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Pioneertown, California

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
Coordinates: 34°9′26″N 116°29′41″W / 34.15722°N 116.49472°W / 34.15722; -116.49472Coordinates: 34°9′26″N 116°29′41″W / 34.15722°N 116.49472°W / 34.15722; -116.49472
Country United States
State California
County San Bernardino
Population (2006)
 • Total 350
Time zone Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes 92268
Area codes 442/760
FIPS code 06-57358
GNIS feature ID 247574

Pioneertown, California, is an unincorporated community in the Morongo Basin region of southern California's Inland Empire Metropolitan Area, on Pioneertown Road at Route 62 in the town of Yucca Valley. The winding, 4-mile (6.4 km) drive northwest to Pioneertown has been designated a California Scenic Drive.

The town started as a live-in Old West motion-picture set, built in the 1940s. The set was designed to provide a place for the actors to live while using their homes in the movie. A number of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneertown, including The Cisco Kid and Edgar Buchanan's Judge Roy Bean.

Roy Rogers, Dick Curtis, and Russell Hayden were among the original developers and investors, and Gene Autry frequently taped his show at the six-lane Pioneer Bowl bowling alley. Its construction was credited to Arent E. Thompson in 1947 and Rogers himself rolled out the first ball in 1949. School-age children were hired as pinsetters until the installation of automatic pinsetting equipment in the 1950s. According to the Morongo Basin Historical Society, the bowling alley is one of the oldest in continuous use in California.

As of 2006, Pioneertown had a population of 350.

On July 11, 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 one of the original sets, which counts among its regular patrons notable musicians, including Eric Burdon and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame.On Oct.13, 2016, Sir Paul McCartney made a unexpected but spectacular appearance for a 100 minute concert and 22 songs for 300 guests only.


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