Welcome to Drawbridge: The Bay Area's Last Ghost Town | Bay Curious

On an island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay sits a series of abandoned wooden buildings, slumped over and sinking into the ground. They’re all that’s left of the town called Drawbridge - often referred to as the last ghost town left in the Bay Area.
Read more: www.kqed.org/n...

[@erikmoller84]

As a teenager, I went out with a friend to check the place out, on our motorcycles, somewhere around 1967. I guess it was Charlie who pointed us back out the way we came. Hahaha

[@kurkgarro2341]

Went there as a teen in the 70s

[@churchofpos2279]

My dad used to go duck hunting there in the 60's. Once and a while he would take us out there with him. I can remember him telling us to go feed the ducks. Didn't find out until many years later, that the hunters were baiting the birds with the duck food that we put out there and it was very illegal.

[@maxhoho16]

@@kurkgarro2341 I’m gonna go there as a teen next weekend

[@Living796]

We used to sneak out there too! About 1969. Lots more houses then, with the wooden walkways going to the houses. One house had a piano in it! I also remember having to run from the train lol

[@ChrisLawton66]

"fewer than 5 residents"...so, there were 4 residents then? Or fewer? Don't tell me they couldn't be counted.

[@melodiefrances3898]

Rofl

[@JamesAllmond]

go get yourself a copy of the 1960 and 1970 census and get back to us on that...

[@lh7801]

@@JamesAllmond okay guy. Good one. You sure told him off

[@YinYangSeperation]

4 and a half

[@Emiliapocalypse]

You’d think they had enough time to get an accurate headcount

[@Junior_Rocky]

This is the only place in the Bay Area where you can buy a home under a million.

[@markplott4820]

a Shack in Mt View sold for over $1.5 million.

[@Junior_Rocky]

@@markplott4820 - I know, right?!!

[@emanuelcandelario815]

@@markplott4820 You should come to Antioch and it’s in the Bay Area and great homes go for 550k to 650k

[@Junior_Rocky]

@@emanuelcandelario815 - Still ridiculous. Especially when the median income is $78,500. Owning a home has been just a pipe dream for the average Californian for decades.

[@michaelmcgee2026]

@@Junior_Rocky that's why theres a pipeline of people leaving the state.

[@jillvasquez1010]

That line from Charlie about not being able to say exactly why he never left really resonated with me. I live in Alviso and I never get tired of walking out to the bird refuge or the marina even though I've been looking at the same waterways and marsh flats my entire life, it's just so peaceful listening to the wind move through the rushes and all the different bird calls.

[@stevenfranks3131]

Beautiful comment! It's a call you can't quite put into words any more than you can describe the wind....

[@jillvasquez1010]

@@stevenfranks3131 thank you. Yes, so hard to accurately describe, just seems to be something my blood.

[@melodiefrances3898]

I've never known anyone that lives in Alviso. It's so different from the rest of the bay area. I've only been there a couple times but was very intrigued.

[@jillvasquez1010]

@@melodiefrances3898 definitely different. Most of the families on the old side (yes, even though we are a tiny community we have old/new parts of town) have been here forever, close to 100 years or more. For a long time it seemed to be a lawless area just like in Drawbridge but since the majority of the community has been here for so long it's rather tight knit. If you're interested I believe there's a book available about Alviso, part of a series about images of America I think.

[@jennam2449]

I lived in Alviso for a short while. I miss walking around there, so peaceful and it feels really different from the rest of the bay area.

[@greggross8856]

Have seen the remains of that little towns many times from the Amtrak Coast Starlight, without ever knowing that it was once indeed a town.

[@LuckyBaldwin777]

Yeah me too. Always thought that was a strange place to build houses. Never thought about duck hunting.

[@greggross8856]

@@LuckyBaldwin777 I thought they were fish camps.

[@LuckyBaldwin777]

@@greggross8856 Yeah that makes sense. I didn't think of that either lol

[@denisemayosky1955]

I had heard something about this town by the time I rode through on the train. Fascinating stuff!

[@markplott4820]

Greg - my Parents used to go to Drawbridge for Gambeling and Hookers.

[@brendacrawford260]

I enjoyed learning about this little unknown town .

[@monoped8437]

it's well known to the locals.....

[@kristenmariposa6223]

me too.

[@bbblahoo7]

"bay areas last ghost town" *breathes heavily in google office development

[@stephaniejimenez1248]

lmaoo

[@KariIzumi1]

Lol, Google probably gonna move to Austin like the rest of Silicon Valley

[@leonmat26]

​@@KariIzumi1 On paper only. You really think they'll let go of their buildings?

[@TellyMcLean]

They are building more I’ll tel you that. I’m in one rn

[@neckarsulme]

and you can buy a run down shack in Draw Bridge for a mere 800K!

[@MrMrabaunza]

neckarsulme genuinely made me laugh.

[@PyroBandz]

Lol

[@KlunkerRider]

Thats still a hellova lot cheaper than a studio apt in San Francisco XD

[@mabybee]

That’s a steal. That might get you a reserved parking spot up the tracks in San Francisco.

[@MightyMezzo]

😹

[@tfhahs9619]

Even though the remains of this village aren't really accessible by foot, if you want to walk around the area, it is located at Alviso Marina County Park in San Jose, which has a bunch of trails that cut through the marshlands and the bay.

[@melodiefrances3898]

I was wondering if it was near Alviso, which is a trip in itself.

[@elwoodblues9613]

I tried going out there once. It looks like the only way to get there and stay dry is to walk across a slightly long and quite busy railroad bridge - and the closest easy pedestrian access is half a mile before the slough.

[@SlackActionBumble]

@@elwoodblues9613 I made it there once back in 2010 or so, I used a canoe. There's not really much there anymore but it's still very interesting. Definitely bring your mud boots though.

[@mrgarcia1303]

I used to live in alviso and yes its its accessible by foot we'd go by there often in trails for jogging purposes

[@RonaldGatti]

Thank you for posting this. I grew up in Fremont. When I was about 10, a friend of mine and his father took me to Draw Bridge. I’m 65 now. It was a great experience. It’s great to know it is still there.

[@duinay3]

sewage, sulfuric acid, and flooding - that's why people left

[@500ccRabbit]

People pay millions for that exact living situation in san Fran

[@SkuldXHimura]

& the ocean is expected to rise 27 feet, san jose is a valley under sea level......my geography professor who works for the usgs told me in 2040 suspect san jose to be estimated around 15 feet underwater. Recently i saw a report saying now it will be by 2035, 5 years sooner! So much for silicon valley it will fill up lile a cereal bowl. Most people wont move until they have these same problems as these people who left drawbridge.

[@michaelescobar9317]

@@SkuldXHimura but with Joe Biden now maybe we can slow down the effects of climate change, maybe even stop it altogether

[@nicelyroasted]

I, too, watched the video

[@valkilmer6379]

@@michaelescobar9317 lol

[@olddragguy]

I lived in Fremont, California in the 70,s I used to go to the salt flats at the south end of the San Fransisco Bay Area to hunt for old bottles that ended up there. I found lots of old beautiful bottles there.

[@olddragguy]

@@py1284 Hi I didn't go to hi school in Fremont I lived on Stevenson Ave. In the Irvington District. I worked part time at Me and Ed's Pizza as a bartender in the mall.

[@olddragguy]

@@py1284 When I moved to Fremont in 1970 the sign that shows the population as you entered town was 52,000 it was a great place to live back then.

[@ToxicFruitSnack]

@@py1284 i was so sad to hear when they closed that bowling alley down 🤦🏼

[@ryanwitwickifaddegon4291]

Never heard of this place before.

[@stevesjca]

Two corrections to this story: 1. Lye is Sodium Hydroxide. Adding it to water creates a strong alkali solution, not Sulphuric acid. I'm not saying it was ok to pollute, just correcting the chemistry. 2. This and other sources say the last resident (Charlie Luce?) left in 1979. I went to Drawbridge in 1975 and explored it completely. There was nobody there and none of the structures were habitable. They had already sunk several feet into the mud and most had little or no roofing left. So whenever it was that the last resident left had to be before then.

[@huangjinf]

That is fantastic reporting of our bay. Thanks for taking us through the history.

[@rwdplz1]

Source of the Milpitas smell

[@yittmashups]

I've walked the tracks into Drawbridge to take photos before. It was fun, but all I can say is if you decide to do the same, be extremely careful. I almost died.

[@daystar4909]

And how did you almost _d_i_e_?

[@elwoodblues9613]

I can't speak for YITT Mashups, but I can see people dying by being hit by a train because there's no place for them to get out of the way.

[@tm.2666]

what happened??

[@946towguy2]

There is no room to spare on either of the bridges and little room along the tracks if a train comes hauling through at 75mph.

[@daystar4909]

@@946towguy2 Now that is scary!

[@danielramsey1959]

My dad used to hike with me when I was very young around 1961 or so in that area.

[@michaelhinson424]

I was lucky to have visited Drawbridge in the early 2000s when the wildlife refuge gave tours. Unfortunately they not longer do so but it was really interesting. I remember when the train came by and whizzed right by us!

[@laurelsheart]

Ive been to Drawbridge. Walked the train trestle to get out there, had to time it. I remember a pretty nice old piano in one cabin. There was still stuff in some houses.

[@HughManatea]

Damn been away from the Bay Ten Years now (Raised in Hayward 93-2010). Never knew this place existed.

[@damienbunting873]

Same here lol

[@georgej.dorner3262]

Love this narrator's voice. What a smooth charming alternative to the usual nasal Brit or strident male Yank.

[@connormccullough2226]

It's an ai

[@georgeb.wolffsohn30]

Aaaah. Stop complainin' Limey. You Brits mangle the English language pretty well all on your own.

[@Heritage4ever]

I actually thought her vocal fry was a bit annoying. But I’m glad others appreciated it.

[@ToxicFruitSnack]

@@connormccullough2226 what?

[@h.y.2728]

Sad history. Fascinating

[@CaliforniaPette]

I live in Bay area for last 21 years and always wondered about these broken ghost houses whenever I pass by. Thanks google to recommend this video. I learned something new. And thanks to the makers of this video.

[@ClassicJukeboxBand]

Those shacks could be rented to people probably for $1,000 a month...

[@neckarsulme]

kinda low....maybe $1,800.00

[@sincerelys4736]

It's probably worth $2,300 now. 😋

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

If you remodel them with some builder-grade materials....

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

@Jerry Andersen - Yeah I know. But it was a joke to begin with. I grew up in SJ (and still live in the Los Gatos/ Santa Cruz Mountains area). Alviso still exists too. Fremont has grown a lot. My Godparents (and some friends) lived their in the 1990s/ 2000s. But they eventually moved to Tennessee.

[@leakytiki9518]

Maybe more -- I paid $2200 for a studio next to the freeway in Palo Alto in 2001

[@Juju.Kachoo]

I live in Fremont and had never heard of this until this video was in my recommended. Interesting history

[@1wirey]

Born in the early 60’s, I grew up in Newark and I knew Drawbridge was close by, but I never knew any details. It’s nice to get this history. Thanks.

[@etiennedegaulle3817]

You can still get there if you follow the train tracks from Alviso.

[@ratrodpunk87]

and from Fremont in the opposite direction.

[@yittmashups]

Yep, I've done it. I took a wild photo, too, of what appeared to be a figure up in the distance in all black. Could have been another person, but who the hell would be as crazy as me to take that walking trip, and why did they look completely black? Like I said, it's wild.

[@strangerzproductions1551]

@@yittmashups That's scary. I've been curious about checking this place out until I read this. You should publish your picture onto Google Earth!

[@japkkpaj]

can also ride trails out from Don Edwards

[@brimartinez9483]

I heard you can’t actually drive there cause the train tracks ofc... but how long did it take to walk?

[@rayaguirre2084]

What a great little story thank you.

[@SunShine-vo8kj]

I'm from the Bay Area...never heard of this place. Thanks for the video.

[@normanmerrill1241]

Great show...thanks...

[@rldn1]

I've been there!! Cool to see a video on it

[@strangerzproductions1551]

What was your experience like?

[@ktor538]

I used to ride my bike there back in the 80's!

[@ktor538]

@Jerry AndersenI also remember my uncle and his friends, used to hang out there fishing supposed to good area. Back in the 70's of course. Not sure what's like these days, I live out of state these days.

[@bruceanderson7762]

Eah, I used to ride a bike out there in the early 1970's😳

[@edholohan]

I used to ride my bike there in the 1880's!

[@mosescuh3644]

That was my usual route to school in the late 1920s

[@Lila4209]

Nice wonder how it feels for you to see the world change a lot

[@sacratomato7]

Great video! Thank you for making this available to us.

[@ToxicFruitSnack]

I remember being on the train that goes through this ghost town and always wondered what it was

[@danroberts007]

Very interesting story. I've lived here since the '70s and never heard of Drawbridge. It's not the last ghost town in the Bay Area, however. There's also Holy City, CA. Google it.

[@bluetickfreddy101]

Worked at FG Wool packing cannery off Senter rd in early 70’s as a teen. Great memories Cheers

[@kirin357]

Thank you for doing this.

[@Adrian-wi7bt]

Cool i always wondered what those little houses were

[@ToxicFruitSnack]

Same

[@shalenef.5143]

Great story about a piece of the Bay area that I didn't know about. Thank you.

[@erickl2635]

Thank you for the history lesson. Way cool🤙🏽

[@SteveH-TN]

Thanks for sharing

[@cpufreak101]

With the amount of people fleeing the bay area, there's soon to be more ghost towns

[@mikebtrfld1705]

Justin Noker you wish. Jealous.

[@cpufreak101]

Mike Buttfild literally if you look it up, the amount of people leaving the bay area is creating a U-haul truck shortage, with an actual statistic of 60% of people going out compared to 40% coming in. They're losing more people than they're gaining

[@mikebtrfld1705]

Justin Noker going back to the rat holes they crawled into. You going?

[@cpufreak101]

Mike Buttfild if by "rat hole" you mean a place that you can actually afford to live in and don't have overly liberal policies, then yes, I do plan on joining them.

[@mikebtrfld1705]

Justin Noker good, don't come back.

[@jamesisntmexican]

Who else is watching this video from Drawbridge in 2020

[@jillvasquez1010]

Watched this from Alviso in 2021

[@Last_one_before_I_go]

from San Jose Nov 2023

[@clarkl1209]

If you walk along the tracks you can still get out there. Be ready to dive out of the way of trains into a nasty swamp so don't wear nice shoes. Walking around the buildings is also very wet and swampy and you will sink if not careful.

[@Island_Line_Rail_Productions]

Trespassing on Railroad property

[@ZetaReticuli_]

That rail line that used to run to Santa Cruz is the old South Pacific Coast Railroad. Some remnants of the old track still exist, and are in use in Santa Cruz to this day. Mostly by train that takes you from Roaring Camp to The Boardwalk. There's still remnants of the old rail tunnels in the mountains between Felton and Los Gatos.

[@prokesuk]

First heard about this place on KFJC on Robert Emmet's Cool Secret Places segment of his show.

[@pyrotechnick420]

There are plenty of ghost towns still around in the Bay Area. Holy City next to Lexington Hills in Santa Clara county, Purissima in San Mateo County, and I would argue that China Camp in Marin County also qualifies as a ghost town. There's also Port Chicago in Contra Costa county

[@kittymarch4203]

i remember going there last year with my friend after school to take pictures

[@tylerm.9408]

Great story Jessica! Cool info

[@saraportz3557]

I hike out to this place all the time!! It’s crazy to see what it used to look like in its prime!

[@hoggravyandchitlins]

I remember in the 70s a few of the buildings could still conceivably be occupied. When did they take out the old drawbridge and put in the current bridge?

[@ozalez2045]

Wow thank you so much for making this video I have years of passing draw bridge never knowing the history

[@viscom2789]

0 dislikes. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine why someone would seek out and then dislike a video like this.

[@Marco-717]

Let's change that

[@_LAND_OF_THE_FREE_]

Man I always wondered about this ! I have Lived in Sonoma County my hole life I heard about the abandoned city but never looked into it!

[@jenniferfurtado4469]

There used to be millions of duck actually.

[@Rawshella]

Really interesting!

[@mikemarley2389]

Morton and Leslie Salt were there I believe.Near Decoto ,Dumbarton Bridge.San Mateo bridge was a good place for sturgeon fishing.Turk Island was one landfill for Fremont and then Russell City and Hayward.Growing up in that area there were millions of redwinged blackbirds before all of the houses. Cornfields and crops everywhere.Fruit trees in abundance.Little farms on 2 acre plots.A paradise after ww2 and before.Jobs aplenty if one wanted work.

[@craigbrowning9448]

Nice to hear this place is still standing l, because I heard this in place have been demolished.

[@tessahopemorgan2786]

I thought this had to be Wingo. Another ghost town, in Sonoma County. Similarly in the marshes.

[@gregjewers8291]

Hiked there and almost got arrested by state fish and game...

[@jpeg.600x2]

rlly?

[@trainsimulatordriver]

I had a chance to see this place once thanks to some railway work I was involved in.

[@preciousmoreno]

I have been here, it was really hard to get to but it was worth it. It really looks like a scene out of a scary movie.

[@toddwilliams5905]

I went there 40 years ago. It was a great night time visit. Spooky

[@ChipsChallenge95]

5 people used to live here.....now it’s a ghost town

[@bitemyshinnymetalass1569]

What about the sheep man legend I have been hearing about. Was that real or was it made up to scare kids from going to visit the ghost town

[@goodi2shooz]

I got to see this for the first time just last month when I was riding the train

[@vanishingpoint5248]

Cool video, thanks. A much younger friend went there a while ago, but I understand it’s hard to get to and one risks arrest if they are caught there.

[@jonmacdonald5345]

The Duck hunters use to trade Their kills for services at the Local Brothel there! it was 2 Ducks for a Fuck!

[@Sokx41]

I commented on a previous video about same subject more than ten years ago. I visited this so-called ghost town in 1968 as a field study project for a cultural geography course I was taking at Cal State Hayward. I may still have the report, then of course written on an electric typewriter.

[@wmtrader]

Search for "California's Gold with Huell Howser- Drawbridge" and or "Drawbridge: The Forsaken City" to watch better videos about the town of Drawbridge California.

[@hazeltate6614]

Nice piece of property

[@BriManeely]

Hey there, any chance we can get some music credits? That would be swell!

[@stairs021]

I've always heard about it, but never knew exactly where it was at.

[@non8944]

What about skaggs island in vallejo

[@johngreen7726]

Taking the Amtrak from Fremont to Levi's stadium it's an awesome site.

[@Wasssup360]

I need to add this to my research now too

[@mattmayo3539]

My grandfather used to own the land adjacent to Great America in the South Bay. One day he and my uncles were duck hunting on the property. The police showed up because park guest were alarmed by the sound of gun fire just a short distance away.

[@edp2260]

We used to hike out there in the 1970s. I was a interesting place. I had a feeling that there was some residence still there.

[@RosettaStoned462]

How have I lived my entire life in Bay Area and never heard of this place??!!!

[@nancy-katharynmcgraw2669]

Wonderful-looking barn wood on the houses. Used by artists, sign makers, "country" sayings, etc.

[@autotoyexchangegarage7053]

Those patient birds... it only took 100 years for them to get their home back.

[@functionoflightone]

Poor duckies, I'm glad they got their land back.

[@threwthelookingglass7194]

the movie.. spirted away

[@Cyndogg085]

I always wondered why there was random buildings in that area...

[@deandupont5503]

So Drawbridge was popular during Duck season. My question is, how popular was it during Wabbit season?

[@crispychiknhead]

Can you do a background story of Tubbs Island in the north bay?

[@Hogger280]

Lye and sulfuric acid are opposites - lye is a base with a very high PH and sulfuric acid a strong acid with a very low PH.

[@numberpirate]

Lye water is not sulfuric acid. Lye water is basic which is the opposite of acid. So since it was related to the canneries I would say that it was sodium hydroxide..

[@500ccRabbit]

Ok nerd

[@Heyitdave]

good little excerpt

[@MrGTO-ze7vb]

I went duck hunting and salmon fishing out there back in the 1980's. We took a row boat from East Palo Alto or Alviso. The Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek spills into that area. With the heavy rains last winter I expect salmon runs are above normal...???

[@aussieausdeutschland4245]

Kinda reminds me of Cribb Island which is now part of the Brisbane Airport

[@krumplethemal8831]

Is this near Hetro Staights or Ohmo Gae?

[@ericcarlson3746]

beautiful birds!

[@gabe3770]

Lived here in Fremont my entire life and no one knows about this place at all. A few mates and I explored it back in high school pretty fucking sick

[@Tobaman111]

I don’t know why with all the aerials and map shots you can’t situate the location better. Just zoom out.

[@lotto5742]

If I was filthy rich, I would buy this town and create a whole new city.

[@frankblangeard8865]

With ideas like that it is unlikely that you will ever be filthy rich. And if you win the lottery the money will quickly be gone.

[@Tdfcjc808]

It’s sinking so that would be a horrible investment lol

[@lotto5742]

@@Tdfcjc808 Maybe they can put all the homeless there.

[@TommyRibs]

It’s all wetlands.

[@WhuDhat]

Who'd want to live in a tent underneath an overpass when you have prime real estate like this, just an Amtrak ride away. prefab construction included with that ticket lol. I know where I'm goin when the going gets tough

[@Toekneepowers]

Thanks for the pictures of John 🤪

[@MeMeDaVinci]

Places like this all over the country... A group of people find some location interesting bunch more people come and live for a while and then all of a sudden things happen and then the town goes downhill everybody leaves and it becomes a ghost town.