Cressler and Bonner Trading Post, 1865

The first building in Cedarville went up somewhere else. James Townsend kept a store in this log cabin at Deep Creek, two miles south, and after he was killed in 1866 William Cressler and John Bonner bought it from his widow and moved it north to a stream they named Cedar Creek. The town grew up around it. Local histories credit the cabin itself to Henry Talbert rather than Townsend, as the bronze has it. What stands in the park is the 1977 reconstruction, on a corner of the street named for Townsend.

What the plaque says

Cressler-Bonner Trading Post California Historical Landmark Nº14 The first building erected in Deep Creek settlement, now Cedarville, was built in 1865 as a trading post by James Townsend, who was killed in an Indian fight in 1866. Purchased by William T. Cressler and John H. Bonner in 1867, the building was used as a trading post and general store 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 and Modoc County. The land for the Cedarville Park was donated to Modoc County by descendants of Mr. Cressler in 1957 and the building was reconstructed in 1977 with funds provided by the State Recreational Bond Act of 1974.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Bonner Grade — 5.3 mi
• Chimney Rock — 14 mi
• Applegate-Lassen Emigrant Trail (Fandango Pass) — 19 mi
• Fort Bidwell — 23 mi