History

The Eastwood Dam

Many people, wanting to avoid the crowds on the south side of the lake, prefer the more leisurely pace of Fawnskin on the north side of the lake. Fawnskin was not always a quiet community. In the early 1900's, Fawnskin was rapidly becoming the center of tourist activity in Big Bear Valley.

In 1915, before Fawnskin existed, the new Rim of the World highway to Big Bear was completed. This highway entered Big Bear Valley, not at the dam, but at Grout Bay. Upon arriving at Grout Bay, motorists from down the hill, still had to drive another hour and a half, around the lake, to get to the village.

Realizing this, two enterprising developers, William Cline and Clinton Miller, felt that the major community in Big Bear Valley should be located at Grout Bay where the highway entered the valley. So, in 1916, they purchased 700 acres in Grout Bay and began subdividing. They called the new development Fawnskin, after a nearby area called Fawnskin Meadows. By 1919, lots were being sold. Offices were built, stores were opened, and Fawnskin immediately grew into a good size community.

Major resorts began popping up all over in and around Fawnskin. In just a few years, over seventeen resorts were operating along the north shore. To the west of Fawnskin, sat Gray's Camp, Lemcke's Camp and the fabulous Samarkand Lodge. Some of the popular resorts to the east of Fawnskin were Cluster Pines, Moon Camp, Lighthouse Camp, Camp Juniper, and Stanfield's Camp. In the early 1920's, Fawnskin had become the ideal place to vacation or buy property. After all, why would anyone want to drive another hour and a half all the way around the lake to Big Bear Village? Then in 1924, everything changed!

The Rim of the World highway had made Big Bear accessible to anyone with a car. The part of the highway that ran from Running Springs through Holcomb Valley to Fawnskin, however, was difficult to maintain, and was constantly being washed out by rain and closed by snow in the winter. Mountain residents had nicknamed it the snowslide road. San Bernardino County decided to look for a better route.

In 1923, construction began on a new highway from Running Springs through Snow Valley, and along today's Arctic circle to the dam. It was decided that once the highway reached the dam, the road would split. One road would continue along the north shore of the lake to Fawnskin where it would connect with the original highway. The other would cross the dam and continue along the south shore directly to the village. It is the highway we have today, and it not only reduced travel time to Big Bear, but it is easier to keep open all year round.

However, ever since that fateful day, almost all traffic arriving in Bear Valley now travels across the dam, and directly along the south shore into the village without going through Fawnskin. Major development along the North Shore pretty much slowed to a crawl. And except for the popular Lighthouse Camp, all of the original seventeen resorts that once dotted the north shore of the lake have long since disappeared. However, you won't hear any complaints from residents of Fawnskin. People over there appreciate the quiet, peaceful, lay back atmosphere of the north side of the lake.

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