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 and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies betw ...

, 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 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, ...

, in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and 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 populous urban ...

. 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 a ...

, 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 U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mountai ...

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

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 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 se ...

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 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 California's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. As of 2021, Republican Jay Obernolte represents the district. Currently, the 8th district encompasses most of the eastern desert regions o ...

, 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 repres ...

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 ap ...

Cable TV and internet

* Charter Communications (Charter Spectrum) * Frontier Communications

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 ...

Fire

* San Bernardino County Fire Department * Los Angeles County Fire Department

Schools

* Mount Baldy School District

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 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, ...

Roads

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...

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