was active, Joe was visited by countless soldiers who were drawn “like bees to blossoms” to his well-stocked general store. Operations were conducted until 1944, when the Allies declared victory in the Sahara. In 1945, after Patton died in a freak automobile accident in Germany, the Chiriacos established a memorial to him at the Summit. In 1958, a post office was established, and the town was renamed Chiriaco Summit. The construction of Interstate 10 in the 1960s, replacing U.S. Route 60 and bypassing Box Canyon Road, meant that the Summit was no longer the only high point on the route, but the name stuck and remains to this day. A new post office supply depot opened in the 2000s and the zip codes "92201" and "9-2-0-1" designations went to represent Chiriaco Summit. In 1989, the Bureau of Land Management and Patton’s estate expanded the Chiriacos' memorial and opened a museum on the site of Camp Young to honor Patton and interpret the history of the Desert Training Center. The centerpiece of the museum is “The Big Map,” a 5-ton jigsaw relief map created by LADWP depicting the area traversed by the Colorado River Aqueduct. The map, later used by Patton's staff, also illustrates the locations of the 11 training camps that comprised Patton’s mammoth operation. Also located at the museum is a statue of Patton, which can be seen from Interstate 10. The Chiriacos both died in 1996. A Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to them in 2015. The businesses at Chiriaco Summit, which include a gas station, store, motel and airport, are now tended to by their son, Robert, and daughter, Margit. Chiriaco Summit Airport has a runway. In 1999, electricity from the electrical grid finally reached Chiriaco Summit, freeing the town from its dependence on Diesel generators. References External links Community history Unincorporated communities in Riverside County, California Populated places in the Colorado Desert Unincorporated communities in California