If you are new to this website, a good place to start is with the menu at the top of this page which contains the following information:

BIG BEAR HISTORICAL ARTICLES - This collection of articles provides basic information about specific topics in Big Bear’s rich history.

BIG BEAR HISTORICAL TIMELINE – This is a chronological timetable of noteworthy events that shaped Big Bear’s history. It’s a continuing work in progress that is constantly being updated on an irregular basis.

If you have visited us before,  use  the search box at the top right of this page to find specific information and old Big Bear photos.

Most of the content appearing on this website comes from the information and material acquired during the production of our weekly TV series the Big Bear History Show on Channel-6, and in the publishing of the book “Vanishing Big Bear”.

This website is constantly being updating on a daily/weekly basis.   The latest updates are in the Posts below.  Enjoy, and visit us often.

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Note:  This post contains material from the Channel-6’s The Big Bear History Show. The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler and Bear Valley Broadcasting.

Removal of the old bridge across the Big Bear Lake Dam is nearly complete as of October 2, 2011. © Rick Keppler.

The last couple sections of railing, and what is left of the road that was built in 1924, look out across the Big Bear Lake dam towards the South Shore road where it once connected. © Rick Keppler.

Note:  This post contains material from the Channel-6’s The Big Bear History Show. The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler and Bear Valley Broadcasting.

Jeanne Richards and Kaela Fengler of Big Bear Lake, check out the progress of the removal of the old bridge from the top of the Big Bear Lake dam. - © Rick Keppler.

A close up view of the bridge removal process on the Big Bear Lake dam. - © Rick Keppler.

Note:  This post contains material from the Channel-6’s The Big Bear History Show. The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler and Bear Valley Broadcasting.

September 10, 2011, the old bridge across the dam is now about on third gone. - Rick Keppler collection

Here is another image of the bridge at Big Bear Lake when it first opened in 1924.

In 1924, the traffic was so light that it was possible to park on the bridge and enjoy the view of Big Bear Lake before continuing on to the village. - Rick Keppler collection

Note:  This post contains material from the Channel-6’s The Big Bear History Show. The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler and Bear Valley Broadcasting.

The dam that this bridge sits on was built in 1912, by John Eastwood.  The bridge across the top was added twenty two years later in 1924.  In 2011, a newly constructed modern overpass just west of the dam now replaces this old piece of history.

A nostalgic moment as workers begin dismantling the south end of the old bridge on the Big Bear Lake dam. August 26, 2011. - © Rick Keppler.

In May 2010, the old bridge across the Big Bear Lake dam is still serving motorists as it watches the construction progress of the new bridge to the west that will eventually replace it. - © Rick Keppler

The newly constructed bridge across the top of the Big Bear Lake dam when it was first opened to the public in 1924. - Rick Keppler collection.

Note:  This post contains material from the Channel-6’s The Big Bear History Show. The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler and Bear Valley Broadcasting.

This is what the popular Stillwell’s resorts at Big Bear Lake once looked like.

The original Stillwell's main pavilion right after it was built by Carl & Mamie Stillwell at Big Bear Lake around 1920. - Rick Keppler collection.

The rustic ballroom in Stillwell's main pavilion at at Big Bear Lake. Compare this to the ballroom that replaced it in the 1940's, after it burned. - Rick Keppler collection.

This was the "new" Stillwell's pavilion that was built to replace the original pavilion which burned to the ground in 1928. - Rick Keppler collection.

The impressive huge ballroom in the "new" Stillwell's pavilion at Big Bear Lake. - Rick Keppler collection

The Stillwell's spared no expense in providing Big Band entertainment at their resort in Big Bear Lake. Here Mamie Stillwell poses with band members outside the pavilion. - Rick Keppler collection

The following two photographs show both of the Stillwell’s resorts on busy weekends in the 1920’s and the 1940’s.

The original Stillwell's resort at Big Bear Lake in the 1920's, before it was destroyed by fire. Compare this to the photo below taken in the 1940's, after it was rebuilt. - Rick Keppler collection.

The Stillwell's resort at Big Bear Lake in the 1940's after it was rebuilt. Rick Keppler collection.

In 1948, the Stillwell's main pavilion burned again. Stillwell's is long gone, but a popular Big Bear restaurant now sits on this location. - Rick Keppler collection.

Note:  This post contains material from the Channel-6’s The Big Bear History Show. The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler and Bear Valley Broadcasting.

The old Cedar Lake mill movie set was built for "Trail Of The Lonesome Pine" in 1936. - Rick Keppler collection

A couple miles west of the Big Bear village, up in the hills off of USFS road 2N10, nestled in the woods, is a small manmade lake. This lake is the home of the Cedar Lake Christian Camp that provides lodging and camping accommodations to private groups. It is also a popular location for the film industry.

Cedar Lake is a manmade lake. The dam that created it was constructed the Bartlett family in 1928, as part of an ambitious resort and real estate development that had nothing to do with Hollywood. In 1929, a year after the dam was built, the stock market crashed. The great depression hit, and construction on the new Bartlett resort came to a halt.

Henry Fonda in Big Beaer on the Cedar Lake mill set during the production of "Trail O The Lonesome Pine" - Rick Keppler collection.

Then in 1935, a Hollywood production company approached the Bartlett’s, and asked permission to build movie set on the east side of the dam for a movie they wanted to film. A deal was struck. And in 1936, they built a rustic old mill, and started filming “Trail of the Lonesome Pine” starring Henry Fonda and Fred Mac Murray. From that point on Cedar Lake gradually evolved into an important “back lot” for the movie industry. Over the years over a hundred films have been made at the little lake. Even today it used regularly for films, TV shows, and commercials. But, the grand resort that the Bartlett’s had once envisioned, never happened.

Elvis in Big Bear on the old Cedar Lake mill, singing to his leading ladies on the set of his movie "Kissing Cousins". - Rick Keppler collection.

Elvis Presley was in Big Bear in the 1960’s. Here he is singing to his leading ladies on the old sawmill during the filming of his movie “Kissing Cousins”. While he was up here, Elvis made a memorable visit with Mel Blanc at his lake front home, and spent some time boating on the lake with Mel and Roy Rogers.

Note: This article contains excerpts from the video production “Big Bear Lake And The Hollywood Connection” as seen on the Channel-6’s The Big Bear History Show. The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler and Bear Valley Broadcasting.

Hollywood producer/director Cecil B. DeMille used Big Bear Lake as a film set for many years. He had a home on the lake, and was a familiar face in the Big Bear community. - Rick Keppler collection.

Famous film director/producer Cecil B. DeMille  was one of the first Hollywood producers to use Big Bear as a location for a filming.  Just three years after the Bison Motion Picture Company had arrived in Big Bear, DeMille was up here making a silent film called “The Call of the North”.

This was only the second film that DeMille had ever made.  But it was a critically acclaimed success, and it firmly established him as a major director.  One of DeMille’s favorite locations for filming in Big Bear was the famous Fisher family estate located just west of the village.  Today the Fisher property is known as Logonita Lodge.

Cecil B. DeMille not only went on to become a giant in the film industry, but in 1919, he was also founder of one of the first aviation companies in this country to carry freight and passengers.  It was called Mercury Aviation.

In the early 1920’s, DeMille decided that he wanted a summer home in the new Bartlett subdivision on the south shore of Big Bear Lake.  He told the Bartlett’s, that he would agree to purchase a lake front lot, and build a $10,000 cabin on it, but there was a condition.  He wanted to be able to land his airplane close enough to walk to his property.  So, the ever obliging Bartlett’s leased an additional 300 acres from the IS Ranch, and smoothed out an airfield for the eccentric Mr. DeMille.

Cecil B. DeMille getting ready on the shore of Big Bear Lake to film his next scene in his production of Call To The North. - Rick Keppler collection.

Cecil B. DeMille filming on the shore of Big Bear Lake out on Logonita Point in his production of Call To The North. - Rick Keppler collection.

Cecil B. DeMille filming an Indian raid on Big Bear Lake in his production of Call To The North. The light area on the left side of the photo isn't a defect, it's smoke from an Indians rifle. - Rick Keppler collection.

Note:  This article contains excerpts from the video production “Big Bear Lake And The Hollywood Connection” as seen on the Channel-6’s The Big Bear History Show. The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler and Bear Valley Broadcasting.