By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
The Rim of the World Historical Society held a special tour of historic Pine Crest on Sunday, Sept. 21 with past president and historian Bill Pumford giving a PowerPoint presentation on the history of Dr. John Baylis and his creation of the Pine Crest Resort, which opened 116 years ago.
Dr. Baylis, who worked for the Santa Fe railroad and was a member of the exclusive Squirrel Inn, borrowed money and bought the land next to the Squirrel Inn when he heard that it would be sold to a logging company and the trees would be all cut down. He had said he couldn’t bear the thought of that.
The stone fireplace in the lobby of Pinecrest.
Pine Crest was designed for the common man so they could visit the forest and get out of the heat of the valley below and was made directly out of the forest. After he bought the land, he used the trees he did cut to build the buildings for the resort, including a lodge, many cabins, a pavilion and the dining room, opening the resort in 1909. Over the years more buildings including a hotel called The Rookery were built. He owned and ran the property until the early 1950s.
Pumford gave his presentation in the round meeting room, which is a two-story building that formerly had the second-story rooms open to the dining room, but now the ceiling been closed off for better sound and heating. The room has a stone fireplace as did all of the early buildings for heat during the the winter. It is connected by a lobby which had another fireplace and adjoins the famous round dining room with the center fireplace. It is said Dr. Baylis got help from a local Indian in helping to get the center fireplace to properly draw the smoke upwards.
A special guest for the afternoon was the great-grandson of Dr Baylis and his son. They hadn’t recently seen Pinecrest and enjoyed Pumford’s presentation on their family and Pine Crest. Baylis shared his own memories of his childhood in the area, at the camp and his grandmother.
The windows in the current-day gift store in one of the original buildings built out of logs at Pinecrest.
Pine Crest is now the Pinecrest Christian Conference Center and actively host retreats and conferences all year round. After the presentation, a short tractor-pulled wagon trip through the historic Pine Crest apple orchards and a walk around the buildings of Pine Crest was given. This tour, which had not been given for the past three years, was coordinated by Zack Milan and Pumford. They hope to be able to present more tours for their members this next year.
The newest display at the museum was created just in time for the recent Lake Arrowhead Home Tour. The display is based on Liberace’s home which was on Point Hamiltair Peninsula, near the location of two of the homes on this year’s tour. Recently his house sign was rediscovered among their historic items in the attic and a display was made in time for the Home Tour visitors, along with a short bio of Mr. Showmanship, himself. While the display was being researched, several realtors have shared memories of their tour of his home when it was for sale several decades ago, with its plush carpets, chandeliers and the over-the-top interior design that Mr. Showmanship enjoyed.
The Mountain History Museum at 27176 Peninsula Drive at Rhine Road in Lake Arrowhead will be open weekends, through the middle of October, on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will be open Thanksgiving weekend, too, weather permitting.
The historical society is now taking RSVPs for their holiday party to be held on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the San Moritz Lodge, with the theme American Bandstand. The holiday party, which is open to anyone who wants to attend, will have dancing, silent auctions and raffles, and they will introduce their new board of directors and officers for the 2026 year. Tickets are available on their website at www.mtnmuseum.org.
0 Comments