Drawbridge, ghost town in the San Francisco Bay
Drawbridge is an abandoned settlement in southern San Francisco Bay built on marshy ground with houses constructed on stilts. The town was laid out around a narrow-gauge railroad with tracks running directly through residences and across two bridges that connected the settlement to surrounding areas.
The town was established in 1876 by the South Pacific Coast Railroad and peaked in the 1920s when about 600 people visited on weekends. Decline began in the 1930s when salt companies built levees that dried up freshwater sources and degraded water quality, prompting residents to leave.
Drawbridge was once a gathering place for hunters and fishermen who arrived by train to pursue their interests in the surrounding marshlands. The town had no roads, only train tracks running through it, making the railroad the central lifeline of daily life and community activities.
Today Drawbridge is part of a wildlife refuge and entry is prohibited to protect the local flora and fauna. Visitors can glimpse parts of the town briefly from passing trains or use the nearby Mallard Slough Trail, a flat walking area with approximately 5 miles of round-trip distance.
Many tall tales circulated about Drawbridge, including newspaper reports of abandoned treasures and valuables supposedly left behind by residents. In reality the town was simply empty, but these rumors sparked vandalism until the area was designated as protected land.
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