Pioneertown

Pioneertown
	; Saloon, bank, and hotel on Mane [sic] Street
Location in California
	Pioneertown
	Pioneertown
Basic data
Foundation :	1946
State :	United States
State :	California
County :	San Bernardino County
Coordinates :	34 ° 9 ′ N , 116 ° 30 ′ W Coordinates: 34 ° 9 ′ N , 116 ° 30 ′ W
Time zone :	Pacific ( UTC − 8 / −7 )
Residents :	420 (as of 2006)
Postal code :	92268
FIPS :	06-57358
GNIS ID :	247574
Website :	visitpioneertown.com

Pioneertown (not to be confused with the former Western Park Pioneer City in Florida) is an unincorporated settlement ( Unincorporated Community ) northwest of Yucca Valley in California , on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park .

history

Pioneertown was founded in 1946 by a group of actors and investors including Roy Rogers , Gene Autry , Russell Hayden , Dick Curtis, Frank McDonald, and Bud Abbott . The groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 1, 1946. The idea was to create a city that would serve as a backdrop for western films , but which could still be used by the film crews after the shooting was over. For this purpose, buildings were erected that looked like a typical western town from the 19th century. Inside, however, they housed modern facilities such as ice cream parlors , a bowling alley or motels . Originally the new place was to be named after Roy Rogers Rogersville . Ultimately, however, it was named after the music group The Sons of the Pioneers , of which Rogers was one of the founding members and whose members were also among the investors.

Tim Spencer, member of the Sons of the Pioneers , wrote a song entitled Out in Pioneertown , which was released on RCA Victor in October 1948 . The following March, another recording, this time with Milton Estes and his Musical Millers , was released on DECCA .

Initially, land sales to new investors went well, so there were even plans to turn the area into a large resort . However, the lack of water in the area turned out to be a major problem. The future of the entire Pioneertown project was on the brink when the film producer Philip N. Krasne came to town in 1948 and leased the film rights to Pioneertown for 25 years. For indoor shots he had the sound stage built in the form of a large barn on Mane Street .

In the decades that followed, Pioneertown filmed over 50 films and television shows, including Bloody Trail , the television series 26 Men and The Cisco Kid, and the Gene Autry Show .

In close proximity to Pioneertown is Russell Heyden's own ranch, which was used as a filming location for the television series Roy Bean , a judge in the wild west and on which, among other things, a Wells Fargo bank building and a sheriff's office have been recreated.

Pioneertown was never a pure western backdrop or a range of services for film crews, but people who ran the various motels, restaurants or various shops always lived here. Even today, Pioneertown is still enjoying growing popularity as a place to live for artists and entrepreneurs.

Even if the heyday of the western series is now over, Pioneertown is still used at least occasionally as a backdrop for film productions, such as for Ingrid Goes West (world premiere in 2017). Also music videos are filmed here - for example, here came the video for Funnel of Love by Cyndi Lauper .

As early as 1947, a newspaper advertisement (with the pictures of The Sons of the Pioneers , Roy Rogers and his future wife Dale Evans ) advertised a visit to Pioneertown, even if it was primarily intended to attract investors. Even today, film tourists still come to the city regularly . Once a week, free demonstrations by Wild West reenactment groups take place on Mane Street for visitors .

The buildings in Pioneertown also include Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace , a mixture of barbecue restaurant and concert hall ( honky-tonk ), where numerous well-known musicians have performed, including Paul McCartney , Robert Plant , Lorde , the Arctic Monkeys , Eagles of Death Metal , Queens of the Stone Age , Leon Russell , Vampire Weekend , Sean Lennon , The Hives and Billy Corgan .

In 2006, a large conflagration caused by lightning, the Sawtooth Complex Fire, raged in the vicinity of Pioneertown . Although the emergency services managed to save the historical film sets in the town center, the fire caused great damage in the outskirts and the surrounding nature. 61,700 acres (250 square kilometers ) of land, 50 residential buildings and numerous vehicles were burned and one person died.

gallery

Place name sign of Pioneertown
North side of Mane [sic] Street
Rent stable and prison
General store
Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace
The sound stage
The Office Marshalls
Western wind turbine
Roy Rogers (leaning on the pillar to the right) with other actors in the 1950s. The Red Dog Saloon burned down in April 1966.