When it comes to research, sometimes I do not know which is worse: oodles and gobs of information to be waded through to find what I need or hardly anything at all.
My research for Bridgeport in Mariposa County, California, fell into the second category. I first became aware of this “ghost town” (actually, a few piles of rocks and a historical marker) while taking a drive with my husband in practically our own backyard.
We have driven the main highway to and from Mariposa many times. However, as we passed the turn-off for Old Highway, I often wondered what there was to see. Imagine my surprise when we did take that route home from Mariposa one day, and I came across the historical marker for Bridgeport.
I knew that could not be a postal-designated place, for Bridgeport, California, is the name of the county seat in Mono County. Here is what I found out about the OTHER California Bridgeport.
Bridgeport in Mariposa County was founded by a New Yorker named Andrew S. Church, who came to California to mine gold, starting at Woods Creek near Sonora. After quickly deciding he did not care for the monotony of placer mining, he chose to open a merchandise store. He purchased a team, wagon, and supplies and started for the Kings River. However, he was only a few miles from Mariposa—where the wagon road crossed Agua Fria Creek, which was the site of the first big gold discovery in the county—when a peddler convinced him the area needed a trading post at that location. Mr. Church pitched his tent and started his business. In 1852, he constructed a frame house to replace his tent.
This crossing, which became known as Bridgeport, was actually on the Las Marisposas Land Grant owned by John C. Fremont. It was located about five miles south of Agua Fria, Mariposa County’s first county seat. However, it did prove to be a very profitable location, especially thanks to the 3,000 Chinese customers who ordered a lot of rice.
Mr. Church was involved with the first group of miners who went into Yosemite Valley to deal with the “Indian problem.” However, he did not like getting involved, so future forays he left to others and concentrated on his store.
Eventually, Mr. Church hired a clerk, Seth Washburn of Vermont. Seth, the second of fourteen brothers, soon convinced two of his brothers—Ed and Henry—to come to California and join him clerking for Mr. Church. Within a couple of years, the Washburns opened their own store. Even though Seth eventually returned to Vermont after mining activity in the area slowed down, the other two brothers remained in California. They made their fortunes in several enterprises including livery stables, road building, and buying out Galen Clark’s Inn. They eventually built and operated the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite.
As mining faded, agricultural activity around Bridgeport increased. In the late 1800’s Capt. Bill Howard raised race horses just north of Bridgeport. Also, hog farmers moved into the area.
Bridgeport became a regular stop for travelers and tourists. This road served as one of the early Yosemite Stage & Turnpike Company routes operated by Henry Washburn, who maintained a stagecoach station at Bridgeport.
The old wagon road going through Bridgeport was straightened, widened, and oiled in order for it to become the main route from Merced to Mariposa to Yosemite. A concrete bridge was built across Agua Fria Creek in 1919.
As automobiles and trucks replace stagecoaches and freight wagons, Bridgeport continued to be a regular stop for tourists. In 1926, a Union Oil distribution plant was built near the crossing by Bridgeport. It operated until it was dismantled in 1940.
Charles Greenmayer bought the store in 1929. The community did well as the county entered the Great Depression. A surge of gold dredging activity and tourism kept the town alive, as did penny-ante poker games that took place in the store’s back room.
However, the death knell for Bridgeport tolled when it was announced that the state decided to reroute the highway. It would miss Bridgeport by four miles. The store’s ownership changes twice, with the final owner closing the doors for the last time in 1950. Bridgeport lacked two years of having reached its one-hundredth anniversary before becoming a ghost town.
As I wrote my first two books in the National Park Brides series—both mostly set in Yosemite—I found the connections to Bridgeport interesting.
In Anthelia Yosemite Bride, I featured the area of Yosemite National Park (in the late 1880's, the Yosemite Grant controlled by the State of California) close to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The Wawona Hotel and the Yosemite Stage & Turnpike Company—both owned and operated by the Washburns—were a sizeable part of my setting.
In Ardith Yosemite Bride, in spite of it being 1905, both of my hero and my heroine find themselves frequently riding stagecoaches. One of the routes taken includes the Merced to Mariposa run, which would have taken the rider through Bridgeport.
Anthelia Yosemite Bride is now available for sale as an ebook. It is also available at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE
Ardith Yosemite Bride is now available for sale as an ebook. It is also available at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. To find the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE
Sources:
Bridgeport: A Brief History, probably from the Mariposa Gazette, date unknown but 1969 or later; Newspaper clipping found on Facebook, Mariposa History & Pictures Page
Forrest Lemona Beebe Wass, Mariposa History & Pictures Page, Facebook,
Historical Marker: Bridgeport, Matuca Chapter #1849, E Clampus Vitus, Credo Quia Asbordom
https://www.oldmapsonline.org/en/Mariposa_County,_California
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