Felicity, California: The Center of the World?

History of Humanity

In Trust
That this summary
of
Human achievement and failure
Will encourage
Study of the past,
Thought for the future
and
Resolve for virtue.
In Hope
That the human race
Will endure
Far longer than this stone.

--Jacques-Andre Istel

In driving back and forth between San Diego and the Phoenix, I noticed this odd church-like building standing on a hill all by itself just west of the Arizona-California border. On our last trip back to San Diego, I decided to stop to investigate the building and take some photos.

What I found was not at all what I was expecting! The church is still under construction and is part of the town of Felicity, California. Felicity is quite an interesting town. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere and claims to be the official Center of the World.

I didn't get to see the actual point that is the Center of the World since it's inside the pyramid that's closed (along with the other buildings in the town) during the summer months probably because it's hotter than Hades.

Once we drove into the town, I took a few photos of the church, but was quickly distracted by the "Museum of History in Granite." It's literally history in granite with a wide range of topics like the History of French Aviation, a Korean War Memorial, and the History of Humanity (my favorite). As you'll see in my pictures below, the history includes both text and pictures. It's quite amazing. You can even have your name engraved on the "Wall for the Ages" and leave your own mark on history.

I could have spent all day there! I'll definitely be going back. I didn't get to photograph as many of the landmarks as I'd like to (the sundial and the stairs from the Eiffel Tower) and more walls are being added to the museum.

If any of you are ever driving along Interstate 8 just west of the Arizona-California state border, be sure to look for the town of Felicity (exit on Sidewinder Road). Below are some of my photos (you can click on them to see a bigger version). I'm actually in some of them (well, my reflection anyway) because of the time of day and the reflective surface of the granite.

Enjoy the photos!

Here's the church behind the wall that has the History of Humanity:

History of Humanity
This first photo isn't the best, but what I really wanted to capture was the wording (which appears at the beginning of this post).

History of French Aviation