Pioneertown, California, 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 hav ...

of the Morongo Basin region of

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cens ...

's High Desert. The historical town was originally incorporated in 1946 and fell into the hands of San Bernardino County in the late 1960s. The winding, 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.

History

Actor

Dick Curtis Richard Dye (May 11, 1902January 3, 1952), known professionally as Dick Curtis, was an American actor who made over 230 film and television appearances during his career. Early years Curtis was born in Newport, Kentucky, the son of Frank Dye ...

started up the town in 1946 as an 1880s themed live-in

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

living, breathing motion-picture set. 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''. Pioneertown bowl sign

Dick Curtis,

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

and Russell Hayden were some of the original developers and investors.

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

filmed his weekly

show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** Sp ...

in town for 5 years, using the buildings and businesses as part of the film set. The first episode accidentally features the Pioneer Bowl sign, which was usually covered for filming, and Pioneer Bowl is still an operating bowling alley. 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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

21st century

, Pioneertown had a population of 420. In July 2006, parts of Pioneertown were burned in the Sawtooth Complex fire, which also burned into Yucca Valley and Morongo Valley. Firefighters managed to save the historic movie-set buildings, but much of the surrounding desert habitat was damaged. 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 Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

of Led Zeppelin fame. 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 "Old Town Road" is the debut single of American rapper Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. Lil Nas X also recorded a remix with America ...

. As a tourist town, Pioneertown offers reenacted western style gun shows
live music

pottery classes
an

Notable people

* Nancy Wilson (1937–2018), jazz singer and actress
Thomas Alban
sculptor, pottery artist and owner at MazAmar Art Pottery

Gallery

File:"Pioneertown, USA".jpg, MazAmar Art Pottery Studio

File:Pioneertown, CA Sign 2020.jpg, Sign at the entrance to the town on Pioneertown Road File:Pioneertown saddlery.jpg, Chapparosa Saddlery on Mane Street File:Pioneertown pappys.jpg, Facade of Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace File:Pioneertown mane street sign.jpg, "Mane Street" street sign File:Pioneertown bowl.jpg, Entrance to Pioneer Bowl File:Pioneertown likker barn.jpg, "Likker Barn" and mercantile building File:Pioneertown wide street51.jpg, Pioneertown wide street accommodated camera dolly

References

External links

* *"Pioneertown, USA: The Definitive History of Pioneertown, CA. Where the Old West Lives Again!" 2018, 308 pages
via Amazon.com

Pioneertown Sun – Pioneertown historical research, photo and video archive website

List of productions shot in Pioneertown
from

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...