New Bridge (or Newbridge) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Baker County,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, about three miles north of Richland and

Oregon Route 86 Oregon Route 86 is an Oregon state highway running from Interstate 84 at Baker City to the Idaho state line at Oxbow (near the former site of Copperfield). OR 86 comprises most of the Baker-Copperfield Highway No. 12 (see Oregon highways and r ...

. Its elevation is .

History

New Bridge was founded on the banks of Eagle Creek near an important bridge built across the stream in

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

times.

Joseph Gale Joseph Goff Gale (April 29, 1807 – December 13, 1881) was an American pioneer, trapper, entrepreneur, and politician who contributed to the early settlement of the Oregon Country. There he assisted in the construction of the first sailing vesse ...

was the first postmaster of New Bridge post office, which ran from 1878 until 1967. The town was originally in Union County until 1901, when the boundaries were changed to eliminate the panhandle in which New Bridge was located. New Bridge was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted in 1908, "only after irreversible decline had set in". New Bridge sold agricultural products from the Eagle Valley to miners near

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

. It had a fruit and vegetable cannery, a box factory, and a packing shed for apples. The decline of New Bridge was due in part to nearby Richland being platted in 1897.

References

Unincorporated communities in Baker County, Oregon Populated places established in the 1870s 1878 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1878 Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{BakerCountyOR-geo-stub