By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
The Rim of the World Historical Society (ROWHS) has been sponsoring tours and educational trips around the mountain communities since it began in 1986. They are excited to be able to host a tour and luncheon at the private Pinecrest Resort in Twin Peaks this month on Sunday, Sept. 21, from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members, which includes lunch and program and a tour of the camp. Tickets can be purchased at www.mtnmuseum.org or at the Mountain History Museum during open hours of noon to 4 on Friday and 10:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The exterior of Pinecrest’s Roundhouse Cafe.
Pinecrest was the first resort open to the public on the mountain, when it opened in 1909. It is located at 1140 Pinecrest Road (off Highway 189) in Twin Peaks.
Pinecrest was founded by Santa Fe Railroad physician Dr. John Baylis who paid $8,500 that he borrowed to buy the Smithsonian land to keep it from being timbered when it came up for sale in 1904. He had the vision to create the Pinecrest Evergreen Village with cabins for rent as a mountain retreat. It was the first resort designed for the common man. Since he had worked for the Santa Fe Railroad, he built a “roundhouse” for a cafe, with a dining room connected by a lobby opening in 1909.
A pre-opening in June 1907 was attended by members of the Elks Lodge of San Bernardino, with hundreds of Doc Baylis’ lodge buddies, who were grateful to be out of the blistering heat of the valley below. They saw some of the cabins being built, including the pavilion and Roundhouse Café, the stable with horses to ride to go fishing, sightseeing or other activities. They declared the retreat “perfect for holiday fun seekers” or for those who just “want to be out of the valley heat.”
Dr. Baylis was the man with a vision for the mountain, using eloquent descriptive language to convince visitors to make the effort to get up the mountain. Baylis said the views along the roadway were “the most beautiful drive along the crest ever seen, with the most scenic vistas, extending all the way out to the ocean 100 miles away, in all of the country.” The ribbon-cutting ceremony and party to celebrate the opening of the Rim of the World Drive in 1915 was at his Pinecrest Resort.
Dr. John Baylis who came to San Bernardino as a doctor for the Santa Fe Railroad and changed mountain history in many ways, including beginning Pinecrest.
Over the decades, Baylis made a difference in the modernization of the mountains and making them more accessible, first promoting stage lines enabling people without cars to come up the mountain and offering mountain resort housing for the common person. Then he advocated for improved roadways.
There are still several buildings that have been preserved at Pinecrest from the Baylis era, including the Roundhouse Café. One of those buildings’ dining rooms will be used by those who take the tour for a luncheon served by the Pinecrest staff. Afterwards, past ROWHS President Bill Pumford will give a PowerPoint presentation on the history of Pinecrest. The Pinecrest Retreat and Conference Center is still very active, often hosting up to 600 visitors each week.
The ROWHS wants to share mountain history with everyone so they can appreciate the unique locations and events that make places like Pinecrest a valuable element of mountain history. The museum focuses on the locations, communities and pioneers, such as Dr. Baylis, who spent their lives making these mountains into the unique year-round lake-resort communities they have become.
The Mountain History Museum will remain open on weekends for visitors through mid-October, weather permitting. It will be open Thanksgiving weekend and another weekend in December, all weather permitting. The museum, which is free, is located at 27176 Peninsula Drive at Rhine Road in Lake Arrowhead in the old Lake Arrowhead Fire District fire station.
The museum is completely volunteer operated by members of the Rim of the World Historical Society; if this sounds interesting to you, they are always seeking more docents. You can phone them at (909) 744-8625 and leave your information or visit the museum.
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