Mount Baldy or Mount Baldy Village, formerly Camp Baynham and Camp Baldy, is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...

, in

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

near the eastern border of

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

, in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. It is located below

Mount San Antonio Mount San Antonio, commonly referred to as Mount Baldy or Old Baldy, is a summit in the San Gabriel Mountains on the border of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties of California. Lying within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and ...

, commonly known as "Mount Baldy", hence its name.

Geography

It is located below Mount San Antonio (Mt Baldy) in San Antonio Canyon. San Antonio Creek flows through the community. It is surrounded by

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County in southern Calif ...

. Mt Baldy is north of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

History

Around the turn of the nineteenth century, when the

Baldy Bowl Baldy Bowl is a fluvial cirque, in the San Gabriel Mountains of the U.S. state of California, that forms much of the upper south face of Mount San Antonio Mount San Antonio, commonly referred to as Mount Baldy or Old Baldy, is a summit i ...

was transitioning from resource extraction and toward recreation, a series of bitter conflicts took place there between the San Antonio Water Company and various camp owners. Pollution of the watershed and an 1899 brush fire led the company to wrest legal control of the road through the canyon away from Charles Baynham, close off the canyon with locked gates, and station armed guards to keep out intruders. But after some time and various legal battles, the company decided to profit from recreation rather than discouraging it. It bought Baynham's Camp in 1907 but then hired Baynham to manage it, charging tolls on the road from 1908 to 1922. The camp was renamed Camp Baldy in 1910, and in the following year the canyon became accessible by automobile. By the early 1920s there were numerous trail camps and resorts in the area. When the area became a national forest in 1908, the forest service began offering 99-year leases of plots of land, including at Camp Baldy. Post Office sign for Mount Baldy, California, about 1953

Post Office sign for Mount Baldy, California, about 1953

The

Los Angeles flood of 1938 The Los Angeles flood of 1938 was one of the largest floods in the history of Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties in southern California. The flood was caused by two Pacific storms that swept across the Los Angeles Basin in February-Marc ...

destroyed most of the human-made structures in Camp Baldy. The casino was destroyed, but the hotel (today's Buckhorn Lodge) survived. Camp Baldy was rebuilt and later became Mt. Baldy Village.

Buildings

Mt Baldy has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

with ZIP code 91759.ZIP Code Lookup
/ref> The community was established as Camp Baynham in 1906; it changed its name to Camp Baldy in 1910 and became Mt Baldy in 1951. Its post office was established in 1913. The

Mt Baldy School District The Mt Baldy School District consists of one school, Mt Baldy School, that serves students in grades K-8 in Mount Baldy, California, USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or A ...

operates the Mt Baldy School in town. The Mt Baldy Zen Center is located in the area. The Mt Baldy Ski Lifts are above the town on the slopes of Mt Baldy.

Utilities and services

The town of Mount Baldy is served by privately-owned utilities. Public services are by county and state governments. Mt. Baldy is located in California's 8th congressional district, represented by Republican

Jay Obernolte Jay Phillip Obernolte ( ; born August 18, 1970) is an American politician, businessman, and video game developer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A Republican, he was previously a member of the California State Assembly represe ...

Electricity

Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of app ...

Cable TV and internet

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...

(Charter Spectrum) *

Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...

Natural gas

Gas is propane, as no natural gas lines are available.

Law enforcement

* San Bernardino County Sheriff *

Los Angeles County Sheriff The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...

Fire

* San Bernardino County Fire Department *

Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting services as well as technical rescue services, hazardous materials response services and emergency medical response services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County ...

Schools

Mount Baldy School District The Mt Baldy School District consists of one school, Mt Baldy School, that serves students in grades K-8 in Mount Baldy, California Mount Baldy or Mount Baldy Village, formerly Camp Baynham and Camp Baldy, is an unincorporated community in ...

Municipal governments

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

Roads

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

Climate

Mt Baldy has relatively cold and very wet winters with moderate snowfall. Temperatures often fall to at night. It is usually during the day during the winter, and 25–35 °F at night. Annual snowfall is about 42 inches. Summer temperatures are mild to warm, and can get chilly at night. Daytime temperatures are , with lows of . Thunderstorms are not common, on occasion they brew in the mountains in and surrounding Mt Baldy. They usually occur in the afternoon, and clear up by late evening.

References

External links

Mt Baldy Fire Department
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in San Bernardino County, California San Gabriel Mountains Unincorporated communities in California