To our knowledge there were only two suspension bridges in the redwood empire along the Mendocino Coast. The larger, famous, one erected in 1876 was at Rockport. The bridge (see pictures below) was 275 feet long and was supported by seven steel cables. It was built by Pacific Bridge Co. The cost then was $12,000 and it came with a 49 year guarantee!
The Mendocino Redwood Company now owns the Rockport mill’s forests (see map here) and in their very informative web site there is a page describing the construction of the bridge including an interview with Bernie Agrons, the last general manager of Rockport Redwood Company before it ceased mill operations in 1957. Bernie re-visited Rockport Beach in 2007 and recounted the building of the suspension bridge – click here for the link to his interview and the page on the bridge.
In the picture below left, the schooner “Venture” is loading at the chute. You can see in the photo how the top of the offshore rock has been blasted away to provide a storage area for the landing. Below right, Rockport today (2010). – You can clearly see where the suspension bridge once existed.
