A Free Ferry Across the Feather River at Bidwell's Bar

The photo shown is identified as a Ferry on the Platte River Ford. The Platte River crossing is wider than at Bidwell’s Bar. However, the method used for such ferry crossings would be similar. Anchor points, either natural or constructed, were connected by an overhead cable to pulleys on each side of the river, that enabled the operator to change the angle of the floating ferry in the river. This angle change, of the ferry was done to utilize the energy of the flowing water to move the ferry across the river. If additional power was needed it was provided by manpower or by horse connected to the ropes of the pulley system. It was often necessary to stop ferry service during storms or heavy river flows. Floating or sunken logs were an ever present danger to ferry operations.

Was the Free Ferry at Bidwell’s Bar a campaign gimmick or a real business venture? 

Anan Fargo, a Sheriff candidate and Ophir resident would have been aware of an 1854 effort by Uncle Ben Bliven to secure a County License to build a Suspension Bridge at Bidwell’s Bar. Bliven was a well known and popular merchant at Bidwell who sold his store in 1852 and purchased the Charley Ranch in southern Butte County. In a short period of time, he was able to obtain nearly a thousand signatures to support  his bridge proposal. The owners of the existing ferry joined forces with J. E.N. Lewis, the Court of Sessions Judge, to form the Bidwell Bridge Company. Normally the licenses authorizing ferries and toll bridges are granted by the Court of Sessions Judge. However, since the Judge was a major owner in one of the two companies, the decision on the issuance of the license was elevated to the District Court Judge.

The District Court, in December of 1854, authorized the county to grant the license to build the Suspension Bridge to the Bidwell Bar Bridge Company. Bliven’s application was rejected because he had not made the required public notifications before filing for the license. Some local users thought the existing ferry company had requested the Toll Bridge license to block the building of the suspension bridge to protect their existing business.

By May of 1855, the Court of Sessions had been changed, by state law, to the County Board of Supervisors. Before the license, authorized by the District Court, was issued to the Bidwell Bridge Company the Board of Supervisors received a second application by Fargo. The hearing before the Board of Supervisors on May 8-10, involved the Bidwell Bridge Company and Fargo, both applicants for a  bridge license. It was determined that Fargo had failed to present proof of the required public legal notice related to his application. Attorneys representing Fargo requested and were granted permission to withdraw their license request. This procedural error is ironic since it is the same reason the Bliven’s application was earlier rejected by the District Court.  In May of 1855, the Board of Supervisors issued a License to the Bidwell Bridge Company to build the Suspension Bridge.

 Fargo certainly was not an individual who was intimidated or discouraged by the loss of a single battle. The withdrawal of his application a couple of days earlier did not stop Fargo from proceeding with his plan. Fargo had the ferry boat ready to go so he decided to proceed without county approval for either a Ferry Service or Suspension Bridge. Perhaps he rationalized that a free Ferry Service, owned by the users did not require a County License anyway! The Butte Record  article on May 12, 1855, by Fargo is interesting.

      Free Ferry-

      A ferryboat has been constructed to ply across the river at this place free of toll. On launching it the boys on the opposite side of the river made quite a demonstration from which we infer that they are decidedly in favor of a free ferry. “Competition is the life of business.”

If the operators of the existing ferry service failed to take seriously the earlier announcement of competition in the ferry business  the article in the local newspaper seven days later on May 19, 1855 certainly should have gotten their attention.

People’s Ferry at Bidwell.

Monopoly at an end!

The Traveling Public are hereby notified and informed,

that the PEOPLES FERRY at Bidwell is now

IN FULL OPERATION.

The CAPITAL STOCK in said Ferry  is divided into 50,000     Shares, OF 25 CENTS EACH!

    Persons desiring to cross Feather River by the “People’s Ferry” will PURCHASE A SHARE at the landing for 25 cents. At the time of paying the above sum the purchaser will be entitled to and receive A CERTIFICATE. The holder of which certificate will thus be a SHARE-HOLDER. After becoming a shareholder shall be entitled to CROSS THE RIVER BY PRESENTING HIS CERTIFICATE TO THE FERRYMAN.

Certificates of shares in the above named Ferry will be signed by “A. Fargo, & Co. and will not be transferable thereafter.

Fargo, & Co. Bidwell, May 18, 1855

Editor Crosette, of the Butte Record, published at Bidwell, in his May 26, 1855, article seemed to think the “People’s Ferry was a bit ahead in the struggle between the entrenched and politically favored company vs the upstart  Fargo competition.

In addition to announcing the Free People’s Ferry, Fargo reinstituted his application for a County  License to build a suspension bridge. The starting notice date of May 19, 1855, is one day after the notice date of the People’s Ferry announcement.

    NOTICE

    STATE OF CALIFORNIA } ss

    County of Butte.

    Notice is hereby given. that the undersigned will apply to the board of Supervisors of said County, at the first meeting of the same, or as soon thereafter as the same can be heard, for a license to build a BRIDGE, and run a FERRY across Feather River at Bidwell, in said County, commonly called Bidwell’s Bar.

A. Fargo & Co. May 19, 1855

The Bidwell Bridge company appears to have ignored the challenge presented by Fargo. They advertised for bids to construct the suspension bridge and selected Jones & Murray, to complete the project.

Butte Record May 26, 1855

Bidwell Bridge

     The contract for the erection of the wire suspension bridge across Feather River at Bidwell, has been taken by Messrs. Jones & Murray, old Feather River contractors, for the sum of $26,500. the Bridge is to be completed by the first of December, and the well known reputation of the contractors is a  sufficient guarantee that the work will be accomplished within the time specified. The completion of this Bridge will, doubtless, put an end to the fight now waging between the two ferries. As it now stands, the fight is a very pretty  one-- with the ”People’s Ferry” a little ahead.

 The short tag line at the end of the article indicates Forgo at least received the attention and encouragement from the local newspaper. However, the victory was short lived and came to an end on June 2, 1855.

Enjoined - An injunction was laid on the Free Ferry, on Thursday last, and a ferryman appointed by the Sheriff, who will not “row us o’er the ferry.”  The old line is again in successful operation.. The matter will be investigated in the course of the coming week. Law makes business fluctuate somewhat, and  persons should not engage in both at the same time.

Based on the District Court docket posted in the Butte Record on June 16, 1855, Fargo was not one to give up easily on a good idea. He took the matter to the next higher level of jurisdiction. One of the numerous docket matters before the court involved the injunction that had been filed to stop operations of the People’s “Free” Ferry.

      Ninth District Court

      Hon. W. P. Daingerfield, Presiding

      Van Norden et. al.  Harris & Burt, (attorneys) vs. Fargo, et. al. Goodwin & Baker, (attorneys)

      Motion to dissolve injunction overruled, jury empanelled.

This crisp notation certainly does not cover the impassioned presentations that were undoubtedly made to the jury for their consideration and decision on the matter. Research has not been done to locate a copy of  the official results of the jury verdict. However, evidence later in this drama indicates the results were not in favor of the People’s “Free” Ferry. The People’s Ferry was only in operation for a twelve day run (5/19 – 5/31), carrying people across the Feather River before the legal proceedings grounded the ferry on the unlucky 13th day. Even if the shareholders only got one ride across the river during their short time of ownership, they did not suffer significant investment loss since the twenty-five cents investment for shareholder status was the fee for a rider and horse to cross the river once on the approved ferry! It is unknown if anyone purchased a share in the Peoples Ferry or ever used the service.

Fargo came close to being elected! He lost the bid for Sheriff by only 66 votes, or two percent of the votes cast. The final election results were published in the Butte Record of September 22, 1855, with P. Freer receiving 1534 votes and A. Fargo receiving 1468 votes. In the end, neither Fargo’s business venture nor his election campaign was successful.  We can only wonder what Fargo’s interest in continuing the fight to establish the People’s Ferry would have been if he had been elected Sheriff of Butte County.

The elected Sheriff, P. Freer, ran on the Democratic Party ticket which coincided with the political interests of the Editor of the Butte Record. Editor Crosette was glad to share his opinion on the matter and provide his editorial view on the real purpose behind the rise and fall of the People’s Ferry in a couple of articles in the same issue of his newspaper.

      Mysterious -- “The People’s Free Bridge” at Bidwell, which was to elect Anan Fargo, Sheriff, suddenly and mysteriously disappeared on the defeat of that gentleman. One went down the Feather, and the other went up Salt River!  A remarkable coincidence certainly.

The second article added this information on Fargo’s new business interests:

   Important Express Notice. We learn that Mr. A. Fargo, late Key Eye Candidate for Sheriff of Butte County has concluded to run a daily express to the Head of Salt River, via the “free bridge.”  Now that the election is over, packages entrusted to him or his messengers will not be thrown away or destroyed, but delivered to their destination with safety and dispatch...

In addition to the political differences, an economic issue developed between Editor Crosette and A. Fargo. The court system and the newly elected sheriff came to the aid of Editor Crosette in the resolution of this matter.

      SHERIFF SALE

      By virtue of an execution issued by W. S. Stafford a Justice of the Peace in and for Bidwell Township Butte County and state of California, in and action of G. H. Crosette vs. A. Fargo & Co., duly  the 7th day of November, A. D. 1855, I have levied upon and taken in execution all of the right, title and interest of the aforesaid Company in and to one Ferry Boat, two Ropes and two Tackle Block, and appurtenances hereto belonging, which I will sell at public sale, on Friday, November 16, A. D. 1855, at 2 o’clock P. M., at the National Hotel, Bidwell. Terms, cash.       

    Dated at Bidwell this Nov. 9th, A. D. 1855. P. Freer, Sheriff

Subsequent articles in the Butte Record explaining the need for the court action or who purchased the seized property of Fargo & Company have not been located. Most likely the court judgment was for nonpayment of costs associated with publishing Fargo & Company notices in the newspaper.

The Bidwell Bridge Company successfully defended and protected their local ferry and planned suspension bridge interests. However, these events were merely the opening round of a much larger challenge as Oroville launched a campaign later in 1855 that threatened not only the ferry and bridge businesses, but  the very existence of the town of Bidwell.

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