I LOVE discovering the history about an area...and Lake Arrowhead has plenty. The first bit of history is its name: Originally Lake Arrowhead was called "Little Bear Valley." Why valley was tagged on, I have no idea. On the following links, you'll learn about the first white man to the area, to the story about the new Lake Arrowhead Village and what happened to the OLD one. 
Here are some key points about OUR history here in Lake Arrowhead, CA (obtained from the Chamber of Commerce and Rim of The World Historical Society). Enjoy!
- Before the first white man, there were Paiute Indians who used the mountain as hunting grounds.
- First road up the mountain was built in 1852 (can you imagine that feat?)
- 1860: the logging industry
- 1891: Businessmen chose Little Bear Valley as a spot for a reservoir
- 1912, the Dam was 80% completed
- World War II, Lake Arrowhead Village was a popular place for R & R for servicemen
- 1946: Santa Anita Race Track bought the lake and surrounding properties, known as Arrowhead Woods.
- 1960: Businessmen from LA built our 18-hole golf course
- 1979, the Village WAS burned down (learn why from the link below)
- 2008--TODAY!
And out find much, much more at:
Lake Arrowhead History/Chamber of Commerce
RIM OF THE WORLD HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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Hi Kathy,
Thanks for sharing, its nice to learn new things about an area. Have a great week. Michael A. Caruso
Kathy,
Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear were also used a lot by Hollywood for westerns and other films. There is a video of Lake Arowhead's History,( I must admit it's a bit of a sleeper), that they sell at some of the gift shops in the village. Just in case any history buffs want to see the visuals too! There are also a lot of books published about Lake Arrowhead that you can find in the gift shops as well.
Kat, thanks for sharing the history of this great community with us. It certainly looks a lot different today than it did in the photos from the 1920's. I visited Lake Arrowhead for the first time last year when I stayed at my sister in-law's house on the lake. It truly is a beautiful place. I really enjoyed paddling around the lake in my kayak and looking at all the magnificent water front properties.
Bonny....thank you so much for the comment. And I'm so glad you got to visit our area! It truly is beautiful.
Hi Wendy: Glad you enjoyed the tid bits of history. It is a beautiful place and YES, it probably really has changed. Thank you so much for sharing! I love hearing about other's who've been here when they were young.