In my very first post about Adin, it initially starts out concerning the works of photographer Herman Brince. After leaving Adin, Brince toured Modoc County and provides us with a glimpse of what Cedarville looked like then.

Cedarville’s humble beginnings began in the fall of 1865 when James Townsend built a cabin and commenced operations of a general store. His tenure was brief, for a year later in pursuit of some stolen livestock he was killed in a skirmish with the Indians. The following summer (1867), two enterprising entrepreneurs, John H. Bonner and William T. Cressler established a store there to become very successful businessmen there. They eventually bought Townsend’s cabin for their store. They went one step further and plotted out a town they named Cedarville after Bonner’s home town in Ohio.

Note: This article originally appeared on March 13. I am selecting some early posts, to fill in while I am on the road to recovery. For five dollars by, you can receive a daily email on that day’s topic, and in doing so, help preserve a bit of history.