Skip to main content

Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge

By


Rattlesnake Bar was a small mining community located at the Placer County and El Dorado County line along the North Fork American River. During 1863 a wooden bridge was constructed at Rattlesnake Bar to facilitate access to quarry at Coral Caverns (now Alabaster Caverns). The original wooden span was replaced in 1865 with a suspension bridge. The 1865 suspension bridge would be open to traffic until 1954 when it was destroyed by an overloaded truck. The site of the Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge became part of the Folsom Lake reservoir in 1955 and can still be viewed when the water is low.



The history of the Rattlesnake Bar Bridge

The history of the Rattlesnake Bar Bridge was featured in the September 1950 California Highways & Public Works Centennial edition.  The structure was notable during the 1850-1875 Pioneer Era due to it being one of the earliest suspension bridges constructed in the state.  Rattlesnake Bar was a small mining community located on the North Fork American River at what is now the El Dorado County and Placer County line.  During 1849-1850 a ferry across the North American River was placed at Rattlesnake Bar.  

This ferry at Rattlesnake Bar was replaced by a wooden bridge which was installed in 1863 following the devastating floods of 1862.  The wooden bridge was constructed to facilitate access to quarry at Coral Caverns (now Alabaster Caverns). The original wooden span was replaced in 1865 with the Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge.  The article notes the Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge was likely endangered due to the looming Folsom Lake reservoir project.  






The wooden Rattlesnake Bar Bridge was announced as being opened in the July 7, 1863, Sacramento Union (courtesy pitsenberger.com's page on the Rattlesnake Bar Bridge site).


The site of the Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge can be seen south of Auburn at the North Fork American River on the 1882 Bancroft's Map of California.  


The 1914 C.F. Weber's Map of Placer County displays the Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge in Township 11N, Range 8E. 


The 1935 Division of Highways Map of Placer County displays the Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge in Township 11N, Range 8E. 


Construction of the concrete gravity Folsom Dam began during 1951.  The Folsom Lake reservoir was planned as flood control measure in the Sacramento area.  The maximum extent of the reservoir was slated to consume the site of the Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge.  The Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge would be collapsed by an overloaded truck during 1954.  Given the structure was already in a state of condemnation Placer County and El Dorado County elected not to rebuild it.  

The collapsed Rattlesnake Bar Suspension Bridge can be seen in a photo posted by Mike Monahan on the Placer County History Facebook Page.  


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

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more