CV History: Nellie Coffman, Founder of the Desert Inn, Is Often Considered the ‘Mother' of Palm Springs

A bronze plaque at the Downtown Park in Palm Springs commemorates the former site of the Desert Inn, an historic hotel established by Nellie Coffma...

March 16, 2023
6:42 AM

A bronze plaque at the Downtown Park in Palm Springs commemorates the former site of the Desert Inn, an historic hotel established by Nellie Coffman. Coffman—ill and seeking the healthful properties of the desert air—arrived in Palm Springs in December 1908, with her husband and older son. The arrived following a long drought, when only about 10 white settlers and about 50 Native Americans remained. As she improved, Nellie and her husband, Dr. Harry Lee Coffman, decided to establish a hotel and 'sanatorium' to treat people suffering from pulmonary ailments.

Greg Niemann