Idyllwild-Pine Cove, California
Encyclopedia
Idyllwild, Pine Cove, and Fern Valley are three adjacent communities, of which Idyllwild is the largest, located in the San Jacinto Mountains
in Riverside County
, California
, United States
. "Mile-high Idyllwild" is a popular southern California mountain resort about one mile (1.6 km) in altitude. Residents call the area "the hill." Idyllwild is flanked by two large rocks, Tahquitz Rock
(also called Lily Rock) and Suicide Rock
, which are famous in Southern California rock climbing circles. One of Idyllwild's attractions is that it offers all four seasons, yet in snowy winter is only an hour's drive down to the warm desert on the scenic Pines to Palms Highway. Another advantage—to many—is that it offers no lake for speedboats and no downhill skiing, thus the hill has been minimally developed over the years and remains a center for hiking, mountain and rock climbing, and horseback riding. Idyllwild also has a fine cultural scene, which includes a music and arts school
formerly affiliated with the University of Southern California
and an annual musical festival called Idyllwild Jazz in the Pines every August. The Idyllwild community also generally includes the hamlets of Mountain Center and Garner Valley, though individual residents embrace this association to varying degrees.
Neither Idyllwild, Pine Cove, nor Fern Valley are incorporated municipalities. In order to provide statistical information, the United States Census Bureau
has defined Idyllwild-Pine Cove as a single census-designated place
(CDP). The statistical information applies to the entire CDP, although local views of the community vary somewhat from the definition of the CDP. The population of the CDP was 3,874 at the 2010 census, up from 3,504 as of the 2000 census.
, who migrated to the area to escape the heat of lower elevation deserts. The Cahuilla's grinding slab
s can still be seen in Idyllwild.
A Cahuilla legend recounts how tribesmen chanted over the body of their fallen chieftain Tahquitz, or Takwish, who had been possessed by an evil spirit and killed his sweetheart. Suddenly his body began to glow like fire, and he rose and settled on Idyllwild's Tahquitz
Rock. According to the legend, Tahquitz is trapped beneath the rock with a rattlesnake and a condor for company, and when the mountain shakes and trembles, it is not an earthquake
, but Tahquitz up to his evil tricks on Lily Rock.
Idyllwild was known originally as Strawberry Valley because of the wild strawberries
that grow there, especially beside the creek that runs through the town, Strawberry Creek. Shepherds regularly brought their flocks to the valley. In the 1880s, the Domenigoni family of San Jacinto
homesteaded land near what is now the Idyllwild Arts Academy. In 1889, George and Sarah Hannahs built a summer camp next to the site of their sawmill in upper Dutch Flat; they named it Camp Idyllwilde. By the 1890s a toll road
had been built from Hemet, which opened Idyllwild to settlement, logging
, and tourism
. A post office
was established in 1893; at this time, the town was called Rayneta after the Hannahs' son Raymond.
In 1901, the Idyllwild Sanatorium was built to treat tuberculosis
patients. The sanatorium was soon remodeled as a resort called "Idyllwild Among the Pines," and, later, "Idyllwild." In 1901, the town's official named was changed to Idyllwild.
With the invention of the automobile, Idyllwild became a weekend tourist attraction for people in Southern California
. For many years, the town presented itself as an alpine
village, and hotels and businesses had German
or German-sounding names, but this practice ended during World War II
.
From the 1930s to 1950s, Idyllwild was a center for the production of pinecraft furniture, sometimes called "knotty pine furniture," the fine log furniture made in the Arts and Crafts
style. Under the direction of Charles "Selden" Belden, the furniture was produced by the Idyllwild Pinecraft Furniture Company and, later, C. Selden Belden Idyllwild Pinecraft. The furniture is now "collectible
" and can be found in many Idyllwild houses and cabins.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, there was an influx of hippies in Idyllwild, which changed the nature of the town and alarmed many longtime residents. Timothy Leary
lived on a ranch in nearby Garner Valley, with the ranch serving as the headquarters of The Brotherhood of Eternal Love
. Currently the ranch encampment in Garner Valley is operated by Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times as a year-round retreat for children with cancer and their families.
From 1974 to 1979, Idyllwild hosted the Idyllwild Bluegrass Invitational, then the only bluegrass music
festival in Southern California and inspired by the Julian Banjo-Fiddle Contest which still goes on today on the 3rd weekend in September. Idyllwild also hosted the Bear Flag Festival in the 1950s/1960s/1970s, a festival to honor California's Bear Flag and to mark the passing of the Grizzly Bear
in California, the last of which, according to local legend, was killed at Hurkey Creek in Garner Valley.
Idyllwild has been plagued by irregular sightings of a large humanoid creature now given the moniker Idyll-beast. This sometimes misunderstood biped was the subject of an early 1970s documentary titled "Monster from Mt. Atlas". Mt. Atlas is a modest rock outcrop in the hills only one mile from town center.
Most high school
-age students in Idyllwild attend school in Hemet
, which requires them to travel by school bus some 35 miles (56.3 km) and 3000 feet (914.4 m) to and from school. Since the 1950s, some Idyllwild parents have agitated for a high school in the town, and there have been many attempts at establishing high schools, but most of the schools proved short-lived. Startup schools that failed included Hi-Lo Alternative (a public school located at what is now the Idyllwild Arts Academy, operated by Mary Glavin), New Schole Ranch (a private school in Mountain Center), and Freedom Schools, Inc. (a private school operated in Mountain Center by Mary Ellen DuBay). Desert Sun School (later called the Elliott-Pope School), a private boarding school that accepted day students, closed in 1995 after operating for 65 years in Idyllwild.
The Tribe of Tahquitz
Boy Scout honor society was created in Idyllwild in 1925. The Yosemite Decimal System
of grading routes was developed at Tahquitz by members of the Rock Climbing Section of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club
in the 1950s.
Idyllwild and the nearby areas of Garner Valley and Lake Hemet
have been used for filming since the silent film era. Although most of Cecil B. DeMille's
The Squaw Man (1914) was filmed in Los Angeles and vicinity, footage of cattle on the open range were shot at the "H.J." Ranch at Keen Camp, midway between Idyllwild and Garner Valley. A number of Westerns have been filmed at the Garner Ranch in Garner Valley: Guns and Guitars (1936), Heading for the Rio Grande (1936), Springtime in the Rockies (1937), Brothers in the Saddle (1949), Riders of the Range (1949), and Storm over Wyoming (1950). The Garner Ranch also stood in for the Ponderosa in episodes of the TV show Bonanza
. In 1962, the Elvis Presley
musical Kid Galahad
was filmed in Idyllwild and vicinity. The 1980s television series Air Wolf and various GM, Dodge and Ford commercials have also been filmed in the area. The biker funeral procession from the 1966 film The Wild Angels
was filmed in Idyllwild. Notable landmark includes Silver Pines Lodge which was named Hillbilly Lodge at the time of the filming.
Idyllwild is home to many artists and musicians, notably drummer David Atwood of the 1970's rock group America (Wiki Reference: Gerry Beckley) and Bobby Womack.
Film Actors who have owned or still do have homes in Idyllwild and the surrounding area include Charles Laughton
, Elsa Lancaster, Marjorie Main
, Sharon Lawrence
, Barbara Hershey
, Conor O'Farrell
, Doris Day
, Michael J. Fox
, Sean Connery
, Dolly Parton
, Herb Jeffries, Craig Stevens
and Horace Hahn
, who had a supporting role in the Cecil B. DeMille
film This Day and Age
(1933).
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 13.7 square miles (35.5 km²), of which, 13.7 square miles (35.5 km²) of it is land and 0.07% is water.
The Idyllwild-Pine Cove-Fern Valley area is located in Southern California's San Jacinto Mountains, which contain 10834 feet (3,302.2 m) high San Jacinto Peak
,
Southern California's second highest mountain, after Mount San Gorgonio. At an elevation of about 5300 feet (1,615.4 m), Idyllwild lies mostly within a high mountain valley bisected by a small year-round stream, Strawberry Creek. Pine Cove occupies a ridgetop location nearly 1000 feet (304.8 m) higher than Idyllwild.
Idyllwild is nestled deep in the ancient ponderosa pine
forests of the foothills.
Normal travel distances and times to the area are approximately 120 miles (two hours) from Los Angeles
and San Diego, California.
was 282.1 people per square mile (108.9/km²). The racial makeup of Idyllwild-Pine Cove was 3,434 (88.6%) White, 32 (0.8%) African American, 30 (0.8%) Native American, 135 (3.5%) Asian, 6 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 88 (2.3%) from other races
, and 149 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 479 persons (12.4%).
The Census reported that 3,527 people (91.0% of the population) lived in households, 347 (9.0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 1,682 households, out of which 314 (18.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 793 (47.1%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 111 (6.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 75 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 94 (5.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 44 (2.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 542 households (32.2%) were made up of individuals and 225 (13.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10. There were 979 families
(58.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.62.
The population was spread out with 741 people (19.1%) under the age of 18, 285 people (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 652 people (16.8%) aged 25 to 44, 1,423 people (36.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 773 people (20.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.8 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.4 males.
There were 4,116 housing units at an average density of 299.7 per square mile (115.7/km²), of which 1,174 (69.8%) were owner-occupied, and 508 (30.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 8.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 18.2%. 2,423 people (62.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,104 people (28.5%) lived in rental housing units.
of 2000, there were 3,504 people, 1,615 households, and 965 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 254.6 people per square mile (98.2/km²). There were 4,002 housing units at an average density of 290.7 per square mile (112.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.6% White
, 0.6% Black
or African American
, 1.0% Native American
, 0.7% Asian
, 0.1% Pacific Islander
, 2.1% from other races
, and 4.1% from two or more races. 8.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race.
There were 1,615 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples
living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.2 and the average family size was 2.7.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 35.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $48,520. Males had a median income of $36,734 versus $31,125 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $23,443. About 6.8% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
The total crime index for Idyllwild is 57% higher than the national average (6.3 Idyllwild, 3.6 national average).
The area has a mixture of full-time residents and vacation or weekend homes typical of mountain resorts in proximity to large metropolitan areas.
Idyllwild-Pine Cove is located in the 37th Senate
District, represented by Republican
Bill Emmerson
, and in the 64th Assembly
District, represented by Republican Brian Nestande
. Federally, Idyllwild-Pine Cove is located in California's 45th congressional district
, which has a Cook PVI
of R +3 and is represented by Republican Mary Bono Mack.
, formerly known as ISOMATA—Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts—and now known simply as the Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA). ISOMATA was, at one time, a part of the University of Southern California
. This private high school offers young people from across the United States and around the world a myriad of artistic educational experiences in a sleep-away camp-like setting. Students major in music, theatre, dance, visual art, creative writing, moving pictures or interdisciplinary arts. The Academy also has a well-respected program specializing in performing, visual, theatre and other fine arts.
In January 2010, Idyllwild rolled out the red carpet for the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema
, with over 40 official selections from around the world. The festival itself proved an attendance disaster for the organizers but still holds hope for coming years.
Within the community, there are many art galleries and weekly art events, most featuring local practicing artists. A strong music and local theatre element exists, with various small venues featuring everything from classical music to current popular music and jazz.
San Jacinto Mountains
The San Jacinto Mountains are a mountain range east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mountains are named for Saint Hyacinth . The Pacific Crest Trail runs along the spine of the range.The range extends for approximately from the San Bernardino Mountains southeast to...
in Riverside County
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. "Mile-high Idyllwild" is a popular southern California mountain resort about one mile (1.6 km) in altitude. Residents call the area "the hill." Idyllwild is flanked by two large rocks, Tahquitz Rock
Tahquitz
Tahquitz is a granite rock formation located on the high western slope of the San Jacinto mountain range in Riverside County, Southern California, United States, above the mountain town of Idyllwild...
(also called Lily Rock) and Suicide Rock
Suicide Rock
Suicide Rock, once Suicide Peak, is a well-known granite outcrop in Idyllwild, southern California, which is popular with rock climbers. Over three hundred climbing routes have been described...
, which are famous in Southern California rock climbing circles. One of Idyllwild's attractions is that it offers all four seasons, yet in snowy winter is only an hour's drive down to the warm desert on the scenic Pines to Palms Highway. Another advantage—to many—is that it offers no lake for speedboats and no downhill skiing, thus the hill has been minimally developed over the years and remains a center for hiking, mountain and rock climbing, and horseback riding. Idyllwild also has a fine cultural scene, which includes a music and arts school
Idyllwild Arts Foundation
Idyllwild Arts Foundation encompasses two institutions in Idyllwild, California for training in the arts: the Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program...
formerly affiliated with the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and an annual musical festival called Idyllwild Jazz in the Pines every August. The Idyllwild community also generally includes the hamlets of Mountain Center and Garner Valley, though individual residents embrace this association to varying degrees.
Neither Idyllwild, Pine Cove, nor Fern Valley are incorporated municipalities. In order to provide statistical information, the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
has defined Idyllwild-Pine Cove as a single census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP). The statistical information applies to the entire CDP, although local views of the community vary somewhat from the definition of the CDP. The population of the CDP was 3,874 at the 2010 census, up from 3,504 as of the 2000 census.
History
Idyllwild was once the summer home for bands of Cahuilla IndiansCahuilla
The Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
, who migrated to the area to escape the heat of lower elevation deserts. The Cahuilla's grinding slab
Grinding slab
thumb|250px|Stone slab in east-central California used to grind acorns.In archaeology, a grinding slab is a ground stone artifact generally used to grind plant materials into usable size, though some slabs were used to shape other ground stone artifacts...
s can still be seen in Idyllwild.
A Cahuilla legend recounts how tribesmen chanted over the body of their fallen chieftain Tahquitz, or Takwish, who had been possessed by an evil spirit and killed his sweetheart. Suddenly his body began to glow like fire, and he rose and settled on Idyllwild's Tahquitz
Tahquitz
Tahquitz is a granite rock formation located on the high western slope of the San Jacinto mountain range in Riverside County, Southern California, United States, above the mountain town of Idyllwild...
Rock. According to the legend, Tahquitz is trapped beneath the rock with a rattlesnake and a condor for company, and when the mountain shakes and trembles, it is not an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
, but Tahquitz up to his evil tricks on Lily Rock.
Idyllwild was known originally as Strawberry Valley because of the wild strawberries
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
that grow there, especially beside the creek that runs through the town, Strawberry Creek. Shepherds regularly brought their flocks to the valley. In the 1880s, the Domenigoni family of San Jacinto
San Jacinto, California
San Jacinto is a city in Riverside County, California, U.S.A. It was named after Saint Hyacinth and is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south. The mountains associated with the valley are the San Jacinto Mountains. The population was 44,199 at the 2010...
homesteaded land near what is now the Idyllwild Arts Academy. In 1889, George and Sarah Hannahs built a summer camp next to the site of their sawmill in upper Dutch Flat; they named it Camp Idyllwilde. By the 1890s a toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
had been built from Hemet, which opened Idyllwild to settlement, logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. A post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was established in 1893; at this time, the town was called Rayneta after the Hannahs' son Raymond.
In 1901, the Idyllwild Sanatorium was built to treat tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
patients. The sanatorium was soon remodeled as a resort called "Idyllwild Among the Pines," and, later, "Idyllwild." In 1901, the town's official named was changed to Idyllwild.
With the invention of the automobile, Idyllwild became a weekend tourist attraction for people in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. For many years, the town presented itself as an alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
village, and hotels and businesses had German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
or German-sounding names, but this practice ended during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
From the 1930s to 1950s, Idyllwild was a center for the production of pinecraft furniture, sometimes called "knotty pine furniture," the fine log furniture made in the Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
style. Under the direction of Charles "Selden" Belden, the furniture was produced by the Idyllwild Pinecraft Furniture Company and, later, C. Selden Belden Idyllwild Pinecraft. The furniture is now "collectible
Collectible
A collectable or collectible is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector . There are numerous types of collectables and terms to denote those types. An antique is a collectable that is old...
" and can be found in many Idyllwild houses and cabins.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, there was an influx of hippies in Idyllwild, which changed the nature of the town and alarmed many longtime residents. Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
lived on a ranch in nearby Garner Valley, with the ranch serving as the headquarters of The Brotherhood of Eternal Love
The Brotherhood of Eternal Love
The Brotherhood of Eternal Love was an informal organization of psychedelic drug enthusiasts and dealers that operated in the late 1960s. The group was founded in Laguna Beach, California. The group was headquartered in the Mystic Arts bookstore on Pacific Coast Highway...
. Currently the ranch encampment in Garner Valley is operated by Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times as a year-round retreat for children with cancer and their families.
From 1974 to 1979, Idyllwild hosted the Idyllwild Bluegrass Invitational, then the only bluegrass music
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
festival in Southern California and inspired by the Julian Banjo-Fiddle Contest which still goes on today on the 3rd weekend in September. Idyllwild also hosted the Bear Flag Festival in the 1950s/1960s/1970s, a festival to honor California's Bear Flag and to mark the passing of the Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
in California, the last of which, according to local legend, was killed at Hurkey Creek in Garner Valley.
Idyllwild has been plagued by irregular sightings of a large humanoid creature now given the moniker Idyll-beast. This sometimes misunderstood biped was the subject of an early 1970s documentary titled "Monster from Mt. Atlas". Mt. Atlas is a modest rock outcrop in the hills only one mile from town center.
Most high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
-age students in Idyllwild attend school in Hemet
Hemet, California
Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 78,657 at the 2010 census....
, which requires them to travel by school bus some 35 miles (56.3 km) and 3000 feet (914.4 m) to and from school. Since the 1950s, some Idyllwild parents have agitated for a high school in the town, and there have been many attempts at establishing high schools, but most of the schools proved short-lived. Startup schools that failed included Hi-Lo Alternative (a public school located at what is now the Idyllwild Arts Academy, operated by Mary Glavin), New Schole Ranch (a private school in Mountain Center), and Freedom Schools, Inc. (a private school operated in Mountain Center by Mary Ellen DuBay). Desert Sun School (later called the Elliott-Pope School), a private boarding school that accepted day students, closed in 1995 after operating for 65 years in Idyllwild.
The Tribe of Tahquitz
Tribe of Tahquitz
The Tribe of Tahquitz is one of the few surviving local Boy Scout honor societies in the United States that have not been absorbed by the Order of the Arrow. The organization was created in 1925 and consisted of 15 honor Scouts who were chosen to start and maintain a perpetual volunteer summer...
Boy Scout honor society was created in Idyllwild in 1925. The Yosemite Decimal System
Yosemite Decimal System
The Yosemite Decimal System is a three-part system used for rating the difficulty of walks, hikes, and climbs. It is primarily used by mountaineers in the United States and Canada. The Class 5 portion of the Class scale is primarily a rock climbing classification system. Originally the system was...
of grading routes was developed at Tahquitz by members of the Rock Climbing Section of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
in the 1950s.
Idyllwild and the nearby areas of Garner Valley and Lake Hemet
Lake Hemet
Lake Hemet is a water storage reservoir located in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County, California, with a capacity of of water. It was created in 1895 with the construction of the Hemet Dam, and is owned and operated by the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District .- Facts and statistics...
have been used for filming since the silent film era. Although most of Cecil B. DeMille's
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
The Squaw Man (1914) was filmed in Los Angeles and vicinity, footage of cattle on the open range were shot at the "H.J." Ranch at Keen Camp, midway between Idyllwild and Garner Valley. A number of Westerns have been filmed at the Garner Ranch in Garner Valley: Guns and Guitars (1936), Heading for the Rio Grande (1936), Springtime in the Rockies (1937), Brothers in the Saddle (1949), Riders of the Range (1949), and Storm over Wyoming (1950). The Garner Ranch also stood in for the Ponderosa in episodes of the TV show Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
. In 1962, the Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
musical Kid Galahad
Kid Galahad
Kid Galahad is a 1962 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. The film was released by United Artists. The film opened at #9 at the box office when released in the United States in August 1962...
was filmed in Idyllwild and vicinity. The 1980s television series Air Wolf and various GM, Dodge and Ford commercials have also been filmed in the area. The biker funeral procession from the 1966 film The Wild Angels
The Wild Angels
The Wild Angels is a 1966 Roger Corman film, made on location in Southern California. The Wild Angels was made three years before Easy Rider and was the first film to associate actor Peter Fonda with Harley-Davidson motorcycles and 1960s counterculture...
was filmed in Idyllwild. Notable landmark includes Silver Pines Lodge which was named Hillbilly Lodge at the time of the filming.
Idyllwild is home to many artists and musicians, notably drummer David Atwood of the 1970's rock group America (Wiki Reference: Gerry Beckley) and Bobby Womack.
Film Actors who have owned or still do have homes in Idyllwild and the surrounding area include Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
, Elsa Lancaster, Marjorie Main
Marjorie Main
Marjorie Main was an American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
, Sharon Lawrence
Sharon Lawrence
Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American television actress. She is best known for the role of Sylvia Costas Sipowicz in the Television series NYPD Blue...
, Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey , also known as Barbara Seagull, is an American actress. In a career spanning nearly 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema, in several genres including westerns and comedies...
, Conor O'Farrell
Conor O'Farrell
Conor O'Farrell is an American actor mainly appearing on television.-Acting career:O'Farrell's most prominent roles are as Darren Leopold on daytime soap opera Port Charles, Phil Albano on the short lived science fiction series Dark Skies and as Jeffrey McKeen on the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene...
, Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
, Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
, Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, Herb Jeffries, Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens may refer to:*Craig Stevens *Craig Stevens , reporter on WSVN*Craig Stevens *Craig Stevens , British TV and radio presenter*Craig Stevens , Australian swimmer...
and Horace Hahn
Horace Hahn
Horace L. Hahn was an American best known for working with Cecil B. DeMille on several films as a young man, including a supporting role in This Day and Age . He also served in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, and assisted Justice Robert H...
, who had a supporting role in the Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
film This Day and Age
This Day and Age (film)
This Day and Age is a 1933 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is one of his rarest films and has not been released on DVD. In his book Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, author Robert S...
(1933).
Geography
Idyllwild-Pine Cove-Fern Valley is located at 33.745509°N 116.716114°W.According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 13.7 square miles (35.5 km²), of which, 13.7 square miles (35.5 km²) of it is land and 0.07% is water.
The Idyllwild-Pine Cove-Fern Valley area is located in Southern California's San Jacinto Mountains, which contain 10834 feet (3,302.2 m) high San Jacinto Peak
San Jacinto Peak
San Jacinto Peak, 10,834 feet , is the highest peak of the San Jacinto Mountains, and of Riverside County, California. It lies within Mount San Jacinto State Park...
,
Southern California's second highest mountain, after Mount San Gorgonio. At an elevation of about 5300 feet (1,615.4 m), Idyllwild lies mostly within a high mountain valley bisected by a small year-round stream, Strawberry Creek. Pine Cove occupies a ridgetop location nearly 1000 feet (304.8 m) higher than Idyllwild.
Idyllwild is nestled deep in the ancient ponderosa pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
forests of the foothills.
Normal travel distances and times to the area are approximately 120 miles (two hours) from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and San Diego, California.
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Idyllwild-Pine Cove had a population of 3,874. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 282.1 people per square mile (108.9/km²). The racial makeup of Idyllwild-Pine Cove was 3,434 (88.6%) White, 32 (0.8%) African American, 30 (0.8%) Native American, 135 (3.5%) Asian, 6 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 88 (2.3%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 149 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 479 persons (12.4%).
The Census reported that 3,527 people (91.0% of the population) lived in households, 347 (9.0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 1,682 households, out of which 314 (18.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 793 (47.1%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 111 (6.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 75 (4.5%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 94 (5.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....
, and 44 (2.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 542 households (32.2%) were made up of individuals and 225 (13.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10. There were 979 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...
(58.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.62.
The population was spread out with 741 people (19.1%) under the age of 18, 285 people (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 652 people (16.8%) aged 25 to 44, 1,423 people (36.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 773 people (20.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.8 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.4 males.
There were 4,116 housing units at an average density of 299.7 per square mile (115.7/km²), of which 1,174 (69.8%) were owner-occupied, and 508 (30.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 8.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 18.2%. 2,423 people (62.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,104 people (28.5%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,504 people, 1,615 households, and 965 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 254.6 people per square mile (98.2/km²). There were 4,002 housing units at an average density of 290.7 per square mile (112.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.6% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.6% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.0% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.7% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.1% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 2.1% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.1% from two or more races. 8.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 1,615 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.2 and the average family size was 2.7.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 35.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $48,520. Males had a median income of $36,734 versus $31,125 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $23,443. About 6.8% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
The total crime index for Idyllwild is 57% higher than the national average (6.3 Idyllwild, 3.6 national average).
The area has a mixture of full-time residents and vacation or weekend homes typical of mountain resorts in proximity to large metropolitan areas.
Politics
In the state legislatureCalifornia State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...
Idyllwild-Pine Cove is located in the 37th Senate
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
District, represented by Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Bill Emmerson
Bill Emmerson
William "Bill" Emmerson is a Republican California State Senator, representing the 37th district in Riverside County, having been elected in a June 8, 2010 special election and sworn into office the next day...
, and in the 64th Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
District, represented by Republican Brian Nestande
Brian Nestande
Brian Nestande is the Republican California State Assemblyman for the 64th District and was elected to the post in 2008. He is the son of former Assemblyman Bruce Nestande, who was the Republican nominee for Secretary of State in 1986....
. Federally, Idyllwild-Pine Cove is located in California's 45th congressional district
California's 45th congressional district
California's 45th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in Riverside County. The district includes the communities of Palm Springs, Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Hemet, Cathedral City, Temecula, Blythe, Rancho Mirage, Murrieta, Indio, Indian Wells,...
, which has a Cook PVI
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...
of R +3 and is represented by Republican Mary Bono Mack.
Youth and the arts
The community has been the home for over thirty years of Idyllwild Arts FoundationIdyllwild Arts Foundation
Idyllwild Arts Foundation encompasses two institutions in Idyllwild, California for training in the arts: the Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program...
, formerly known as ISOMATA—Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts—and now known simply as the Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA). ISOMATA was, at one time, a part of the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. This private high school offers young people from across the United States and around the world a myriad of artistic educational experiences in a sleep-away camp-like setting. Students major in music, theatre, dance, visual art, creative writing, moving pictures or interdisciplinary arts. The Academy also has a well-respected program specializing in performing, visual, theatre and other fine arts.
In January 2010, Idyllwild rolled out the red carpet for the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema
Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema
The Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema is an annual, competitive independent filmmaker - friendly film and arts festival, founded in 2009, which is held in Idyllwild, California.-The first year:...
, with over 40 official selections from around the world. The festival itself proved an attendance disaster for the organizers but still holds hope for coming years.
Within the community, there are many art galleries and weekly art events, most featuring local practicing artists. A strong music and local theatre element exists, with various small venues featuring everything from classical music to current popular music and jazz.