History of Horseshoe Bend
Story written by John Loevenguth
The Horseshoe Bend area has been described as "there is no place like it in the mountains". Because of this and in an attempt to escape the scorching heat in San Bernardino, in the early 1900s, hardy men and women with vision and love for the mountains came to the Horseshoe Bend area and started building small summer homes. Yearly leases were granted by the Forest Service for $15.00 per year, but for summer use only. Entire families came to Horseshoe Bend and stayed the entire summer. Typically the father of the family would come up on
weekends, while the rest of the family enjoyed the cool summers on the mountain. Transportation up the mountain was by walking, horseback, carriage or Model T's. The main road was dirt and rocks in the beginning, then in 1892 the Arrowhead Reservoir Company's Waterman Canyon Toll Road was completed, running along the ridge. The toll was $2.00 until 1905 when it became a free 2 lane county road with dirt grades up to 25%. This road went through Horseshoe Bend on it's way to Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear and down to Millcreek Road to Redlands. It later became "101 Mile Rim of the World Highway", a State Highway, in 1918.