Pioneertown, California

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.

Pioneertown, California
unincorporated community
Saloon, bank, bath house and livery stables on Mane Street, Pioneertown, CA
Saloon, bank, bath house and livery stables on Mane Street, Pioneertown, CA
Pioneertown, California is located in California
Pioneertown, California
Pioneertown, California
Location within the state of California
Pioneertown, California is located in the United States
Pioneertown, California
Pioneertown, California
Pioneertown, California (the United States)
Coordinates: 34°9′26″N 116°29′41″W
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountySan Bernardino
Population
 (2006)
 • Total420
Time zoneUTC−08:00 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−07:00 (PDT)
ZIP Codes
92268
Area codes442/760
FIPS code06-57358
GNIS feature ID247574

History

Actor Dick Curtis started up the town in 1946 as an 1880s themed live-in Old West living, breathing motion-picture set.[1] The town was designed to provide a place for production companies to enjoy while also using their businesses and homes in movies. Hundreds of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneertown, including The Cisco Kid and Edgar Buchanan's Judge Roy Bean.

Pioneer Bowl

Dick Curtis, Roy Rogers and Russell Hayden were some of the original developers and investors. Gene Autry filmed his weekly show in town for 5 years, using the buildings and businesses as part of the film set. The Pioneer Bowl is still an operating bowling alley.[2] 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.[3]

21st century

As of 2019, Pioneertown had a population of 420.[4][5]

In July 2006, parts of Pioneertown were burned in the Sawtooth Complex fire, which also burned into Yucca Valley and Morongo Valley.[6] Firefighters managed to save the historic movie-set buildings, but much of the surrounding desert habitat was damaged.[7] 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 & 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.

As a tourist town, Pioneertown offers reenacted western style gun shows, live music, a film museum, pottery classes, and horse camping.

Notable people
  • MazAmar Art Pottery Studio
    MazAmar Art Pottery Studio
  • Sign at the entrance to the town on Pioneertown Road
    Sign at the entrance to the town on Pioneertown Road
  • Chapparosa Saddlery on Mane Street
    Chapparosa Saddlery on Mane Street
  • Facade of Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace
    Facade of Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace
  • "Mane Street" street sign
    "Mane Street" street sign
  • Entrance to Pioneer Bowl
    Entrance to Pioneer Bowl
  • "Likker Barn" and mercantile building
    "Likker Barn" and mercantile building
  • Pioneertown wide street accommodated camera dolly
    Pioneertown wide street accommodated camera dolly

References
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. "PIONEERTOWN NOW LISTED ON NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES". Z107.7 FM. June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  4. http://www.carehelp.org/files/News/20060918_Pioneertown_Is_Ersatz_Its_Compassion_Is_Real.pdf
  5. "Pioneertown Is Ersatz; Its Compassion Is Real". Los Angeles Times.
  6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Hi-Desert Star – Yucca Valley, CA: Sawtooth Complex Fire". Hidesertstar.com. Retrieved October 14, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Further reading
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