The town was named Pioneertown.
The project was a huge success.
An abandoned bowling alley stands opposite a reconstructed jail, bathhouse and bank.
Carts of dynamite sit like props in the dusty street, presumably from the weekly Old West re-enactments.
Unsettlingly realistic dummies slouch in rocking chairs on porches, and fake crows are tied to rails and posts.
We pass a grave with a wooden sign proclaiming Welcome.
It is hard to tell what is real and what has been purposefully set up to unnerve.
Properties around Pioneertown are selling like hot cakes.
Julian T. Pinder, a Canadian filmmaker, moved to Pioneertown in 2014 from Los Angeles with his wife.
They bought what was a run-down mining cabin and turned it into an airy family home.
New businesses are also popping up all around.
Among its regular patrons include notable musicians such as Eric Burdon and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame.
As of 2014, Pioneertown has a population of just over six hundred.
