The Squirrel Inn: Footprints

The Squirrel Inn Property: 1985

“Where’s the Inn?”
 
After 20 minutes of having a realtor show us a piece of property, my curiosity had finally gotten the best of me.  The question just popped out. 
 
My husband and I had been looking for land to develop in the San Bernardino Mountains for a while, and this property had 50 acres.  It was the right size, and I loved the location.  It seemed like it could possibly work.  I was dying to know more about this place.  But, I was a bit confused.  
 
I had yet to see anything  that looked like a traditional inn.
 
Oh, there was an odd collection of structures.  Each oozed with history.  But, it looked more like a settlement, or a camp.  One had three stories, with some common areas inside – something like a lodge.  Another had a round “mini watchtower” - that doubled as a porch.  Still others looked like cabins that had been expanded with lots of random additions over the years.   
 
It was an eclectic assortment of summer residences – with a few other unique features thrown in.  One of those was a croquet court.  Another was an impressive cable footbridge suspended over a flowing creek.
 
While I wasn’t particularly interested in owning eighty-year-old buildings, I was fascinated.  Everything spoke of an era gone by.  It was nostalgic, and even quaint.  And, I was really intrigued. But nothing stood out as an inn.
 
The relator told us what he knew.  The property had been owned by a group of businessmen.  They called themselves the Arrowhead Mountain Club.  By the 1890s, members had begun building summer cabins.  And, everyone in the mountains had always referred to the place as The Squirrel Inn.
 
Later on that day, my husband and I began to talk about it.  And, as we talked, I began to seriously wonder, “What would it be like to own this place?”
 
 
 
Footprints of an Era
 
For four long years, The Civil War dominated the United States. 
 
By 1865, President Lincoln had been assassinated.  General Lee had surrendered, and the fighting had come to a halt.  Survivors struggled to overcome personal loss and brokenness, and move forward.  
 
With the separation and loss of family, homes, and way of life - some wandered far and wide to find work.  Others explored new ideas and ways of doing things.  Inventions flourished.  And for still others – business risks were to be taken.  Fortunes were won, and fortunes were lost.
 
By 1869, railroads were beginning to dot parts of the country.  The transcontinental railroad was finished, and it linked the wide-open west with the populated east.  It allowed business interests and expertise from the east coast to travel more freely and easily to California. No longer was sending goods and people around the tip of South America the only option for getting to the other side of the country. 
 
In 1885, the French began trying to build a canal through the isthmus in Panama.  The hope was to shorten sailing time even more.  The wheels of imagination and possibility were being stirred.  Dirt needed to be moved.  Bodies of water needed to be formed, or rerouted.
 
The same year that the French started the Panama Canal, construction also began on the Big Bear Dam.  The motivation for this dam was to provide a predictable source of water to the citrus groves located below in the City of Redlands. At the time, it created the largest man-made reservoir in the world.  The dam was developed by creating a series of rock arches which only used cement as mortar.  As a result, the demands for cement, and for roads, were fairly minimal, especially when compared to amounts that would be needed for the next dam to be built on the mountain.
 
 
Footprints in the Forest
 
As the Mormons began to settle in San Bernardino in the 1850s, they began to log the San Bernardino Mountains.  They also developed logging trails to better move up and down the mountains. 
 
A host of sawmills were in operation by the 1880s, taking advantage of the available 160 acre logging tracts.  In 1885 John and George Dexter, and the Warren families settled above the Squirrel Inn near Twin Peaks.  The Dexter family owned the saw mills, and they also designed and built most of the cabins in the area.
 
Yet, by 1890, the national shift was towards preserving and conserving the forests.  Areas were designated as national parks.  Yellowstone became the country’s first national park in 1872.  And in California, both Sequoia, and Yosemite became national parks in 1890.
 
Conservation within the San Bernardino Mountains became official in 1893.
 
President Benjamin Harrison declared the creation of the San Bernardino National Forest Preserve.  Over 700,000 acres were designated to protect the watershed from being destroyed.  While some privately owned land continued to be logged, this act halted most of the free independent logging.
 
From 1901 to 1909, Teddy Roosevelt became President. As a young man, he spent time in the west, and was a fierce advocate of forest conservation as well.
 
Soon thereafter, the US Forest Service established the office of the San Bernardino National Forest Preserve just up the road from the Squirrel Inn in Twin Peaks.  While the area was known as Strawberry Flats, because of an abundance of strawberries on the flat crest – there were issues around using the name Strawberry or Strawberry Flats.  As a result, Twin Peaks became the accepted name.  By 1916, the population of Twin Peaks was big enough to have its own post office – which included the Squirrel Inn. 
 
Even though harvesting timber had been slowed down by the turn of the century, a lot of work had already been done by lumber companies to develop and maintain the logging roads.  Routes had been fairly well established. Tolls were collected. The hazards of hauling loads through the mountains while encountering wind, rain, snow, rockslides, earthquakes, and fire were already well known.  And for the most part, experienced and professional drivers drove the teams, and later motorized vehicles, up the mountain roads.
 
The stage was set to support an increased amount of retreat and recreation traffic – including massive amounts of cement needed for a new dam.
 
 
Footprints Up the Mountain
 
The Push:  In late spring each year, once the winter weather broke on the mountain, a steady stream of vehicles pushed up the few logging roads from San Bernardino.  Steady and determined. Like colonies of ants marching to an anthill, traffic was often “bumper to bumper”.  
 
The reasons were threefold. One was to build the Little Bear Creek Dam, which was eventually known as Lake Arrowhead. The second was to escape the heat and enjoy the cooler mountain air.  The third was to haul lumber, supplies, and people back down to the valley.
 
All the movement was to leave quite a footprint.
 
Roads & Rigs: In 1895, a group of southern California and eastern USA businessmen, decided to build a dam just east of Crestline.  This was to supply irrigation water to the valley below.  Suddenly, the routes and conditions of the roads up the mountain became really important in developing the supply line for building the dam. 

There were a couple of choices. 
 
Daley Canyon Road was a wagon road from Del Rosa up to Little Bear Valley.  It was steeper than the Arrowhead Reservoir Toll Road - which went up Waterman Canyon.  As a result, wagons on the Daley Canyon Road were more prone to go out of control.  Rigs carried bells to alert upcoming traffic.  Logs were dragged behind the loads as a brake for the trip downhill to keep from running over the team.
 
By 1909, there was an attempt to do something different.  The idea was to build an inclined railroad in order to haul up the bags of cement to Skyland – near Old Town Crestline.  The “Incline” didn’t work very well, and in 1911 it became a casualty of a wildfire. (Mooney, Gamble, Huntington, and Lowe)
 
The need to haul up cement for the dam pushed the limits and pace of improving the roads. Most rigs were drawn by mules, so barns and liveries were necessary by-products.  The Arrowhead Reservoir Company had its horse and oxen corrals nearby at the crest of the toll road near Skyland.  Of course, it was called “Fly Camp”.
 
Around 1910, motorized vehicles began to change travel up the mountain.
 
The first automobiles to come up the “switchbacks” did so around 1909.  Since they were using a logging road they were only allowed on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Also there was another dilemma. Without fuel pumps, autos could be seen backing up steep grades in order to keep the fuel flowing to the engine.  Added to this was a new sound.  The whining sounds of engines now echoed up the canyon – shifting and downshifting – belching exhaust along the way.  Also, instead of barns and liveries, vehicles now needed fuel and service.
 
The Rim of the World Highway: In 1915, the Rim of the World Highway project was dedicated by Dr. John N. Baylis.  It was completed in the early 1930s, and was over one hundred miles long.  As a new “High Gear Road”, it was paved and intended for motorized vehicles only. It was also designed to be open all year long.  And the hope was that it would draw more people to the mountain resorts, to enjoy retreat and recreation.  


Footprints of Promotion
 
The change in the 1890s from harvesting timber to conserving it narrowed the primary usage of the mountains to recreation.
 
It didn’t take a lot of promotion to “sell the mountain” during the summer to the population sweltering in the desert-like heat of the valley below.  By the 1880s, the mountain was dotted with entrepreneurs promoting the cooler temperatures.  Some were sawmill owners, who simply repurposed their lumber camps.  People who endured a six-hour-ride, got the reward of camping in the mountain meadows, enjoying the cool air, and mountain views.
 
Skyland was an area just east of Old Town Crestline (Top Town).  People first came to the camp at Skyland during the sawmill days in the 1870s because of its beauty.  One could clearly see the valley below, and on a clear day Catalina Island was visible.  Skyland is the original developed area of Crestline.  It was the terminus of “The Incline” when it worked.  Skyland was also the first resort stop for the Mountain Stage Line.
 
Charles S. Mann was a leading developer in southern California. He actively promoted Crestline.  In 1923, he purchased 430 acres of Guernsey’s Crest Resort Property for people of “moderate means”.  He built hundreds of homes, and became the Crestline postmaster in 1929. 
 
When the proposal was made to build a dam to make Lake Gregory, Mann was opposed to it.  But once excavation was started, and looked like it might not have enough funding to finish – he lobbied to get it completed.  The lake was completed in 1938.  It filled in three days, due to flood-like rainfall, and quickly became an attraction.  And by 1939, Lake Gregory Drive was built.  This connected the lake, and Crestline Village to another entry point on the new Rim of the World Highway – which happened to come alongside the western edge of Squirrel Inn property – allowing for another potential entrance.
 
 
Footprints of John Baylis & the Squirrel Inn
 
Dr. John N Baylis arrived in San Bernardino in 1887.  He had been a doctor for the Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.  He immediately fell in love with the mountains, but especially the forests.  He loved trees, and as a pioneer he looked for ways to attract others to enjoy the mountains and forests themselves.
 
Much like how John Muir promoted Yosemite, Baylis had a pronounced impact on the development of the San Bernardino Mountains.
 
The Squirrel Inn: In 1889, Baylis had organized a group of investors to purchase 160 acres near Strawberry Flats, which is now Twin Peaks.  He became one of the original founders of the Arrowhead Mountain Club.  It was a private and exclusive social club for well-to-do mountain visitors – which was typical of the era.  Membership was required and members were encouraged to build cabins for extended summer visits, as they saw fit.  They brought up chefs, and chauffeurs – as there were no kitchens in the cabins.  Everyone ate together.  Stables were available to keep livestock.
 
By 1892, as cabins began to be built, and they affectionately called their clubhouse The Squirrel Inn.  The property had extensive stables and barns to accommodate all kinds of animals.  There were cabins to house the chauffeurs.  Vertical tunnels were engineered into the mountain.  They produced an endless supply of water.   In drought years some was even sold in Crestline.  The Squirrel Inn also became a stagecoach stop.
 
While Arrowhead Springs, which was located at the base of Waterman Canyon, was more for healing and medicinal purposes, the Squirrel Inn was upscale, and catered to the “movers and shakers” – to the entrepreneurs.  The focus was on respite, recreation, nature, and enjoying the mountain air. 
 
There were croquet and tennis courts, as well as pool tables.  Activities included horseshoes, croquet, horseback riding, hiking, fishing in local streams, relaxing, and shooting pool.    
 
The events were colorful.  Most anyone heading up the mountain in those days, used it as a point of reference.  What is now CA Highway 189, for a time was referred to as the Squirrel Inn – Strawberry Flats Road.
 
During the building of the Little Bear Creek Dam, most of the cement hauled up went past the Squirrel Inn.  There was the climb up Waterman Canyon to Old Town Crestline (Top Town), and the right turn on Crest Road past Skyland – loosely following Crest Forest Drive.  At Horseshoe Bend there was the last remaining view from the rim of the valley below.  There stood the past homes of Lee’s Café and Garage, The Cliffhanger Restaurant, or Hortencia’s at the Cliffhanger.  Sphinx Rock was a tall rock outcropping next to Lee’s which has been in a few movies.  Nowadays, there is a traffic signal.
 
Then the road took a U-turn as it pivoted away from the rim.  As it went past the entrance to the Squirrel Inn, and past Strawberry Creek, rigs began the struggle up the current CA Highway 189.  They passed Pinecrest, and went on to Twin Peaks and Antlers Inn.  Then, traffic traversed the curvy downhill grade past Blue Jay, down to what would be Lake Arrowhead, with the original Lake Arrowhead Village opening in 1924.
 
Pinecrest: Dr. John N. Baylis was president of the Arrowhead Mountain Club at the Squirrel Inn for ten years.  In 1904, he refused to continue for an eleventh year.  About the same time, he learned that the Smithson Ranch, just on the east side of the Squirrel Inn, was being sold to the Guernsey Lumber Mill.  Baylis wanted to protect the old growth trees, so he borrowed money, and purchased the 160 acres. 
 
John Baylis wanted to protect the forest from being over-logged.  He also wanted to provide a place where the average family could enjoy nature. He developed Pinecrest and its Evergreen Village with this in mind.  The Lyman Stage Line (mule drawn) had its main stables at Pinecrest.  In 1909, he began to promote Pinecrest, and the mountains for vacations.  Today, Pinecrest continues on as a Christian camp.
 
Baylis promoted the mountains to the public.  He worked hard to improve the mountain roads. He, himself, had traversed the mountains as far away as Big Bear, and experienced terrible road conditions.
 
Of course, John Baylis is known as promoting the Rim of the World Highway in 1915 – as a paved “High Gear Road”.  The Rim of the World Drive was 101 miles long and began in downtown San Bernardino and came up the former Arrowhead Reservoir Company Road through Waterman Canyon. 
 
This opened the mountain to personal automobile traffic.  It changed the footprint, but it also became a gateway for countless numbers to more easily enjoy the beauty of the San Bernardino Mountains.
 
 
Footprints within the Squirrel Inn
 
By 1979, when I first saw the Squirrel Inn, it had nearly 90 years to build a footprint.  The entrance, main drive, structures, and bridge mostly defined its heyday.  Yet, decline was evident, and its presence a muted glimpse of its previous glory.  At the time we bought it, the Squirrel Inn resembled more of a forgotten community, than an active resort.
 
Yet, even though parts were a bit tired, it was endearing. It was historical, and it had a story.  I am quite sure that a host of dreams and ideas, some crazy and incomplete, were conjured up within her walls.  It still fascinates me today, to think about it.
 
The Sign: I loved the sign that had been made early on.  It was creative.  Imaginative.  In today’s parlance, it was part of “the branding”.  (Picture)
 
The Layout: The main entrance was off Highway 189.  As guest drove in, the first 100 yards went parallel to Strawberry Creek.  It was picturesque. The cable suspension bridge was in the background.  The supports on either side of the creek gave symmetry to the bowed cables – which enhanced the background of countless “Kodak moments” by our guests.  I suppose today, it would be “selfies”.
 
On the left side of the entrance road were cabins for our guests.  There were four empty foundations, as reminders of the fire that burned the old inn and four of the cabins. To the right of the road and across the creek, were a handful cabins.  These had been chauffer cabins in the early years.  For us they had kitchens and bathrooms, and we used as rentals.
 
As the main drive passes the suspension bridge it makes a hard left turn towards the rear entrance that is near the junction of North Road and Lake Gregory Drive.
 
Immediately after making the turn is the Rec Hall.  It had been the main “inn” for nearly 30 years.  It was rebuilt after a major fire in 1922.  Since, kitchens were added to the cabins, serving meals in the new club house was ended.
 
A beautiful footpath connected the Rec Hall and recreation areas to the main lodge, dining hall, and our home.  I loved walking the grounds.  While for many years, a caretaker lived on the grounds, there was still evidence of past care and effort.  It was so peaceful, even though the sounds of 189 and Lake Gregory Drive were just beyond my sightline. 
 
The structure we lived in was almost stately – with massive chimneys, and a log cabin-type look.  It had an ample great room to serve meals to our guests.  I really loved the feel of it.  Just stepping outside and taking a moment to breathe was refreshing and even inspiring. I feel blessed to have tasted and been a part of its history.
 
In 1929, The Great Depression definitely impacted it.  The property taxes were unable to be paid.  Some of the original members bought it back by paying the back taxes.  Changes were made.  The Squirrel Inn Holding Company was formed.  Cabins were leased to members and they could no long owned individually.  The dining room was closed, and the Club House became a recreational hall. 
 
 
One More Footprint
 
As I think about it, I thank God for all the footprints that went before me.  I feel blessed.  I hope to have left a few of my own.  Hopefully the story in this book is one of them.