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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Wawona, Mariposa County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

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Inventory Number: CA/05-22-01
County: Mariposa County
Township: Wawona
Town/Village: Yosemite National Park
Bridge Name: Wawona
Crosses: South Fork Merced River
Truss type: Queen
Spans: 1
Length: 138'
Roadway Width: 15'
Built: 1868
Builder: Galen Clark
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N37 32.317
Longitude: W119 39.357
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 4.8 miles north-northwest of south entrance to park (end of CA41) on Wawona Rd., then right on Forest Dr. 0.1 miles to the bridge 150' off the left side of road. South edge of Wawona.

Wawona Bridge, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, CA Built 1858
Richard Donovan Collection

Wawona Bridge, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, CA Built 1858
© Joseph D. Conwill

Wawona Bridge, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, CA Built 1858
Richard Sanders Allen Collection, NSPCB Archives

Wawona Bridge, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, CA Built 1858
1955 Photo, Richard Sanders Allen Collection, NSPCB Archives

Wawona Bridge, Yosemite National Park, Mariposa County, CA Built 1858
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
This is the only authentic covered bridge within a National Park. It was built in 1868 but not covered until 1875. It has been reported that the bridge was built in 1857 or 1858, but research has found that Galen Clark received permission to construct the bridge from the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors in May 1868. The road was once the main road from Wawona to Yosemite. In 1931, the road was relocated a quarter-mile to the west. When high water threatened the bridge in 1955, it was raised off its abutments and moved to the north bank. Later it was restored and put back over the river. The coordinates are approximate. The 1938 list from the State Bridge Department lists the span as 138'.

Sources:
Morley, Griswold. The Covered Bridges of California, 1938, pages 46-47 & 91
Adams, Kramer. Covered Bridges of the West: A History and Illustrated Guide, 1963, pages 60, 61, 67 & 131
List of Known Covered Bridges in California as of June 1938, State of California, Bridge Department
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 3

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