The idea of the “American West” took root in the sandy, wild landscape of the western United States. The film tycoons who founded Pioneertown loved it for its versatile terrain —- scenery of severn western states could be duplicated by immediate surroundings. The true origin story of Pioneertown is hotly contested. The legend of the place often overshadows its true historical trajectory, and the more people you talk to, the more scrambled it gets. Alice “Honey” Fellers, who wrote the book Pioneertown, Then and Now, was quoted saying, “Psychologically speaking, Pioneertown is not a town. It is a legend.” What we know is that Pioneertown began in 1946 when perennial movie bad guy Dick Curtis —- a strapping man with a black mustache —- whoa’d his horse on a grassy knoll and proclaimed, “This is the place.” Other accounts say an old lady owed him twenty-five dollars and repaid him with a deed to an unseen homesteader plot. Along with Curtis, Roy Rogers, Philip N. Krasne, Gene Autry, Russell Hayden, and the Sons of the Pioneers (for whom the town was named) were some of the original investors and personalities who helped build and invent Pioneertown. More than fifty films and several television shows were filmed there, most notably The Cisco Kid and The Gene Autry Show.

Pioneertown Motel exists at the nexus of desert culture —- a mélange of experimental art and philosophy, kitsch and caricature, wild, natural beauty, resourcefulness, spiritual searching, rock n’ roll and the proverbial “Escape from LA.”  Though only a few minutes from Yucca Valley, and a few more from the glitz and fanfare of Palm Springs, Pioneertown feels a world away. There’s security knowing you’re not far off, but a convincing solitude and remoteness nonetheless. You are safe, but you are free —- a rare and utterly appealing sensation.

5240 Curtis Rd, Pioneertown, CA 92268

www.pioneertown-motel.com