphead author Ken Jennings, Mr. Springer chose the name as an onomatopoeia that “sounded like sleep,” encouraging visitors to relax and unwind. Curtis’ capitalist explanation: the attention-grabbing name is a promotional gimmick to attract visitors to the area!
Mr. Springer proposed an artificial lake known as Lake Tuendae — which currently provides a home for an endangered fish species, the Mohave tui chub (Siphateles bicolor mohavensis). His resort’s short-lived success allowed Zzyzx to have other amenities, including a chapel, “Zyport” airstrip landing, radio broadcasting studio (Curtis was a Los Angeles radio deejay), and a street named Boulevard of Dreams lined with various homes including Curtis’ palace. Curtis claimed to offer miracle cures based on the area’s mineral water — at least providing oasis-like refreshments to patrons visiting the parched desert.
The resort was forced to close in the early 1970s by the federal government. Although Curtis owned a claim for mining rights, he did not properly acquire the federal land onto which the resort was built! Despite this legal quandary, the United States Board on Geographic Names met in June 1984 and officially approved Zzyzx for the town and Zzyzx Spring for a local stream. Both features are listed under Docket List 285 along with the Dumont Dunes landform in San Bernardino County. Because of this decision, Zzyzx lives on; Curtis’ legacy is still found “on the map” and on an Interstate exit sign!
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