The Bidwell Bar Bridge, in

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 200 ...

, refers to two

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

s that cross different parts of

Lake Oroville Lake Oroville is a reservoir formed by the Oroville Dam impounding the Feather River, located in Butte County, northern California. The lake is situated northeast of the city of Oroville, within the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, in the ...

. The original Bidwell Bar Bridge was the first steel suspension bridge in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The $35,000, original was completed in December 1855, and was built of materials transported from

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

, via

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

. Most of the money was put up by Judge Joseph Lewis, a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

n who moved to Bidwell's Bar in 1849. The bridge originally crossed the

Middle Fork Feather River The Middle Fork Feather River is a major river in Plumas and Butte Counties in the U.S. state of California. Nearly long, it drains about of the rugged northern Sierra Nevada range. Its headwaters are located near Beckwourth in the largest al ...

and is the only one of several suspension bridges built in the area in the 1850s that still remains. It remained open to vehicle traffic until 1954. Construction of the

Oroville Dam Oroville Dam is an earthfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of the Sacramento Valley. At 770 feet (235 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the U.S. and serv ...

flooded the canyon where the Feather River ran as well as the town of Bidwell's Bar, and preservationists arranged for the relocation of the bridge in 1966 to the south side of the lake, where it is still open to foot traffic. Its original site is now inundated by the lake. A replacement bridge was constructed in 1965 and is long. The bridge is built a mile and a half upstream from its original location. At the time, it was one of the highest suspension bridges in the world above the original streambed), but with the creation of the lake, the bridge now sits just above the water level when the lake is full. The bridge is signed as part of State Route 162. The original bridge is registered as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

and it was declared a

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...

by the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. The

Mother Orange Tree The Mother Orange Tree is the oldest living orange tree in Northern California. The California Historical Landmark is located at 400 Glen Drive in Oroville, California. History Originally planted in Bidwell's Bar near the Bidwell Bar Bridge, th ...

, the first

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

tree in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

(purchased by Judge Lewis), is located near the California landmark

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

References

External links

ASCE Historic Civil Engineering Landmark- Bidwell Bar Suspension BridgeBridgemeister.com — entry for the 1855 Bidwell Bar BridgeBridgemeister.com — entry for the 1967 Bidwell Bar Bridge
* * * (original span) *{{Structurae , id=20000563 , title=Bidwell Bar Bridge (current span) Bridges in Butte County, California Road bridges in California Pedestrian bridges in California Suspension bridges in California Bridges completed in 1855 Bridges completed in 1967 Feather River Former road bridges in the United States California Historical Landmarks Historic American Buildings Survey in California Historic American Engineering Record in California Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Oroville, California Relocated buildings and structures in California Steel bridges in the United States 1855 establishments in California