Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 050-1 - January 1996 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 8 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

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Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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The bridge’s intricate skeleton was revealed during the 1971 restoration. can Society of Civil Engineers records that fact. A fourth plaque was erected and dedicated in 1973 by the California State Society, Daughters of the American Colonists, and it honors the pioneers who used it in earlier times. The State Park Project After the 1971 restoration was completed, Sequoia Challenge, a non-profit land trust organization developed a cooperative management agreement with Nevada County to protect the newly refurbished bridge. Between 1979 and 1985, California State Parks and Sequoia Challenge also made plans and acquired lands to protect easements along portions of the historic Excelsior mining ditch which had been abandoned by the Nevada Irrigation District. This ditch, which clings to the walls of the South Yuba River canyon ten miles upstream from Bridgeport, offered great Opportunities for development of a completely accessible wilderness trail. This potential, combined with the historical significance of the Bridgeport covered bridge, and the overall natural beauty of the river canyon, has led to creation of the South Yuba River Project, one of California’s newest state park units. Using funds provided by voter-approved state bonds, California State Parks purchased the bridge and the surrounding area in December 1984. Plans are underway to restore the missing wing walls that were intended to protect the bridge abutments on the original covered bridge. The rock walls along the original Virginia City Turnpike will be restored, along with the road bed itself. Another plan calls for conversion of an existing 1960s-era ranch house into a park visitor center and ranger station, and turn the old abandoned ranch back to pasture and native vegetation. The Bridgeport bridge is easy to visit. You can approach it from the south by going from Highway 20 to Lake Wildwood and continuing north on Pleasant Valley Road. If you are on Highway 49 near North San Juan, turn south on Pleasant Valley Road at Peterson’s Corners, go to French Corral and continue until you come to the bottom of the canyon. Regardless of how you arrive, your visit to the Bridgeport covered bridge will be a rewarding experience. In summer you may want to stay all day and picnic and swim in the waters of the South Yuba River. At others times of the year you will enjoy sights and sounds that take you back in time, and you will find yourself imagining teams and wagons rumbling across the planked deck of the bridge, as they did in fact for so many years. 8 NEVADA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Board of the Society for 1996: President Calvin Palmer First Vice President Cynthia Sosa Second Vice President Bedford Lampkin Membership Secretary Jim Rose Recording Secretary Gay Conner Executive Secretary Paul Hinshelwood Treasurer Barbara Weaver Past President Bedford Lampkin Directors with terms ending 1997 Nevada City Anne Brooke Grass Valley Mel and Judith Ciphers County-at-large Connie Baer Directors with terms ending 1996 Nevada City Grass Valley County-at-large David and Louise Beesley Calvin Palmer Ron Sturgell Directors with terms ending 1998 Nevada City Grass Valley County-at-large Roman Rozynski Alan Aspey David Comstock THE NCHS BULLETIN Administrative Office: Nevada County Historical Society P.O. Box 1300 Nevada City, CA 95959 Subscription Fee: $12.00 per year Editorial Office: Peter W. van der Pas, Pacific Library 212 Hill Street Grass Valley, CA 95945 LIBRARY AND MUSEUMS Searls Historical Library 214 Church Street, Nevada City (916) 265-5910 Open 1-4 pm except Sundays & holidays Firehouse Museum 214 Main Street, Nevada City Summer: 11 am to 4 pm daily Winter: call (916) 265-5468 North Star Mining Museum Allison Ranch Road, Grass Valley May 1 to Oct. 15: 10 am to 5 pm Winter: call (916) 273-4255 Video Museum and Theater Central Ave., Memorial Park, Grass Valley Summer: 11 am to 4 pm except Wednesday Winter: call (916) 274-1126 PUBLICATIONS NCHS Books P.O. Box 56, Cedar Ridge, CA 95924 (916) 273-6220