Cedarville, CA

Cedarville is the largest community in Surprise Valley, a Modoc County settlement twenty miles east of Alturas at the foot of the Warner Mountains. It began as Deep Creek around 1864, when wagon trains stopped in the valley, then grew around the trading post of William Cressler and John Bonner. Bonner later helped build the first road over Cedar Pass, connecting the valley with Alturas and the rest of the county. The town's setting is broad and high: alluvial ground at the mouth of Cedar Canyon, Middle Alkali Lake nearby, and the Warner Mountains rising to the west.

ATTRBob Wick, BLM / Public domain

Cedarville's current calendar includes the Last Frontier Fair each August, while Cedarville Park and the Surprise Valley Joint Unified schools give the community everyday gathering points. The Warner Mountain Ranger District and Modoc National Forest bring outdoor work and recreation into town, and the old road routes still guide regional travel. Cedarville is a valley service place with a wagon-road beginning, a county history tied to Cedar Pass, and a present-day mix of fairgrounds, school, park, ranch country, and mountain access.