The Kneebone Family History
As Related to Bridgeport By: Marlene Lindstadt
The Kneebone Family which figures so prominently in the history of Bridgeport, had its beginning in two widely separated events the first was the birth of Andrew Reed Kneebone to Joseph and Mary Kneebone in Cornwall, England in 1860; the second event was the birth of a baby daughter, Victoria Marie to early settlers, Mary and Charles Cole, in 1862 at Bridgeport.
Andrew Reed Kneebone immigrated to California along with his parents and brother and sister, in 1871, settling on a farm of almost 400 acres in the Spenceville area. Andrew grew from childhood into manhood on this farm and in his early teens, he had mastered the art of teamstering, which he learned from his father. Andrew became one of the most skillful teamsters in the Gold Country, handling a sixteen to twenty mule and horse team with such amazing ability that wagers were made about him whenever he made an appearance in Grass Valley and Nevada City.
Victoria grew up on the family farm at Bridgeport and continued to live at home with her parents until her marriage to Andrew in 1886, when she was 24 years old (in those days, an un-married woman of 24 was considered to be an ”old maid” or spinster). However, in spite of her late-blooming, Andrew and Victoria made up for lost time by having five sons within a period of approximately nine years! These sons, Charles, Joseph, Alfred, William and Jonathon James, were all born in Spenceville and Bridgeport areas between the years of 1887 and 1897. It is presumed that the Bridgeport Ranch was inherited by Victoria from her parents, although we have no legal documentation for this. We do know that their family lived in the original big farmhouse, where Victoria had lived as a child and which also had served as a Stage stop or Rest Stop for weary travelers for many years, and which Mary Ann and Charles Cole operated along with collect-tolls from those crossing the bridge, Charles Cole also ran the Bridgeport Ranch of more than a thousand acres, growing crops and raising cattle and other livestock.
After the five sons grew up, only one of them chose to make his home at Bridgeport, and that son was Alfred Alexander, who took over the management of the Bridgeport ranch following his marriage to a Miss Lucy Moynier, of French corral. They lived in the original “Stage Stop House” until shortly
before the birth of their first daughter, Lucille Victoria, in 1919, at which time the old home place” burned to the ground. A new house was built on the exact site of the old home, so that they could utilize the original basement-cellar. A second daughter was born to Lucy and Alfred in 1925, Alfreda Marie.
These girls also grew up in the farm and Lucille re-counted in her memoirs how very hard they had all worked from early childhood.
Alfred and Lucy made many changes at Bridgeport, and in addition to the little store which they had run for several years, they added a small Shell gas station. Alfred purchased his merchandise for the store in Marysville on frequent buying trips, and they sold this merchandise (along with home-made ice cream and “soda pop”) to travelers and gold prospectors The Kneebone family also purchased gold from the Indians who lived nearby at Rice’s Crossing, and from other prospectors and miners. The going rate for gold at that time (late 20s) was $18.50 per ounce.
In approximately 1926, Alfred and Lucy further expanded Bridgeport holdings by building five “cottagers” and two small “changing houses” or cabins, and a “Dance Hall” pavilion. The exact sites of the cabins are unknown but the cottages were in close proximity to the dance hall and the big “Swimmin hole” up-river from the bridge.
With the completion of the fore-going buildings, the Kneebone’s officially announced to the public that they were opening a “Swimming Resort” at Bridgeport complete with Picnic facilities, camping sites, entertainment, etc. In June of 1927 the “Grand Opening” was held (and a second Grand Opening in 1928), and local newspapers (in Nevada City and Grass Valley) reported that there would be a “two piece orchestra” present to “provide entertainment and dancing during the afternoon and evening hours”, and they also promised a “delicious menu of Camp Stew, created by expert chefs”. The new resort captured the imagination of many of the citizens from the surrounding small towns, and it became a very popular “In” place to take the whole family to “cool off and enjoy the good old Summer time”.
During the “hard times” of the Great Depression, the cottages were rented out to families who were down on their luck, and even