The original cabin is a 416 square foot jackrabbit house, built in 1978 as part of the homesteading movement. The interior was rehabbed in the 1990s with new windows, insulation, a covered carport and not much more. No permits have been filed for any improvements made to the cabin or land.
Jackrabbit homesteading was a mid-century movement that took place in the Morongo Basin region of Southern California's Mojave Desert, near Joshua Tree National Park. The movement was made possible by the Small Tract Act of 1938, which allowed able-bodied U.S. citizens to lease up to five acres of public land for a nominal fee. The land was previously managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).