Drawbridge is a ghost town that sits alongside the railroad tracks between Alviso (San Jose) and Fremont/Newark. It is illegal to walk out there but we did it anyway:
You have to watch out for the trains:
In the late 1800's the south San Francisco bay was a busy rail and waterway:
"From Newark, the rail would wend into the Byzantine waterways of the bay to Alviso & San Jose & intermediate stops on the way to Santa Cruz - 80 miles of narrow-gauge track. This project was in direct competition with the ruthless Leland Stanford which made it a bold venture indeed. When the plan went forward, a problem presented itself in the form of two navigable waterways - Mud Creek Slough and Coyote Creek Slough. By law, the waterways were required to remain open for shipping. The S.P.C.R.R.'s solution called for a drawbridge over each waterway operated by a lone bridge tender. The speck of land between the two waterways, where the rail crossed, was Station Island. The bridge tender lived in a small cabin on Station Island - the first inhabitant of what was to be called Drawbridges or Drawbridge."
"Fruit, vegetables, and other products of the land were shipped across the Bay to San Francisco in "scow schooners" - two-masted boats with a hinged centerboard, and a "fisherman's sail" to catch the wind when the sloughs were at low tide."
Unlike most of these boats that retired and were lost long ago, the Alma, a national maritime treasure, has been restored and today proudly sails the bay:
In the late 1800's the south San Francisco Bay wetlands and sloughs were unimaginably rich in wildlife. Game birds, ducks and geese especially, flocked by the thousands to gorge themselves on the abundant fish and shellfish of this area. The original drawbridge tender started inviting his friends to visit, word spread, and soon people were constructing simple cabins as hunting retreats. Over the years people built homes, hunting lodges and even a couple of hotels to accommodate the avid hunters and rabble-rousers.
In 1906, Drawbridge had grown to 79 cabins (private residences and duck clubs) and two hotel.
In 1926, Drawbridge was in full flower with approximately 90 cabins, and had five passenger trains a day.
Beginning in the late 1920's, excessive pumping of fresh water by surrounding communities would cause subsidence of the land and fouling of deep wells. Like Alviso to the south, Drawbridge began to sink. The railroad and cabins were in constant need of "heightening."In addition to land subsidence, raw sewage from San Jose was affecting the sloughs. Fish and foul abandoned the marshes. The diked salt evaporation ponds prevented natural cleansing by the tides.
In 1940, 50 cabins remained. The smell of raw sewage in the sloughs discouraged any thought of swimming.
In 1967, drawbridge consisted of 42 taxed residences and a population of 25.
In 1976, there were 24 taxed residences and one resident - Charlie Luce.
Tom and I with some of the sinking cabins in the background:
Synthia and Terry in a cabin:
In a cabin with neighboring water tower:
The boys took turns throwing rocks at the old Drawbridge phone. It was the only phone in town. Today it sits, gutted, on a pole:
The Gordon Gun Club built in 1880. It was the first building constructed in Drawbridge after the bridge tender's cabin (1876):
Another building:
Newark in the background, far side of the second drawbridge:
Headed back to Alviso:
Back in town we checked out the old cannery...
...and read a brief history of Alviso at the marina:
Happy Birthday Tom! Thanks Synthia, Terry and Girlfriend for taking us out to Drawbridge!
