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Local documentarian Ray Olson is back to teach us more about the unique history behind some of Humboldt County’s lesser-known landmarks.

In today’s episode of “Humboldt Outdoors,” Olson takes us to Bridgeville, where he is joined by local history buff Jerry Rohde and local columnist Barry Evans for a tour of the unincorporated community and the historic concrete bridges that surround it.

Long before Bridgeville became Bridgeville, it was inhabited by the Nongatl Tribe, whose descendants are a part of the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria. “As far as we know, there wasn’t a village right here at Bridgeville [but] there are villages a couple of miles downstream and upstream from here,” Rhode explains. “The Van Duzen turns into a narrow gorge, and there are all sorts of small villages up there.”

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As one might guess, Bridgeville, originally known as “Bridgeport,” was named after a wooden bridge that was built across the Van Duzen River in the mid-1870s during the construction of Overland Road. At that time, the Humboldt Times dubbed Bridgeville one of the “liveliest towns” in the county.

“Between 1875 – or about that time when the road was completed here – and 1893, this was the main road in and out of Humboldt County,” Rhode continues. “So wagons [and] stagecoaches carrying large loads would come through here. … Bridgeville was an active place. They had a saloon, store, school, and hotel – all the basics that you needed for a small community.”

Check out the video above to learn more about Bridgeville’s history and for views of the bridges along the Van Duzen River. 

And if you’ve got bridges on the brain and are looking for something to do in mid-August that leans into the extraterrestrial, you’ll want to check out the Bridgeville Bridgefest. There, you can partake in the Flying Saucer toss (IFYKYK) as well as various other out-of-this-world and bridge-related activities.

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