MILEPOSTS #1026

By Bill Pumford, Image from Russ Keller Collection

TITLE: SKYLAND INN: One of the best-known early resorts in the San Bernardino Mountains was the Skyland Inn in Skyland Heights, before the area had acquired the name of Crestline. In 1901 Noah Rogers sold 160 acres which had been known at that time as Rogers Camp to William Merritt Pierson for $2600. The property that Rogers owned also included Camp Lincoln. Pierson started construction of a great inn which was opened as the Skyland Inn in 1903. A well was also dug to support all the campers. In 1906 John and Charlotte Hansen became proprietors of the Inn, assisted at times by their daughter Edith. For a short time in 1907 the Incline Post Office operated out of the Skyland Inn. As a sign of the times an advertisement in 1908 promoted the Inn but at the same time did not allow people suffering from tuberculosis or asthma to stay. In 1909 the Inn advertised fine food, great scenery, and close proximity to the Rim. The Inn also provided horses for resort guests as well as tents and cottages for rent. The property included an apple orchard and a store where renters and visitors to the Inn could purchase supplies. Wilfred O. Raub purchased the Skyland Inn in 1921 from Charles S. Mann who did not sell all 160 acres but just 5 acres of the actual resort property and orchard. The rest of the property was being sub divided into lots for sale. Raub initiated many improvements including completion of a 5000-gallon water tank for lots in the area, additional sleeping rooms, improved sanitation system, and a larger veranda; but he died tragically in a fall only months after he acquired the property. His wife, Mattie, and daughter, Glenna, continued to operate the Skyland Inn for the next couple of decades.

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