Sunday could be last day for Onyx Store, which has outlived its owners since the 1800s

Apr. 1—The historic Onyx Store in northeastern Kern County will be open for just one more day: Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Then, that'll be that.

The quirky and old-timey specialty store originally founded in the 1800s may finally be done for good. Or just maybe, it will be reinvented yet again.

"Everyone is devastated. People are so sad. They don't want it to close," said Gaye Honeycutt, 73, who has operated the store near the South Fork of the Kern River for the past dozen years.

Although she never owned the building or the property, Honeycutt poured her creativity and sweat equity into the store for years.

The weathered, Western-style storefront is perched like a blink in the space-time continuum off Highway 178 between Lake Isabella and Walker Pass. It looks like a covered wagon might pull in at any moment.

Travelers would drive long distances to experience not just what the store sells, but how the store feels.

The antique furnishings, the dishes and cookware, the picnic area outside where hungry families could devour homemade sandwiches while sipping sarsaparilla soda.

Customers from the megalopolis of Southern California could escape the freeways by following the ancient Kern River to Weldon and Onyx. Walking the store's creaky wood floors, they could imagine they were walking in the footsteps of the trappers, gold prospectors and searchers who came to the Kern River Valley more than 150 years ago as if it might be the answer to the question of the ages.

Retracing the history of the store is not easy. But any history of the Kern River Valley must surely begin with an acknowledgement that the miners, merchants, farmers and cattlemen, outlaws, lawmen, and soldiers who settled the valley in the mid- to late 19th century did so at the expense of the rich mosaic of native peoples who had for thousands of years fished, hunted, raised their children, lived and died along the big and little forks of the old river.

Located about 18 miles east of the town of Lake Isabella, Onyx Store has a long and complicated history. The old sign that hangs on the front of the store boasts it was founded in 1851.

But a historical marker that sits outside the store notes that William Scodie, the founder, originally arrived in Keyesville in 1856. There he opened an eating establishment, miles to the west of present-day Onyx.

He relocated to the Onyx area in 1861, when Abraham Lincoln was president. There he operated a way station from his home.

"Stocking his front room with supplies, he sold to locals as well as miners and freighters passing through to the Argus Mines in San Bernardino County," the historical marker reads.

Scodie died in 1898, but the store he founded continued to serve residents and travelers alike for 100-plus years.

According to Honeycutt, when the road that would later become the state highway was built, the store was moved using logs and mule teams out to its current location. There have been many proprietors since then.

In 2001, the store closed and remained closed for nine years. Honeycutt reopened it in 2010, but not before spending several years working to try to bring the building up to more modern standards.

Meanwhile, the ground beneath the store was shifting. In 2008, Onyx Ranch, which had long been owned by members of the Rudnick family, was sold to Los Angeles-based Renewable Resources Group.

Then in 2013, Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District paid $25 million to acquire Onyx Ranch and other nearby properties with water rights connected to the South Fork of the Kern River, said Dan Bartel, engineer and general manager of the district.

"The store and the house were all part of the package, so we had to acquire the whole," Bartel said.

"We are a water district, not in the retail business. We knew we were going to divest of those assets."

Honeycutt decided she couldn't buy the parcel and continue running the store.

"I have no anger or bitterness at all," Honeycutt said. "Rosedale-Rio Bravo has been really helpful in keeping this store open."

But now, she said, it's time for a new chapter.

"I sincerely want someone to take it on and do something beautiful with it," Honeycutt said of the store.

"It's somebody else's turn now."

Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC.