Take A Stroll Across Santa Cruz County's Newest National Historical Landmark!

A 19th century bridge in Santa Cruz County is now a national historical landmark, the Department of the Interior announced last week.

The California Powder Works Bridge is one of five new landmarks announced by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis.

“These sites join more than 2,500 other landmarks that help tell America’s story,” Jewell said in a statement.

The Powder Works Bridge crosses the San Lorenzo River at Keystone Way in the community of Paradise Park, north of Santa Cruz. Built in 1872, it is a Smith timber truss-type covered bridge, only one of about two dozen still in existence today.

The structure of the bridge was built in Alameda by construction firm Pacific Bridge Company and shipped to Santa Cruz County by rail, according to interior department officials. The firm also built other notable structures including Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge.

There have been few modifications to the bridge since it was built, which can be attributed to its sturdy condition, according to department officials. California Powder Works worked near the bridge starting in 1861 producing blasting powder for mining and railroad work, which over time was replaced by dynamites, according to Santa Cruz Public Libraries. The company moved out of the site in 1914 and about a decade later the Fresno Masonic fraternity purchased the site for a summer cottage colony occupied the area known as Paradise Park, interior department officials said.

Today, the bridge serves a crossing for cars and pedestrians, but isn’t heavily used, department officials said.

“National historic landmarks preserve some of our nation’s most remarkable places and demonstrate the power of partnerships between the National Park Service and historic property owners,” Jarvis said in a statement. “These new landmarks offer opportunities for more Americans to make personal connections with our nation’s cultural and historical heritage and have the potential to drive tourism and boost local economies,” he said.

Other recent Patch posts on bridges, environmental protections and landmark monuments:

• Creation of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Advances This Week
• Legislation Introduced to Restore, Protect San Francisco Bay
• Santa Cruz Redwoods National Monument Campaign Advances With Addition Of Environmental Leader
• WATCH: 58,000 Tons of Bay Bridge Coming Down Piece by Piece

--Bay City News

--Wikimedia Commons photo

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