The Swarthout Family

Introduction

The historic records in the Wrightwood Museum, and many publications that deal with local history, share a common understatement when it came time to cover the beginnings of Clyde Ranch in Lone Pine Canyon; "Almon Clyde bought the ranch from a "settler" for two hundred dollars in gold and eight head of cattle in 1863." The same comment could be seen on the Wrightwood Chamber of Commerce bulletin, it used to be on local history handouts that the realty offices passed out, and of course it is on the Wrightwood Historical Time-line in the Ol’ Fire House museum.

The man who sold the present day Clyde Ranch to Almon Clyde was named George Swarthout, and he was more than a simple "settler." The December 20, 1938 issue of The Sun (A San Bernardino newspaper), gave the following praise of this man and his brothers that came to the area with him, "Headed by three brothers, George W. Swarthout {and} the Swarthout family played an important part in the development of San Bernardino valley."