Historical Marker · No. 281
O'Byrne Ferry
Copperopolis, Calaveras County · California
Erected by the Calaveras County Historical Society, as a 1993 replacement for the missing state plaque
Certain writers claimed, and the state registered the claim. The granite hedges about Bret Harte's Poker Flat exactly as the 1938 register did, and the subdivision beside it is called Shores of Poker Flat, so the rumour has outlived every structure on the site. A chain cable bridge replaced the ferries in 1852 and a covered truss span followed in 1862. A dollar campaign to move that bridge failed, and in 1957 it was destroyed for Tulloch Dam. The crossing now lies about eighty feet down.
What the plaque says
O'BYRNE FERRY IN 1852, A CHAIN CABLE BRIDGE REPLACED THE FERRIES THAT ONCE CROSSED HERE AND WAS SUPPLANTED IN TURN BY A COVERED TRUSS STRUCTURE IN 1862. CERTAIN WRITERS CLAIMED THAT THIS WAS THE LOCATION OF BRET HARTE'S POKER FLAT. IN LATE "49" THERE WAS A LARGE CAMP HERE, WITH MINERS WASHING OUT GOLD ON BOTH BANKS OF THE STANISLAUS RIVER. REPLACED BY CALAVERAS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1993 HIST. MKR. # 281
Where it stands
37.89694, -120.57611 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Columbia State Historic Park — 14 miThe Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.
More markers nearby
- Copperopolis — 6.7 mi
- Montezuma — 6.8 mi
- Wells Fargo Express Company Building — 8.1 mi
- Chinese Camp — 8.1 mi