Skip to main content

The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge

By


The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a derelict structure located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Placer County, California.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge can be found between the communities of Colfax and Iowa Hill.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge is a wire suspension structure which spans the North Fork American River.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge was replaced by a modern span and converted to pedestrian use following floods during 1963.  




Part 1; the history of the 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge

During 1853 gold was discovered at what to become Iowa Hill.  The gold mining claims soon led to a small community known as Iowa City being established.   By 1854, Post Office Service began at the mines of Iowa City.  By 1856 gold production at Iowa City was estimated to be around $100,000.  Iowa City was burned in fires during 1857 and 1862 but the community was rebuilt with more modernized structures.  

The location of Iowa City can be seen as "Iowa Hill" on the 1873 Bancroft's Map of California.  Iowa Hill is shown to be a short distance east of Colfax in rural Placer County with no major roads connecting the communities.  


Iowa Hill can be seen connected to Colfax via a road (now Iowa Hill Road) over the North Fork American River on the 1882 Bancroft's Map of California.  


In 1901 the Postal Service officially changed the name of Iowa City to "Iowa Hill."  Iowa Hill Road can be seen in great detail of the 1914 C.F. Weber Map of Placer County.  Iowa Hill Road is shown with a bridge crossing the North Fork American River, it is unclear what type of span this was.  


Iowa Hill burned for a final type during 1920.  Though diminished by fire and the decline mining the community of Iowa Hill persisted.  During 1928 a then new wire suspension bridge was constructed along Iowa Hill Road at the North Fork American River.  The location of the 1928 Iowa Hill Bridge can be seen along Iowa Hill Road on the 1935 Division of Highways Map.  Iowa Hill Road is noted to be a major Placer County road.  


A car can be seen crossing the 1928 Iowa Hill Bridge can be seen in a 1950s era photo (courtesy bridgerhunter.com).


During February 1963 the 1928 Iowa Hill Bridge was partially washed out by floods on the North Fork American River.  A new bridge was erected directly to the south as the new alignment of Iowa Hill Road.  The 1928 Iowa Hill Bridge was subsequently retained as part of the Mineral Bar Campground. 



Part 2; visiting the 1928 Iowa Hill Bridge

During May 2023 Josh Schmid visited the 1928 Iowa Hill Road Bridge after the May 6, 2023, Fresno Road Meet.  The below collection of photos was taken by Josh during his visit.  
















Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

A Day in New York: The Biggest Road Map Ever!

By
The NY State Pavilion 22nd April 2014 was the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the 1964-65 World's Fair in what's now known as Flushing Meadows Corona Park. There has been an active effort to restore the New York State Pavilion . It's an iconic structure, and has the potential to be a great attraction. I'm not just talking out of my hat here: Today's viewing event drew thousands. One of the organisers said they expected like 800 people to show up. My DP and I went-and we got there early- the event started at 11.00am, and we got there at 10, and the line was incredible even then:  we waited on line to get a number for two hours and another hour and a half to get our number called. We left the park at 3.00 pm, and one of my friends from a band said he had gotten his number, and was waiting to get in and wondered if we were still about. This was at 4 pm. One of the features of the Pavilion is that the floor is a giant NY State roadmap by Rand McNally, and ...
Post a Comment
Read more