As the population in Idyllwild has grown, arts and entertainment have become part of the fabric of the town.
About 2½ hours east of Los Angeles, perched 5,400 feet up in the San Jacinto Mountains amid a forest of pine and cedar trees, there’s a tiny town called Idyllwild. You may know it for its tight-knit community and invigorating mountain air. Or maybe you know it as home to the Idyllwild Arts Academy, a premier boarding school that holds public events such as the Jazz in the Pines festival and art shows at the Parks Exhibition Center.
In the 1860s, ranchers began to drive cattle and sheep up the mountain to graze. Construction of the Pacific Coast Railroad brought the first logging crews though the San Gorgonio Pass, sourcing wood for locomotive fuel and railroad ties. By the 1870s, campers and vacationers had also begun to follow the steep road up the mountain, seeking the cool breezes among the trees.
With the precarious mountain routes and creation of the forest reserve, logging was no longer a viable business for the area. Lumberman George Hannahs opened the first hotel in the valley — a tent resort called Camp Idylwilde, from which the area officially got its name in 1901. More lodging was built, as well as a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients that quickly transformed into a hotel and later became the Idyllwild Inn, a favorite vacation spot that still exists today.
Here, dogs are not only beloved pets but also elected city officials. As an unincorporated town, Idyllwild — in combination with the communities of Pine Grove and Fern Valley — has no local government. In 2012, an election was held as a fundraiser for the Idyllwild Animal Rescue Friends in which local residents could nominate their cats and dogs as mayor. Max the golden retriever, owned by residents Phyllis Mueller and Glenn Warren, became the first mayor.
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