By Ken Brafman, Image from ROWHS Collection

TITLE: MEMORABLE SUMMERS IN SKYLAND: In 1891 construction began on the Arrowhead Reservoir Road, which zigzagged along present-day Highway 18. With an average grade of 8% it reached the crest via tortuous switchbacks. Although the road’s main purpose of the day was to facilitate the Arrowhead Reservoir Company’s irrigation projects it also opened up access to “Skyland, the most attractive summer resort in California – if not on the continent.” Being perched on the ridge, and being situated right at the mountain’s edge, the valley was laid out as far as the eye could see. Better yet, on clear days the Pacific Ocean came into breathtaking view, including Catalina Island. In a time when simpler pleasures were the rule and communities banded together to provide their own entertainment, Skyland quickly became a popular summer colony. At first people camped in tent cities, then cottages were built. Many “pioneer families” stayed on the mountain through July and August and enjoyed all the mountain had to offer. The Skyland Inn, completed in 1903, soon rivaled the Squirrel Inn for entertainment to attract mountain visitors. Located near the Upper Arrowhead Tollhouse, the Skyland venue hosted many parties and boasted a dance pavilion and an accompanying gramophone. There were bonfires, watermelon eating contests, marshmallow roasts and campfire singing to the music of “Uncle Billy” Stephens’ concertina. Neighbors visited neighbors. Kids slid down the sawdust piles at the nearby Guernsey lumber mill. Sweethearts lined up to have their pictures taken at the “picture frame” tree. Later renamed “Skyland Forest” the area underwent extensive development in the 1920s and 30s under the ownership of entrepreneurs such as Charles S. Mann. Nowadays, Skyland is a wonderful place to take a walk on a summer’s evening and enjoy the fresh breeze off the Rim. This week’s image shows the archway marking the entrance to Skyland, circa 1900.