Pioneertown is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

of the Morongo Basin region of the High Desert in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is locat ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is an 1880s-themed town developed as a shooting location for actors working on

Western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...

s and TV series which includes businesses and residences. The Mane Street Historic District is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The winding, drive northwest to Pioneertown from

Yucca Valley Yucca Valley is an incorporated town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 21,738 as of the 2020 census. Yucca Valley lies north of Palm Springs, and east of San Bernardino. Bordered to the south by the Joshu ...

has been designated a California Scenic Drive, and the area is now surrounded by both privately and federally protected lands. The Sawtooths are a small mountain range to the south, while Black Hill is to the north.

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 motion-picture set. The town was designed to provide a place for production companies to reside 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. Hundreds of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneertown, including ''

The Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Maga ...

'' and

Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the '' Petticoat Junction'', '' Green Acres'', and '' The Bever ...

's ''

Judge Roy Bean Phantly Roy Bean Jr. (c. 1825 – March 16, 1903) was an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, he held court in his saloon along ...

''.

Dick Curtis,

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

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 actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

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. The third building to be built in Pioneertown, Pioneer Bowl served as a recreational venue for 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 townsfolk in attendance. 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 recall working as pin boys at the bowling alley until Brunswick's first automatic pinsetters 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. In 2020, Pioneertown's Mane Street area was recognized as a historic district by the

21st century

, Pioneertown had a population of around 350. In July 2006, parts of Pioneertown were burned in the Sawtooth Complex fire, which also burned into

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 Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...

and

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

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 Kidz may refer to: * "Kidz" (song), a song by Take That * KIDZ-LD, a low-power television station in Abilene, Texas, U.S. * '' Kidz Magazine'', a 1995-2007 magazine * "Kidz", a song by Plan B from ''Who Needs Actions When You Got Words'' * A defunc ...

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 mainstream single by the American rapper and singer Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. He also recorded ...

". In 2023, San Bernardino County officials announced plans to apply generic commercial zoning to Pioneertown's historic district. In 2024, Pioneertown received media attention when Alanna Gold, a participant in the reality show ''

Selling Sunset ''Selling Sunset'' is an American reality television series created for Netflix by Adam DiVello. The series revolves around the Oppenheim Group, a high-end real estate brokerage firm in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas (with offices in West ...

'' falsely claimed on the show and in multiple interviews to have been the owner of the town. Gold issued a retraction and apology in response to community backlash. Gold's apology clarified that she co-owns a several properties in the town along with other parties, including a music festival producer and RH CEO Gary Friedman.

Notable people

* Nancy Wilson (1937–2018), jazz singer and actress

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 Sun – Pioneertown historical research, photo and video archive website

List of productions shot in Pioneertown
from

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...