{"nrhp_refnum":"75000499","name":"Oregon Creek Covered Bridge","other_names":["Freeman`s Covered Bridge"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"3 mi. NE of North San Juan over Oregon Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"North San Juan","county":"Yuba County","state":"CA","lat":39.396555801000034,"lon":-121.08218303399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wooden covered bridge of about 83 feet spanning Oregon Creek roughly three miles northeast of North San Juan, Yuba County, California, built by Tom Freeman in the mid-19th century.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge is either the oldest or one of the oldest covered bridges in the western United States still in general use. It is also described as unique among American covered bridges because its portals curve to meet travelers at each end. It has served continuously since construction, and it carries a story of being swept away and turned end for end in an 1883 flood.","narrative":"Spanning Oregon Creek northeast of North San Juan, this covered bridge is about 83 feet long and uses a Howe pony truss built from hand-hewn Ponderosa Pine beams roughly 16 inches square. Tom Freeman, who operated it as a toll bridge until his death in 1892, is credited with building it; sources disagree on whether it dates to the 1860s or 1871. Its portals curve to meet travelers at each end, a feature described as unique among American covered bridges. In 1883 a flood from a failed dam upstream lifted the structure off its abutments and turned it end for end before it was set back in place. Yuba County later took it over, replaced the siding, and swapped the shake roof for corrugated tin because of snow loads. It is considered either the oldest or among the oldest covered bridges in the western United States still in general use, and it continues to serve as access to a national forest campground.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"Tom Freeman (builder)","architectural_style":"Howe pony truss covered bridge","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered, on its original site. Still in use as the main access to Oregon Creek Campground, and owned and maintained by Yuba County.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.377029-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/75000499.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000499/95e0de3c9a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000499/95e0de3c9a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OREGON_CREEK_C.B._YUBA_CTY,_CALIFORNIA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OREGON_CREEK_C.B._YUBA_CTY,_CALIFORNIA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123862429","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Creek_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18154836"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/yuba-county/oregon-creek-covered-bridge-75000499/"}