Fernbridge, California
Formerly Singley Station (c. 1885 to 1913)
Unincorporated community
View of Fernbridge along SR 211
View of Fernbridge along SR 211
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyHumboldt County
Named forFernbridge (the bridge)
Elevation
[1]
39 ft (12 m)
Area code707

Fernbridge is an unincorporated community at an elevation of 39 feet (12 m) in Humboldt County, California,[1] named for a historic bridge, 3 miles (4.8 km) west-northwest of Fortuna.[2] The Fernbridge bridge is the world's longest poured concrete bridge in operation.[3] It was the only bridge on the lower Eel River to survive the mid-century floods.

Town of Fernbridge

The unincorporated area named Fernbridge lies between the Eel River and Highway 101 bisected by unused Northwestern Pacific Railroad tracks. The Humboldt Creamery, a roadhouse, the old railway depot, several warehouses, a fuel depot and several houses line Fernbridge Drive (Old U.S. 101)[4] which now serves as an access road between exits 691 and 692.

Historic Fernbridge (bridge) during the 2017 Flood. Looking toward Ferndale from the unincorporated area of Fernbridge.
Fernbridge Train Depot in 2022

Fernbridge is a stop on the Humboldt Transit Authority fixed route transit bus systems, served by the Redwood Transit System connecting north and south Humboldt along 101. Fernbridge ZIP Code is 95540 and the community is inside area code 707.

The United States Geological Survey maintains a webcam overlooking Fernbridge,[5] and a river gage[6] of water level at the bridge.

Early history

The area was first named Singley Station in 1885 after George Singley who ran a ferry across the Eel River from 1876 to 1889.[7] As soon as a train station was built, a stage ran on a regular schedule to connect to the train. By 1891, the ferry was pulled by a steam winch and a seasonal pontoon bridge was added in the summer.[8]

The town name was changed to Fernbridge from Singley Station about two years after the Fernbridge was built across the Eel in 1910–1911. The first post office at Fernbridge opened in 1924.[2]

In 1934, when California numbered and marked California State Route 1, the route began in Las Cruces, California and ended at Fernbridge,[9] although by 1984, admitting the route was not feasible south of Ferndale, this section of Route 1 was renumbered to State Highway 211.[10]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fernbridge, California.
  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fernbridge, California
  2. ^ a b Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 59. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  3. ^ Pence, Steven (March 21, 2024). Greenson, Thadeus (ed.). "Caltrans to Install Seismic Gates on Fernbridge". The Ferndale Enterprise. Eureka, California: North Coast Journal Incorporated. p. 1.
  4. ^ "California 211". Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  5. ^ "Fernbridge Web Cam on Eel River". United States Geological Survey (USGS). Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  6. ^ USGS & DWR. "Current Sensor Data for Fernbridge (Eel River – CDEC Station FER)". California Data Exchange Center (CDEC). Archived from the original on August 10, 2009.
  7. ^ "THEN AND NOW". The Ferndale Enterprise. March 23, 2023. p. 10.
  8. ^ The Ferndale Museum (2004). Bess Carol; Beryl Newman; Ann Roberts (eds.). Images of America: Ferndale. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 128. 0-7385-2890-0.
  9. ^ Dennis, T.H. (August 1934). "State Routes Will Be Numbered and Marked with Distinctive Bear Signs". California Highways and Public Works. 11 (8): 20–21, 32. ISSN 0008-1159 – via Archive.org.
  10. ^ California State Assembly. "An act...relating to state highways". 1983–1984 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 409 p. 1769, 1774.
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