Phillips' Ferry was a historical
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
crossing of the
Merced River
The Merced River (), in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada into the San Joaquin Valley. It is most well known for its swift and st ...
, located in present-day
Merced County, California
Merced County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley (California), Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California.
As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...
.
History
Phillips' Ferry was one of the three main crossings of the Merced River on the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
section of the 19th century
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.
They were located within 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream of the rapids known as Merced Falls. Closest downstream to the falls was Phillips' Ferry; then
Belts Ferry − later Murray's Ferry near the later town of
Merced Falls; and then Young's Ferry a mile and a half below Murray's Ferry.
John Phillips
John Phillips was an Englishman who came overland to California in 1849. After a while in the mines he came to Mariposa County and then returned to the East in 1851 and brought out his family the next year to Mariposa County on the Merced River where he established his ferry and a store.
JOHN W. PHILLIPS FAMILY CHRONICLE - by Glenn Burghardt MARIPOSA COUNTY FAMILY CHRONICLES; CALIFORNIA HISTORY AND GENEALOGY RESEARCH website accessed February 17, 2012
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In 1853, John Phillips' ferry was taken as the point for the new Merced County boundary between it and the original Mariposa County. Eventually Murray replaced his ferry with a $12,000 bridge. After a while the ferries lost the economic struggle with the bridge and Phillips moved to Hornitos.
The site of Phillips' Ferry across the Merced River is now marked by the bridge that carries the Hornitos Road across the Merced River.
See also
*
References
Former settlements in Merced County, California
Merced River
Ferry transportation in California
History of Merced County, California
Former populated places in California
{{MercedCountyCA-geo-stub