Chicago "Bosses" raised an eyebrow in 1925 when Bugsy Siegel concocted the idea of a 1.3 million dollar private gambling resort in the mountains east of L.A.  Club Arrowhead of the Pines was hugely popular with the rich and famous of Hollywood and opened July 4, 1929. The posh new club included many state of the art conveniences such as electricity wired from Redlands.  In the elegant Clubhouse, gin was distilled from Artesian well water, dice rolled, and starlets tangoed.

The building that is now Bracken Fern Manor housed a market on the first floor with a soda fountain and butcher shop.   Upstairs was home to the "girls" who were aspiring actresses and fancy ladies who provided entertainment for the club members.   Below the market was an ice house with a discreet access/egress to the underground tunnel that connected the speakeasy to the girls' living quarters. (Note: Click here to learn more about the paranormal happenings at this Haunted Inn).

The Bathhouse was complete with a snack bar and an Olympic-size swimming pool fed from a natural mineral spring.  Further amenities included a ski tow, BBQ, tennis courts, horseback riding, an administration building, gas station, barber shop, and 80 timeshare cabins in the woods.

During these Prohibition times, Model T's came to the resort equipped with extra gas tanks to fill with gin for resale on the black market below.   So successful was this little resort in the mountains that it helped convince the Bosses to front the money for another little gambling spot in the middle of nowhere -- Las Vegas.  Bugsy's over-budget excess of a million dollars and delays in completion ultimately cost him his credibility with Chicago.  The story goes that a "punk kid," Mickey Cohen, came to the Club and sought to take over control.  He ambushed Bugsy and had him thrown, bound and gagged, over a cliff in the high desert.  Left for dead, an old miner found Bugsy and nursed him back to health. For this the miner was handsomely rewarded.  When Bugsy returned to the Club, he tried to have Mickey "taken out."  Instead, it was Bugsy who ultimately met his demise at Virginia Hill's home one evening after dinner.

The bordello, known as "The Crib", was active through World War II.  The first-floor market continued to run for several years after the Bosses lost control due to private property buy-outs. Thelma Blanchard, last storekeeper, is alive and well in Simi Valley, CA with lots of vivid memories.  The "old brothel" completed restoration in 1993 and is now Bracken Fern Manor Country Inn, a House of Fine Repute and Certified Historic Landmark in the State of California.   The former ice house is now Bracken Fern's wine cellar.  Though the underground tunnel has long been closed, the old door and steps coming out of the ground can still be seen from the street as well as from the wine cellar.

Gambling continued in the speakeasy up to so recent a time as 1955.  The speakeasy is now a private residence but has been home to churches and restaurants. The original 80 cabins were eventually sold as private property.  The bathhouse became an apartment building but without the pool (due to cracking.)

Mickey Cohen, last heard, was in a Chicago nursing home, ailing from Alzheimer's.