Exploring the bridges of Monterey County, past and present.

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about local history. I recently attended the San Antonio Valley Historical Association’s spring tour for the second year. Each year, they highlight a portion of local history in South Monterey County. 

In 2022, I learned about King City’s downtown, where Karen and John Kerrigan, local historians wearing period attire befitting the old railroads, took us along Broadway Street. They shared stories about the past, present and future of the neighborhood. 

This time, the tour focused on bridges. The theme, “The Bridges of Southern Monterey County,” was inspired by the movie The Bridges of Madison County and more immediately, flooding during the 2022-23 winter storms, which can have the effect of suddenly making bridges seem that much more relevant. 

But even when there’s not water raging immediately under you, bridges always matter. “Over the years, bridges have been important for commerce and the overall economic well-being of the Salinas Valley,” John Jernigan says. 

The first stop of the tour was at San Lorenzo Parkwith a presentation of photos and postcards, sharing facts about 20 bridges that are (or were) in the area along the Salinas River, Arroyo Seco River, Nacimiento River and others. Mostly they showed photos from Lou G. Hare, a local cartographer. This represents just a small sample from over the 100 bridges they found while researching for this tour. John volunteered at the Monterey County Historical Society to help review the Pat Hathaway collection, and came across Hare’s photographs from the late 1800s to early 1900s. “We were fascinated by the photos Mr. Hare took of the bridges, many of which he had helped build,” John says.

After the presentation, we jumped into our vehicles and visited five bridges, or the remains of them, in King City, San Lucas and Bradley. We parked along the road and compared old photographs with the scenery before us. The first stop was at the King City Bridge, where we could still see sandbags from a previous storm. 

At the San Lucas Bridge, Bill Barbree, a long-time resident, shared memories andsaid he had crossed the bridge at least 25,000 times. “This bridge is very important to us because it keeps the slower traffic off the freeway. And that's why we don't want to let it be torn down,” Barbree said.

The last stop was near Camp Roberts, where there is a unique feature: three bridges alongside each other. On the left there is a railroad bridge similar to the one along Highway 1 over the Salinas River; there’s also a beam bridge; and in the middle there are the remains of where a third bridge used to be, with support columns visible in the water. 

We spent all day visiting different parts of South County and learning details through its waterways and their crossings. It’s one lens to learn about history in a new way. What is the most recent historical tour you’ve attended?