Bridge Petition Signatures
The Elegant 1856 Bidwell’s Bar Suspension Bridge across the Middle Fork of the Feather River
Two groups were interested in securing the county license to build a suspension bridge across the Feather River at Bidwell’s Bar. The bridge was to replace an existing ferry that could only provide service part of the year. Only seasonal service was possible due to the high flows during the winter and spring when the Feather River was flowing at peak volumes. One of the interested groups consisted of the businessmen who had the license to operate the ferry service. The second group was headed by Benjamin B. Bliven, a past merchant at Bidwell and then a rancher in the Honcut area; located in the southern part of Butte County. Since he was competing with an existing company, Bliven and those supporting him, circulated a petition during the fall of 1854, gathering support for county approval of Bliven’s application. The petition was circulated in nine locations in Butte County and two in Plumas County, which was served by the existing ferry service and associated road. A total of 959 signatures were gathered, with 157 of them collected in the Bidwell’s Bar area.
Ultimately the license to build the bridge was granted to the newly formed Bidwell Bridge Company, composed basically of the owners and operators of the existing ferry company.
The events surrounding the fierce political battle for the license and the details about building the bridge are contained in chapters found in these two publications:Bliven Wanted to Build the Bidwell’s Bar Bridge. The Town of Bidwell at Bidwell’s Bar: Boom to Bust, 1848 – 1860. Butte County Historical Society, 2010 and Building The Bidwell’s Bar Bridge (Chapter 10.);The Last Toll Bridge in Butte County ( Chapter 19). A Short Golden Life… The Town of Bidwell at Bidwell’s Bar. 1848 -1860. Butte County Historical Society.
The names of signor's, and their number on the petition presented in the Bidwell’s Bar area, are listed below to assist researchers, seeking confirmation their research subjects were in the Bidwell area. For information on the names listed on other pages of the petition, contact the webmaster at the locations indicated on the contact page.
Signature of
1 L. H. Thayer
2 C. B. Pike
3 George Foreman
4 John Kyle
5 Michael M. Kelly
6 Timothy Tyman
7 John McEtanlly
( McOnnell )
8 Wm. B. Marshall
9 Michael Walsh
10 John M. Connell
(McConnell)
11 Robert Stuart
12 Herman __?__
13 Emile Foret ?
14 John Bayler
15 Henry Bird
16 Joseph Kyle
17 J. N. Amberg
18 Sylvester Savage
19 Lewis __?__
20 Bernard Smith
21 Gustavous Rhode
22 Abraham Miller
23 George W. Drake
24 Benjamin Fowler
25 James W. Fowler
26 John J. Fowler
27 Andrew Lewis
28 John Nelson
29 Francis Carter
30 Samuel Horner
31 Adam Muris ?
32 W. S. Hoffman
Signature of
33 Peter Wilson
34 Patrick Willy
35 John F. Thompson
36 William Featherston
37 S. S. Horton
38 W. Malloy
39 Wm.Wilson
( -LRCSI ?)
40 Patrick McGurd
41 Sam Steuart
42 Robert Armstrong
43 _. Clark
44 _. Bennett
45 Samuel Cully
46 Unreadable
47 D. F. Bartman
48 A. C. Maze
49 T. H. Lord
50 Unreadable
51 _. Meagher
52Henry E. H. Jackson
53 John Bicley
54 I. F. Jason
55 T. H. Elliott
56 Thomas R. Short
57 Unreadable
58 Unreadable
59 Unreadable
60 John Fiaten
61 Unreadable
62 John Smart
63 Frank Mane
64 James Gilbert
Signature of
65 Abernathy Wilson
66 John Smith
67 William Smith
68 Sanford Murphy
69 Johannes Johnson
70 G. Johnson
71 Unreadable
72 Unreadable
73 _. Harris
74 Unreadable
75 A. Carpentier
76 _obmel Auguste ?
77 Louis Cesar
78 Unreadable
79 L. F. Hestover
80 Gew. Fitzgerald
81 James _blle ?
82 Unreadable
83 W. E. Singer
84 H.T. Spear
85 William Wilson
86 Del Armstrong
87 George M Renolds
88 John W. Brown
89 Samuel Carpenter
90 D. N. Witt
91 William Fleming
92 Unredable
93 A. J. Burr
94 D. G. Arthur
95 Wm. Burton
96 George P. Russell
Signature of
97 C. A. Smith
98 Owen Murnehax
99 Michael O. day
100 William McQuillen
101 Hank Johnson
102 Monty Johnson
103 Matthew Sweetland
104 Alonzo Chushman
105 A. Goodline
106 Wm. H. Tryon
107 Wm. Nicol
108 J. Swedberg
109 G.Hatberg
100 R. Lattimore
111 J. D. Scott
112 George Dutton
113 Tho. Clarke
114 __. __. Lindley
115 J. Dahlberg
116George Thompson
117 Peeter Smith (2-e)
118 John Vance
119 Samuel Vance
120 Henry Kelly
121 Martin H. Kenney
122 Patrick Carty
123 Unreadable
124Charles Thompson
125 John Cullen
126 E. A. McTherson
127 C. Groth
128 A. Anderson ?
Signature of
129 Robert Daniels
130 Charles P. Wilson
131 Augustus Meyer
132 Unreadable
133 A. Lindford
134 Unreadable
135 Richard Bagley
136 Unreadable
137 Unreadable
138 Guy Victor
139 T. Logan/Grogan
140 Henry Goldst _ ?
141 L. Gobel
142 P. J. Doyle
143 Charles Wilson
144 John Troutman
145 James Fucnders
146 A. Williams
147 Michael Conly
148 Michael Ash
149 John P. But _ _ ?
150 Andrew Anderson
151 Peter Smith
152 Unknown
153 Horace Jones
154 Unknown
155 Unknown
156 A. Skinkle
157 J. S. Coltieron
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Reading the Signatures on the Petition
The original petition document is on linen pages and is in excellent condition. It is archived at the Butte County Historical Society. Determining the correct spelling of the individual names was a challenge due to creative handwriting by the signors and the interpreting skills of the reviewers. Charles Smay and Phil Ravert independently reviewed the document and developed a list of the names, then jointly created what they believed to be the probable spelling of the names. In many cases the final name determination is simply a best guess. In several cases even that was not possible. Researchers are encouraged to keep in mind the possible variation of the spelling of the listed names when searching for names of interest.