Milepost #939

September 5, 2019

By Bill Pumford, Image from Russ Keller Collection

This week’s image is a photo of Cedar Lake. This lake may not be well known among people living on this mountain but is well known in the movie industry. Cedar Lake is located just south of Big Bear Lake. In 1922 the Bartlett brothers purchased property and in 1929 built a 30-foot dam which created a three and a half acre lake. The long-term plan for the Bartlett brothers was to create a resort during the 1930’s but things did not work out. Early on the lake was called Bartlett’s Lake but by 1935 it had been renamed Cedar Lake. In 1937 Guy Bartlett bought out his brother X.M. Bartlett and Guy became sole owner. The Bartlett brothers were quite well known in the area as realtors. Guy Marshall Bartlett was born in 1912 in Michigan but early in life moved to California with his parents. Unable to make the property a resort Guy advertised the property as a place to visit and promoted it to Hollywood. Many movies have had scenes filmed at Cedar Lake including To the Last Man, Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Kissin’ Cousins, and the original Parent Trap. Parts of some television shows were also filmed at Cedar Lake including Lassie, FBI Story, Hart to Hart, and Bonanza. The mill that you see in the photo above was constructed for the movie Trail of the Lonesome Pine. In 1950 a Long Beach couple honeymooned at Cedar Lake. In 1955 Guy Bartlett sold the 110 acres of property including the lake to the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Since then many civic organizations, churches, and educational groups have enjoyed excursions to Cedar Lake. Guy Bartlett passed away in 1996 in Rancho Mirage. Movie and television companies have had a long and productive relationship with the mountains. It was not uncommon for towns to have full-time liaisons with the entertainment industry for films, fashion ads, commercials, and music videos.

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