The bridge was named after the P. O. Byrne ferry which operated on the Stanislaus River as early as 1849 to service gold seekers in the area . At that time , the crossing locale was known as Waterville and , later , Poker Flat . Bret Harte 's '' The Outcasts of Poker Flat '' is said to be written of this site . Patrick ( or Peter , we do not know as he signed all stock certificates as P. O. Byrne ) O. Byrne established a river crossing ferry here and determined that there was much future economic prosperity to be gained and chartered the Stanislaus Central Bridge Company that was to erect a steel suspension bridge crossing the Stanislaus River and later to be reached by a railroad from Stockton . Originally a chain cable suspension bridge with a plank floor , it was completed in the spring of 1853 and was to be opened to the public as a toll bridge . Before opening , the bridge was determined structurally lacking and requiring additional anchor chains . Nonetheless , a team of oxen and wagon crossed before the official opening of the new bridge and collapsed it . Byrne went on to other endeavors including selling a venture known as the Sacramento Railroad Company to again give railroad access to the gold country with commissioners such as former California Governor Peter Burnett and J. H. Haggin besides P. O. Byrne . It appears that nothing ever came from that speculative opportunity . Nonetheless , the bridge was rebuilt in 1856 by the Table Mountain Bridge Company . This bridge was much stronger , but was destroyed in the Great Flood of 1862 , and a new covered cantilever bridge of Howe truss type and reinforced by an auxiliary arch was built that same year . Built and run by the Union Bridge Company , a corporation with headquarters at Sonora . Joseph Aldridge of Green Springs was the toll bridge keeper early on into the 1870s , and Joe Pardies profitably operated the toll bridge for many years
Great Flood of 1862
Great Flood of 1862
Byrne's Ferry Covered Bridge