Skip to main content

Felton Covered Bridge

On a recent Bay Area trip I visited the Felton Covered Bridge located on the San Lorenzo River in the Santa Cruz Mountains.


The Felton Covered Bridge specifically is located in the community of Felton and was constructed between 1892 to 1893.  The Felton Covered Bridge was the first modernized road crossing of the San Lorenzo River into Felton which spans 80 feet.  The Felton Covered Bridge is typically cited as the tallest Covered Bridge in the United States and stayed in service as a roadway until 1937 when a new crossing was built directly to the north.  The Felton Covered Bridge was converted to a pedestrian structure and is now part of Covered Bridge Park.  The Felton Covered Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1957 and underwent restoration which was completed by 1987.



The Felton Covered Bridge can be accessed from both sides of the San Lorenzo River via Covered Bridge Road.   The photos below are from the western bank of the San Lorenzo River.



The tall height of the Felton Covered Bridge is best observed from the east bank of the San Lorenzo River.






This 1896 Area Map of the Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Bay shows the Felton Covered Bridge crossing the San Lorenzo River in Felton.

1896 Area Map

The 1935 California Divisions of Highways Map shows the route over the Felton Covered Bridge just a couple years prior to it being replaced upstream.

1935 Santa Cruz County Highway Map

The above map shows a Southern Pacific Spur Line between Santa Cruz and Boulder Creek.  Said SP line would have crossed the San Lorenzo River just south of the Felton Covered Bridge.  According to bridgehunter.com the SP bridge over the San Lorenzo River was Pratt Truss that was built in 1908.



The 1937 bridge carries Graham Hill Road to CA 9 in downtown Felton.  The 1937 bridge is an arch concrete design just north of the Felton Covered Bridge.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54.  US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932.  US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico.  The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 .  According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. -  Ocean Street -  2nd Street -  Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz.  A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River. 

New Mexico State Road 7 (Carlsbad Caverns Highway)

New Mexico State Road 7 is approximately a seven-mile highway in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County. New Mexico State Road 7 connects US Route 62/US Route 180 at Whites City to the visitor center of Carlsbad Caverns National Park via Walnut Canyon. The so-called Carlsbad Caverns Highway to the National Park visitor center complex was constructed following the designation of the namesake National Monument in 1923. The current iteration of New Mexico State Road 7 was designated by the New Mexico State Highway Commission during June 1929. A proposal once was once floated to connect New Mexico State Road 7 to a cavern drive which would have been blasted into Big Room. Part 1; the history of New Mexico State Road 7 What are now Carlsbad Caverns was explored in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County by local Jim White during 1898.  White explored the caverns via a homemade ladder and named several of the more notable rooms.  The name "Carlsbad Caverns" was derived from the