Wrightwood

Wrightwood is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California. It sits at an elevation of . The population was 4,720 at the 2020 census, up from 4,525 at the 2010 census. Wrightwood is located northeast of Los Angeles. It is on the Pacific Crest Trail.

History

Located in a pine-covered valley in the San Gabriel Mountains, the Wrightwood area was first developed as cattle ranches in the 19th century by Nathan and Truman Swarthout. Later, the main ranch, owned by Sumner Wright, was broken up into residential and commercial lots, and by the 1920s a community had taken root. Early ski enthusiasts discovered the north-facing slopes of the San Gabriels above the Swarthout Valley. Until 1937, the ski area, originally known as Big Pines, was part of a Los Angeles County park. After World War II, Big Pines opened their 1946–47 ski season with a new chairlift and the Sepp Benedikter Ski School (according to their ad in the February 1947 issue of ''Western Skiing'' magazine). Highways were built connecting to the major routes in the Cajon Pass, making Wrightwood accessible without serious mountain driving.

In 1934, on two separate occasions a black bear was shot and killed by a Wrightwood resident. J. Dale Gentry, chairman of the California Fish and Game Commission, applied pressure to file charges against the two men. One of the men, Clyde Steele, was found not guilty at trial; the charges were dropped against the other man.

The former vacation community is now home to over 4,000 full-time residents. Serrano High School in the neighboring community of Phelan opened in 1982; it also serves Wrightwood and the neighboring community of Piñon Hills.

In August 2016, part of Wrightwood's population was evacuated as part of mandatory evacuations of over 82,000 people in San Bernardino County due to the Blue Cut Fire. In September 2020, the Bobcat Fire caused evacuation warnings for the Wrightwood area as it raged across the San Gabriel Mountains. In September 2024, the Bridge Fire caused the entire town to be evacuated.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , 99.94% of it land and 0.06% of it water. The climate is Mediterranean (Köppen: ''Csb'') influenced by its highland position. Summers are vastly moderated by the cooling down of the air at the higher elevation compared to the hot plains to its north and the San Bernardino Valley to the south, although share the similar dry features and a lack of summer thunderstorms. In winter, the Mediterranean tendencies of the more semi-arid lowland areas are exaggerated by orographic lift, causing precipitation comparable to areas much further north in California. However, due to the elevation, a lot of winter precipitation falls as snow. Even so, daytime highs year-round average above freezing, rendering snowpacks unstable and unreliable.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Wrightwood had a population of 4,720. The population density was . The racial makeup of Wrightwood was 80.5% White, 0.6% African American, 1.0% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.5% from other races, and 11.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.8% of the population.

The whole population lived in households. There were 1,984 households, out of which 25.8% included children under the age of 18, 51.9% were married-couple households, 6.6% were cohabiting couple households, 21.5% had a female householder with no partner present, and 20.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 27.8% of households were one person, and 13.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.38. There were 1,322 families (66.6% of all households).

The age distribution was 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.5% aged 18 to 24, 22.7% aged 25 to 44, 28.8% aged 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 44.5years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males.

There were 2,664 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,984 (74.5%) were occupied. Of these, 78.9% were owner-occupied, and 21.1% were occupied by renters.

2023 estimates

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $78,496, and the per capita income was $52,949. About 8.2% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

Politics

In the California State Legislature, Wrightwood is in , and in .

In the United States House of Representatives, Wrightwood is in .

Parks and wastewater in Wrightwood are maintained by the Wrightwood community service district since 2017.

Education

Public education in Wrightwood is managed by Snowline Joint Unified School District.
Text list
/ref> Students in Wrightwood attend the following schools:

TK-5 Wrightwood Elementary School

6-8 Pinon Mesa Middle School

9-12 Serrano High School

TK-12 Snowline Academy Homeschool

TK-8 The Heritage School (Parent School of Choice)

Snowline Adult School

Mountain High Resort

Just west from Wrightwood sits Big Pines, which hosts the Mountain High Resort, a popular ski/snowboard resort consisting of Three Mountains.

Notable people

* Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), rodeo champion, actor, inventor, artist; was a school teacher in Wrightwood
* Frank Bogert (1910–2009), rodeo professional, actor, mayor of Palm Springs; raised in Wrightwood
* Caleb Calvert (born 1996), soccer player
* Aldous Huxley (1894–1963), author; lived in Wrightwood for several years
* Geoffrey Lewis (1935–2015), actor; spent much of his youth in Wrightwood
* Maddie Mastro (born 2000), snowboarder and Olympian

References

External links

Official Wrightwood Chamber of CommerceWrightwood's Information WebsiteWrightwood's Community WebsiteWrightwood's Community Real Estate Companies

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Census-designated places in San Bernardino County, California
San Gabriel Mountains
Hill and mountain resorts
Ski areas and resorts in California
Unincorporated communities in San Bernardino County, California
Tourist attractions in San Bernardino County, California
Populated places established in the 1920s
1920s establishments in California
Census-designated places in California
Unincorporated communities in California