Cressler & Bonner Trading Post
in Cedarville, California in Surprise Valley

barrel springs surprise valley back country byway in northeastern california and western nevada, shadowed by the glory of the south warners, mountains, and the south warner wilderness in the modoc national forest of california .

Old Cressler and Bonner Store and Trading Post
in Cedarville, in Surprise Valley, California

If you arrive in Surprise Valley via Cedar Pass, California Hwy 299, you'll see the new gas station on the right - I asked when it opened, and was told December 12, 2011. "So it's still new," he said. A block or two after that, you'll see a sign for the trading post on the right. Turn right. Soon after you'll see Cedarville Park - a nice little park, and there in the right corner, you'll see the trading post. Truthfully, I was taken aback. I was looking for a much larger structure. This is a reconstruction, and part of me wonders if it was not built to scale, but the narrative about the structure says it was used until larger quarters were built. I can't say one way or the other, but the building is very tiny, relatively speaking. :-)

Trading Post History

The trading post was the first building erected in Deep Creek settlement, today known as Cedarville, was built in 1865 as a trading post by James Townsend, who was killed when fighting Indians in 1866.

This little building seems so tiny, but it was used as a trading post and general store, having been purchased by William T Bonner and John H Cressler in 1867. Business was carried on there until larger quarters were built in 1874.

The mercantile, banking and ranching firm of Cressler and Bonner played a major role in the settlement and development of Surprise Valley.

In 1957 the land for Cedarville Park was donated to Modoc County by the descendants of Cressler, and the trading post was reconstructed in 1977. If you look elsewhere in Cedarville, you'll see a brick building with the elevated sidewalks used for wagons. This building, pictured here in this site, still bears the names of Cressler and Bonner on its frontface. No banking firm is housed here today, but a bookstore that seems to me to be closed more often than open, and a deli/restaurant whose proprietor sits outside on the aforementioned sidewalk, knitting, as she waits for clientele.

Forward ~ The original church in Deer Creek Settlement.

Back ~ Surprise Valley in California, where the past
steps right along in the present.

USFS: Modoc National Forest. Want to hike? South Warner Wilderness of the Warner Mountains.

Explore Surprise Valley: Directions, Map & Scenery: Mountains, hot springs, wildlife viewing, south Warner Wilderness Area, hiking trails and more.

 barrel springs surprise valley back country byway in northeastern california, shadowed by the glory of the south warners, mountains, and the south warner wilderness in the modoc national forest of california .

Travel Oregon and northern California while staying at Gathering Light ... a retreat
located near Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon.

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Travel to Gathering Light ... a retreat via the Shasta Trinity area of northern California: Directions, Map & Scenery.

Directions to and Day Trips in either California or Oregon of around 100 miles from the retreat.

Little known Scenic Places near Crater Lake National Park and the retreat: opportunities to explore, photograph: hiking, sightseeing, wildlife viewing, birding, and more: Directions Map and Scenery.

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Contact Brad at Gathering Light ... a retreat.

The "Sunset" Log Cabin (pictured above) at Gathering Light ... a retreat. Rustic simplicity, a place to "Just Be", Gathering Light is nestled on the banks of the river, surrounded by the Fremont Winema National Forest of southern Oregon and not far from Crater Lake National Park.