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Knight's Ferry, Stanislaus County

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Inventory Number: CA/05-50-01
County: Stanislaus County
Township:
Town/Village: Knight's Ferry
Bridge Name: Knight's Ferry
Crosses: Stanislaus River
Truss type: Howe
Spans: 3+
Length: 379'
Roadway Width: 14'
Built: 1864
Builder: Schuylkill Bridge Company
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N37 49.185
Longitude: W120 39.833
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 1.1 miles west-southwest of Tuolumne County line on CA108/120, then 0.25 miles right on Sonora Rd., then right on Shuper Rd. 0.2 miles. Park and walk 0.1 miles northwest to the bridge. South edge of Knight's Ferry.

Knight's Ferry Bridge, Oakdale River, Stanislaus County, CA Built 1864
Richard Donovan Collection

Knight's Ferry Bridge, Knight's Ferry, Stanislaus County, CA Built 1864
Richard Sanders Allen Collection, NSPCB Archives

Knight's Ferry Bridge, Knight's Ferry, Stanislaus County, CA Built 1864
Fred Wunsch Photo, 1954

Comments:
This is the longest historic covered bridge west of the Mississippi River. In 1854 a bridge replaced the ferry that was at this location. It is reported that the bridge was designed by Ulysses S. Grant while visiting his wife's family. That structure was lost during the great flood of 1862 when it was struck by the bridge from Two-Mile Bar which had floated downstream. Built as a toll bridge, it was made free in 1884 when the county purchased the structure for $25,000. The spans are 44', 97', 80', and 136'. The bridge was actually built as three spans with an added support now underneath the north span.

Sources:
Morley, Griswold. The Covered Bridges of California, 1938, pages 70-71 & 91
Adams, Kramer. Covered Bridges of the West: A History and Illustrated Guide, 1963, pages 16, 81, 131 & 132
List of Known Covered Bridges in California as of June 1938, State of California, Bridge Department
The Timeshare Beat. 'Covered Bridges of California Counties', http://www.thetimesharebeat.com/yourworld/calbridges.htm
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume XV, No. 2, July 1957, page 6
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 4

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