Bridgeport, Mariposa County, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bridgeport | |
|---|---|
  Bridgeport Location in California  Bridgeport Bridgeport (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 37°26′00″N 120°00′16″W / 37.43333°N 120.00444°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Mariposa County |
| Settled | c. 1852 |
| Elevation | 1,499 ft (457 m) |
Bridgeport is a ghost town in Mariposa County, California, situated on Agua Fria Creek in southwestern Mariposa County, approximately five miles southwest of Mariposa.[1] The settlement developed as a placer mining camp in the early 1850s and later became associated with the Washburn family's mining and transportation ventures.[1]
Gold Rush settlement
Bridgeport was established as a placer mining camp in the early 1850s, at a crossing of Agua Fria Creek where a road from the San Joaquin Valley passed through southwestern Mariposa County.[1] The settlement lay near Agua Fria, which had served as the original county seat of Mariposa County.[1]
Washburn family and Yosemite road
Henry, John, and Edward Washburn discovered and worked a quartz mine at Bridgeport on Mariposa Creek.[1] Henry Washburn also operated a general store at the settlement.[1] In 1875, he constructed the second road to Yosemite Valley, which brought Yosemite-bound travelers through Bridgeport.[1] The Washburn brothers later built and operated the Wawona Hotel.
Decline
As mining activity diminished, Bridgeport functioned as a stage stop on the Washburn road.[1] The settlement eventually declined as transportation routes shifted. No post office is recorded as having operated at Bridgeport.
