Rubidoux Bridge

A bridge crossing the Santa Ana River between today's Rubidoux and Riverside dates to the 1890s. You might be surprised to learn that the bridge that we use today is over 50 years old and dates to 1958. Rumor has it that the the county is looking into replacing it. Below is a photo of the bridge next to the one it replaced, courtesy of Riverside County Flood Control. Our current bridge is the one on the right.      

All the Latest News

Time to give all of you folks with an interest in history, and Jurupa Valley history in particular, an update on future happenings!

I am told that Wicked Jurupa Valley ships on June 21st. Yeah!

I am in the process of arranging book signings and hope to have some scheduled soon. So far I know for a fact that I will be giving a presentation at the Riverside Historical Society meeting on Sunday, October 7th.  If any one is interested in having a book signing please just comment on this post and I will contact you.

There has been another exciting development on the history front. My friend Steve Lech and I will begin a new weekly history column for the Press-Enterprise starting Sunday July 1st. We are both very excited about this new opportunity, or excuse, to delve into Riverside County history!  Because we both have other history related writing and research that we do, we decided to share this activity. We will be trading off, with each of us responsible for a story every other week. So look for us every Sunday beginning in July!

Dangerous Bridge

I don't know who has jurisdiction over the Rubidoux Bridge today, but in the late 1800s and early 1900s the bridges of that time were paid for 50/50 by the City of Riverside and the County of Riverside.  This 50/50 arrangement extended even to the maintenance of the bridge with the city maintaining their half and no more and the county responsible for the maintenance of their half.   

This practice could cause problems as was reported in January 1904. At that time the Riverside Enterprise reported that the West Riverside bridge (as it was then known) was in a dangerous condition. The wood flooring of the bridge was rotting and that allowed two horses to break through the wood. One horse was severely injured. According to the paper the city had repaired its end of the bridge and that half was in good shape. However the county had not yet fixed its half and it was in "dangerous condition." 

1905 Advertisement

The April 20, 1905 Riverside Daily Press reported that the the people of West Riverside had produced a pamphlet to advertise their area. According to the Daily Press, " These pamphlets are considered a fine advertisement for so small a section and as every word can be proven, send them to your Eastern friends and you can make good any statement."

Wow! I wish I could see one of these!