In 1865, Charles Camden built a covered bridge at Whiskey Creek, improved roads from Old Shasta to Clear Creek, built a bridge at Whiskey Creek, and improved and covered the bridge over Clear Creek.  Camden charged ten cents to walk across the bridge, twenty-five cents to ride across by horse, and $1.25 to drive across by wagon. These tolls were collected for 50 years and were paid at the Tower Hotel. In 1857, Benjamin Mix, proprietor of the Whiskeytown Hotel, announced his plan for constructing a new bridge over Whiskey Creek. He proposed this new bridge as a free bridge over Whiskey Creek, near the mouth, where the wagon road crosses it, in Shasta County. The new bridge length was to be 165 feet, and built above the freshet mark. The Shasta Republican stated that Benjamin Mix, under whose direction the work would be done, subscribed $400, and as soon as the sum was up to $1,200, the building would commence.

By 1912, the Shasta County took over the Camden Toll Road. The road was considered hazardous due to low maintenance and few improvements, stemming from inadequate funds, and ultimately deterred traffic past Whiskeytown. Early in the 1920s, the state constructed Highway 20 which followed the Camden toll road or county road fairly closely. The existing highway (U.S. 299), however, represents yet later road construction in the 1950s and early 1960s. The original bridge over Clear Creek was located upstream of its current location. The current footbridge rests on the same stone piers used for the original bridge.

Credits and Sources:

“Whiskeytown: Historic Resource Study, I. California Gold Sets Pace for Early State, Regional, and Local Development.” National Park Service, http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/whis/hrs/chap1.htm (accessed June 27, 2015).

“Sketches of Levi and Charles, Tower House Historic District: A Field Trip Journal Teacher’s Edition.” National Park Service, http://www.nps.gov/whis/learn/education/upload/GoldRush-TEACHERS-7by8_5.pdf (accessed June 27, 2015).