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Pioneertown is an unincorporated community of the Morongo Basin region of the High Desert in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is an 1880s-themed town developed as a shooting location for actors working on Western films and TV series with businesses and residences. The Mane Street Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The winding, 4-mile (6.4 km) drive northwest to Pioneertown from Yucca Valley has been designated a California Scenic Drive and the area is now surrounded by privately and federally protected lands. The Sawtooths are a small mountain range to the south; Black Hill is to the north.
Pioneertown, California | |
|---|---|
 Saloon, bank, bath house and livery stables on Mane Street, Pioneertown, CA | |
  Pioneertown, California Location within the state of California  Pioneertown, California Pioneertown, California (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 34°09′16″N 116°29′55″W / 34.15444°N 116.49861°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | San Bernardino |
| Elevation | 4,055 ft (1,236 m) |
| Population (2006) | |
• Total | 420 |
| Time zone | UTC−08:00 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−07:00 (PDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 92268 |
| Area codes | 442/760 |
| FIPS code | 06-57358 |
| GNIS feature ID | 247574[1] |
History
editActor Dick Curtis started up the town in 1946 as an 1880s themed live-in Old West living, breathing motion-picture set.[2] The town was designed to provide a place for production companies to enjoy while also using their businesses and homes in movies.
Pioneertown's founders intended the area to be a residential area with Mane Street acting as both a movie set and the town's commercial district.[3]
Hundreds of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneertown, including The Cisco Kid and Edgar Buchanan's Judge Roy Bean.
Dick Curtis, Roy Rogers and Russell Hayden were some of the original developers and investors. Gene Autry filmed his weekly show in town for five years, using the buildings and businesses as part of the film set.
The Pioneer Bowl is still an operating bowling alley.[4] The third building to be built in Pioneertown, Pioneer Bowl was used for recreation for the residents, actors and crew after filming. Roy Rogers made the front page of the local newspaper when he opened the bowl with a strike on Lane one. He bowled a 211 game in his cowboy boots with Dale Evans and 200 town folk watching.
Bowling leagues were an active part of American culture, and dozens of businesses had leagues at Pioneer Bowl, especially after western films were no longer being made in town. Many locals remember being pin boys for the bowl until some of the first automatic pinsetters made by Brunswick were installed.
The Thompson and White family partnership built the bowl in 1946. Mrs. White volunteered to be the first postmistress of Pioneertown, and the first post office was located inside the bowling alley.
The werewolf movie Howling 7 was filmed in Pioneertown and used many of its locals as cast members.
In 2020, Pioneertown's Mane Street area was recognized as a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places.[5]
21st century
editAs of 2019[update], Pioneertown had a population of 420.[6][failed verification]
In July 2006, parts of Pioneertown were burned in the Sawtooth Complex fire, which also burned into Yucca Valley and Morongo Valley.[7] Firefighters managed to save the historic movie-set buildings, but much of the surrounding desert habitat was damaged.[8] Among the buildings saved was Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace, a longtime local club and landmark built within the town's original and only gas station, which counts among its regular patrons notable musicians, including Eric Burdon and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.
Mane Street in downtown Pioneertown is open to the public.
As Pioneertown is a working movie set, commercial production and photography is allowed by permit only.
On January 18, 2019, the Kidz Bop Kids used Pioneertown as the set for their music video for the cover of Lil Nas X's song, "Old Town Road".
In 2023, San Bernardino County officials announced plans to apply generic commercial zoning to Pioneertown's historic district.[9][10]
As a tourist town, Pioneertown offers reenacted western-style gun shows, live music, a film museum, pottery classes, and horse camping.
Notable people
edit- Nancy Wilson (1937–2018), jazz singer and actress
Gallery
edit-
MazAmar Art Pottery Studio -
Sign at the entrance to the town on Pioneertown Road -
Chapparosa Saddlery on Mane Street -
Facade of Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace -
"Mane Street" street sign -
Entrance to Pioneer Bowl -
"Likker Barn" and mercantile building -
Pioneertown wide street accommodated camera dolly
References
edit- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pioneertown, California
- ^ Meares, Hadley (February 21, 2021). ""We're Getting Out of L.A. and Going to Joshua Tree": Why the Desert Area Is Booming". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
- ^ Sautter, Curt (March 1, 2024). ""Pioneertown: a tale of resilience and community spirit"". Joshua Tree Voice. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ Cutchin, James B. (July 7, 2023). "'High noon' for Pioneertown: Zoning changes could reshape the storied desert community". The Desert Sun. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
- ^ "PIONEERTOWN NOW LISTED ON NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES". Z107.7 FM. June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ Martelle, Scott (September 18, 2006). "Pioneertown Is Ersatz; Its Compassion Is Real" (PDF). Los Angeles Times – via carehelp.org.
- ^ "Sawtooth Complex - July 2006" (PDF). fire.ca.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
- ^ "Hi-Desert Star – Yucca Valley, CA: Sawtooth Complex Fire". Hidesertstar.com. Retrieved October 14, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ Cutchin, James B. (July 27, 2023). "'High noon' for Pioneertown: Zoning changes could reshape the storied desert community". The Desert Sun. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^ "Pioneertown in a showdown with San Bernardino County over its future". San Bernardino Sun. July 8, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
Further reading
edit- Rafton, Louise. “Pioneertown”, Westways Magazine, March/April 2005
- Stringfellow, Kim. mojaveproject.org: "That High Desert Sound"
- Gentry, Kenneth. "Pioneertown USA" [1]
- "Pioneertown, USA: The Definitive History of Pioneertown, CA. Where the Old West Lives Again!" 2018, 308 pages via Amazon.com
External links
edit
Media related to Pioneertown, California at Wikimedia Commons- Pioneertown Sun – Pioneertown historical research, photo and video archive website
- List of productions shot in Pioneertown from IMDb[dead link]
