MILEPOSTS #1094

By Ken Brafman, Image from ROWHS Collection

TITLE: THE WAGON WHEEL IN RUNNING SPRINGS: Bill and Juanita Baker moved to the mountains in 1949 and purchased the Wagon Wheel Café and Bar. One of the things that made this establishment recognizable was the huge wagon wheel that was located in the front of the building. For a very long time the Wagon Wheel was the center of entertainment in Running Springs, and it soon became the place to be for dances, auctions, community dinners and other events. It was a very successful business and as the town blossomed they became even busier, with meetings by the local chamber of commerce, the firefighter’s association as well as the women’s club. One of the biggest occasions occurred in 1950 when Hwy. 330 was completed and connected with Highway 18. Although the Wagon Wheel hosted a popular bar residents also used it as their voting spot. Throughout the Bakers’ ownership many Hollywood celebrities stopped by for some liquid libation (maybe on their way to the nearby Selznick or Walter Houston estates). Reportedly Lucille Ball, Dan Dailey, Roy Rogers, Dean Martin, Art Linkletter and Donald O’Connor visited the restaurant. The Wagon Wheel was located directly on Hilltop Blvd. Around the 1950s local students used the Wagon Wheel for classes. Years ago, the school moved to a new building that was basically located where First Mountain Bank is currently housed. The school was very small, with few students and in the winter it was warmed from the heat from a pot-bellied stove. Students today would probably be envious because skiing was part of the curriculum in the 1950s and 1960s. Local students skied at Snow Valley. Perhaps skiing was part, or all of, the school’s physical fitness program. The Wagon Wheel is an institution that has not been forgotten among the people in Running Springs. It’s still talked about, and it was a very busy place.

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