Pioneertown History

Little documentation exists with the details that led up to the creation of Pioneertown. Even once Pioneertown was active, documents are lacking detailed information. The people involved have all passed away. The story below was created using newspaper articles, facts that we know, some local folklore, and some likely scenarios. We will never know the exact details.

An Interesting Idea

To understand what led to the creation of Pioneertown, you need to understand the way Hollywood was in the 1940s. During World War II, movies were a way to escape the world at war. Westerns were a favorite genre of that time. The good guy always beat the bad guy, and it gave moviegoers a feeling of hope. In those days, movie houses would only have one screen. A typical Saturday matinee at the movies included at least one chapter of a serial, along with animated cartoons, newsreels, and a feature film or two. The serial would have a chapter each week, encouraging people to go to the theater weekly. The filming of these weekly serials had to be quick and cheap. The budget filming style led to what we now call the “B-Western.”

The story of Pioneertown starts with Dick Curtis, an actor that was well known for playing villains, known in those days as “the Heavy.” Curtis had filmed several motion pictures at the Iverson Ranch, including “Daniel Boone” in 1936 and “Old Wyoming Trail” with Roy Rogers in 1937. Iverson Ranch had been used to film westerns since the silent movie era. Located just outside of Los Angeles, it was perfect for location filming near Hollywood, especially in the 1930s and 40s.

Every new movie required the construction of false-front facade streets and towns. The building of those western sets was extremely costly and required a large production budget. The motion picture sets would then be dismantled and destroyed after the filming had been completed. In 1944-45 the Iverson Ranch’s original western street was built for the Gary Cooper film “Along Came Jones.” This western street set, made up of three-sided buildings, was left standing after the filming was over. As time went on, it was added on to and used in countless movies and TV shows.

In early 1945 Dick Curtis, along with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, acted in a Frank McDonald film called “Song of Arizona.” The Song of Arizona cast also included Bob Nolan, Ken Carson, Tim Spencer, Shug Fisher, Karl Farr, and Hugh Farr. The Song of Arizona crew also included special effects master Theodore Lydecker, one of the first people to buy property in Pioneertown. It was likely that during the filming of Song of Arizona at Iverson Ranch using the semi-permanent three-sided western town set, that the conversations about building a permanent movie set in the desert got serious between these friends.

During the post-World War II years, the greater Los Angeles area grew rapidly. This growth created some problems for crews filming at movie ranches like Iverson, Spahn, and Lasky Ranches. The sound of people, cars, and airplanes flying overhead while filming caused hours of wasted film. The increase in smog in those years also started to create issues.

Dick Curtis thought that if he could find a location away from airplane traffic and civilization’s noise in Southern California that looked like typical western scenery, the production costs would be lower.

Curtis eventually believed that if he built a permanent western set with actual buildings housing businesses that could support the production companies, it would be a desirable place to film. Businesses like restaurants to feed the crews, a motel to house them, a hardware/grocery store for supplies, a saddle maker, and a feed store to take care of the horse handlers’ needs. He also envisioned that the few people who lived around and worked in that town could be extras during filming. Curtis wanted to create a self-contained film location. He would consider a few other sites before discovering the mountain valley that would become Pioneertown. It was the perfect location. Because this area was a mountain valley, it was silent. The surrounding landscape included a desert, rock formations, mesas, and canyons to film in.

In several newspaper articles from the time, there is mention that there were eighteen original investors. It is unclear who precisely the original eighteen were. The original investors’ partnership was more than likely a handshake deal made at a party somewhere. The story goes that eighteen people each contributed $500, a total of $8,500, to establish the Pioneertown Land Company. Next came the purchase of 32,000 acres, the entire valley where Pioneertown now sits. The Pioneertown Land Company borrowed $60,000 from Jackson Diggs, Charles and Lalah C. Halton. Jackson Diggs and Lalah Halton were Los Angeles real estate brokers and developers. Charles and Lalah were also entertainers. Below are Twenty people believed to be among the eighteen founders of Pioneertown. The first eighteen are most likely the eighteen, but Frank E. Gray is one of three people listed on the Pioneertown Corporation filing along with Dick Curtis and Thomas Carr. Marvin Grigsby, better known by his stage name Mel Griggs, is also mentioned in a couple of newspaper articles as one of the founding investors.

The Founders

No Photo Available

Other early landowners and possible investors