A post office operated at Merced Falls from 1856 to 1957 . The town was founded here because in the California Gold Rush , the three main crossings of the Merced River on the Stockton - Los Angeles Road were located within downstream of the rapids of Merced Falls . Closest to the falls was Phillips ' Ferry , then Belts Ferry ( later Murray 's Ferry and Murray 's Bridge and near what later became Merced Falls ) , and then Young 's Ferry . Murray 's Bridge was washed away in the Great Flood of 1862 but was later rebuilt
Great Flood of 1862
Great Flood of 1862
Merced Falls, California