Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park is a state park of California, USA, protecting a stand of Joshua trees and junipers in the Antelope Valley. The park is located in northern Los Angeles County, 20 miles (32 km) west of downtown Lancaster and about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.
The site was donated to the state by Arthur "Archie" Ripley, and preserves a remnant of Joshua/juniper woodland which once grew in great abundance throughout the valley. Today only remnant parcels of this woodland community remain in the valley, much of the rest having been cleared for farming, housing, and some rather esoteric uses — directions for nighttime automobile travelers in the first half of the 20th century and even pulp for newspaper usage. The 566-acre (229 ha) property was officially acquired in 1993.
The Joshua tree played an important part in the cultural history of the Antelope Valley, providing a vital source of food and fiber materials for the Native Americans that inhabited the region.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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