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Volume 050-1 - January 1996 (8 pages)
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Page: of 8
Prior to renovation, the Bridgeport covered bridge looked like
this in 1965; the view is from
downstream, on the north bank
of the South Yuba River.
Although vehicles no longer are
permitted on the bridge, the
roads leading to it on both sides
are maintained, and pedestrians
are encouraged to cross and
explore the bridge. (Watercolor
© 1974 by David Comstock.)
David Wood. The Wood family moved to Wheatland in about
1870, and after David Wood died on November 14, 1875,
Samuel bought out his partners and became sole owner of the
bridge until 1901.
The Central Pacific Railroad
Although there was much talk about building a Pacific
Railroad across the Sierra Nevada, in 1862 a final route still
had not been chosen, and Congress was debating whether to
approve legislation to make it possible. Six years would pass
before the iron horse began to replace the wagon roads to
Nevada Territory, and not until 1869 were the Central and
Union Pacific railroad tracks joined to link East and West at
the Great Salt Lake.
The great need for transportation across the mountains, the
crisis caused by the American Civil War, and the need for
increased supplies of gold and silver to finance the war
contributed to a growing urgency about the precarious state
of communication between California and the East.
Civil engineer Theodore Judah’s inspired scheme to build
a railroad over the old emigrant trail caught the imagination
of two other men, Charles Marsh of Nevada City, and Dr.
Strong of Dutch Flat, and together they began the process
that eventually persuaded Sacramento’s “Big Four’ (Leland
Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles
Crocker) to back the plan. Congressman Aaron A. Sargent of
Nevada City got Congress to vote a financial guarantee and
approve the exclusive right of the Central Pacific Railroad
Company to build and operate the western end of the track.
Freight hauling was a lucrative (though hazardous) business, and it provided work for many Californians. The revenues ran upwards from $200 a ton to $2,000 per ton for
delivery in the Comstock, and rates were determined by the
route and distance, and in some cases, time-factor and class
of cargo. Rates that could be charged on toll roads and
bridges were established by an annual license issued by
county boards of supervisors. For example, before the flood,
the toll station at the south end of the Bridgeport bridge was
permitted to charge the following rates:
6 Mule, Horse or Ox Wagon loaded $3.50
4 animal coaches $3.00
2 Horse buggies $2.00
Man and horse 50¢
Cattle, mules loose or packed .25
Hogs and sheep .25
In 1862, after completion of the covered bridge, rates were
raised to $4.50 for 6-team wagons, and $4.00 for 4-horse
buggies, but rates for horsemen and stock were lowered
slightly.
The Central Pacific was so anxious to secure this lucrative
trade that, even before the tracks were laid, it built and
maintained a wagon road from the rail end (wherever it might
be) to Virginia City to earn cash to finish the construction.
The completion of the railroad in 1869 put an end to use of
the Henness Pass as a major highway, although it continued
to serve as a conduit for logging operations (as it does still).
The activity at Bridgeport was less affected because of the
many hydraulic mines being developed up river. Business
continued to increase in the gold-laden gravel along the San
Juan Ridge and other ancient river beds, and the hydraulic
monitor became the symbol of the age until 1884, when this
form of mining was severely restricted by the Sawyer decision, which forced mining companies to control their tailings
and keep them out of the rivers and streams. Nevertheless,
continued need for water and the building of dams and water
ditches for hydroelectric power and irrigation kept the bridge
busy for many more years.
It is said that the owners stopped collecting tolls in 1902,
but Clinton H. Lee reported in the April 1970 NCHS Bulletin
that an oldtimer told him he had paid 25 cents in 1913 so he
and his saddle horse could cross the bridge. Lee’s unnamedinformant claimed he had crossed the bridge many times after