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All the United States California Pioneertown Pioneertown

Pioneertown

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

Pioneertown, California

Added By
muriel
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“Pioneertown 1946”.   Clinton Steeds/CC BY 2.0
“Pioneertown 1946”.   Clinton Steeds/CC BY 2.0
Briscoe Friday riding Denver. RIP Briscoe.   Gunfighters for Hire / Atlas Obscura User
The Earp Brothers and Doc of Gunfighters for Hire.   Gunfighters for Hire / Atlas Obscura User
Pioneertown.   Michael Dorausch/CC BY-SA 2.0
Which of these things is unlike the others?   Don Graham/CC BY-SA 2.0
Pioneertown General Store.   Catchpenny/CC BY-ND 2.0
The Little Big Horn Ranch in Pioneertown.   Michael Dorausch/CC BY-SA 2.0
Pioneertown Signage   Sandi Hemmerlein/AvoidingRegret.com
Mane Street Stampede.   Sandi Hemmerlein/AvoidingRegret.com
General Store   sdtriathlete / Atlas Obscura User
Plaque describing the town   sdtriathlete / Atlas Obscura User
Pioneertown Hotel   sdtriathlete / Atlas Obscura User
Pioneertown Bowling Alley   Michael Dorausch/CC BY-SA 2.0
P town   Yorkshire / Atlas Obscura User
A Tin Pan shootout re-enactment.   Gunfighters for Hire / Atlas Obscura User
Got shot, goin’ down.   Gunfighters for Hire / Atlas Obscura User
Coyote Kidd being interviewed for French TV.   Gunfighters for Hire / Atlas Obscura User
Pioneertown movie set used by Gunfighters for Hire.   Gunfighters for Hire / Atlas Obscura User
Pioneertown 2017   mrmichaelthomas / Atlas Obscura User
Pioneertown Bank   mrmichaelthomas / Atlas Obscura User
Jack Cass Saloon.   BrandoBlain / Atlas Obscura User
The drunk gasses the gunfighters.   Gunfighters for Hire / Atlas Obscura User
Most famous cactus on instagram   Yorkshire / Atlas Obscura User
Gunfighters for Hire donate to Happy Trails Children’s Foundation.   Gunfighters for Hire / Atlas Obscura User
Petting zoo   Yorkshire / Atlas Obscura User
Pioneertown casts a long shadow.   Sandi Hemmerlein/AvoidingRegret.com
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About

Roughly two hours outside of Los Angeles, there is a tiny little desert town that looks frozen in the 19th century.

Dusty slatted cabins are adorned with cow skulls and cactus gardens. Old fashioned barrels and rocking chairs sit on every porch. There are actual tumbleweeds tumbling down the streets. This isn't an abandoned ghost town—far from it—rather, this town was originally a 1940s movie set.

The population's average age is around 30, and in the past year a restaurant, a recording studio, and a vintage store opened up in Airstream trailers and the old slatted buildings. Paul McCartney recently played a set at Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace Saloon.

As a New York Times piece described it, "Pioneertown wants to be the new Old West," but it wasn't ever the real Old West, to begin with. Pioneertown was originally designed to accommodate actors during the filming of old Western movies.

The saloons, trading posts, and other frontier storefronts were used as backdrops in a number of early Western serials from The Cisco Kid to Judge Roy Bean. Given the swift and prolific production schedules of the televised adventures, the set was soon expanded to accommodate real residences where the actors could live. The construction of the town was funded and overseen by such Western greats as actors Roy Rodgers and Russell Hayden

 

Related Tags

Wild West Film Locations Television Film Eccentric Homes Cities Old West Cowboys Homes

Know Before You Go

Pioneertown is located just 15 minutes from Joshua Tree, 32 miles from Palm Springs, and about a two and half hours drive from downtown Los Angeles. Pioneertown can be reached via Interstate 10 to Highway 62, with clear signs along the way pointing travelers in the direction of the town. 

Pioneer town hosts Old West re-enactments April through October on Saturday afternoons, for those keen on getting a true Western experience. 

Community Contributors

Added By

frenchbot

Edited By

Rachel, Molly McBride Jacobson, EricGrundhauser, Avoiding Regret...

  • Rachel
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • EricGrundhauser
  • Avoiding Regret
  • BrandoBlain
  • Gunfighters for Hire
  • mrmichaelthomas
  • sdtriathlete
  • Yorkshire

Published

March 14, 2014

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Sources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneertown,_California
  • http://www.visitcalifornia.com/Must-Sees/Step-into-the-Wild-West-in-Pioneertown/
  • http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/fashion/pioneertown-hollywood-california-desert.html?_r=0&module=Slide&region=SlideShowTopBar&version=SlideCard-17&action=Click&contentCollection=Fashion%20%26%20Style&slideshowTitle=A%20New%20Posse%20Arrives%20Where%20Roy%20Rogers%20Once%20Rode&currentSlide=17&entrySlide=1&pgtype=imageslideshow
  • http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-paul-mccartney-pappy-20161013-snap-story.html
Pioneertown
Pioneertown, California
United States
34.156442, -116.498645

Nearby Places

Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace

Pioneertown, California

miles away

Desert Christ Park

Yucca Valley, California

miles away

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Yucca Mesa, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pioneertown

Pioneertown

California

Places 2

Nearby Places

Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace

Pioneertown, California

miles away

Desert Christ Park

Yucca Valley, California

miles away

Rhythms of Life

Yucca Mesa, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pioneertown

Pioneertown

California

Places 2

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