When gold was discovered in California in 1849, Dr. William Knight rediscovered a place which he and
John C. Fremont had previously found to be a favorable river crossing, and established a
ferry boat there. Soon, the ferry boat prospered and Knight and Captain James Vantine built a hotel and trading post near the crossing. On November 9, 1849, Knight was killed in a gunfight and was buried in an unmarked grave. Knight's family believed he was stabbed to death in his bed and was buried near the gate in the yard of John Dent's house, which was Dr. Knight's place at the time. John Dent and his brother Lewis immediately took possession of Bill Knight's property at Knight's Ferry following the murder. After Knight's death, Vantine operated the ferry alone until he formed another collaboration with John and Lewis Dent, whose sister
Julia married future U.S. President
Ulysses S. Grant. In 1852, Vantine sold his properties in the area to the Dents and moved elsewhere. A new townsite under the name of "
Dentville" was laid out by John Dent. The inhabitants continued to call the town "Knights Ferry" and "
Knights Crossing". In 1852 a toll bridge replaced the ferry, but it was destroyed by the
Great Flood of 1862. The new covered bridge was built at a higher level than the previous one, and it still stands today. This bridge was used for car traffic until it was closed in 1985 to prevent damage. In addition to being the longest covered bridge west of the
Mississippi River, the bridge is one of the nation's finest examples of a
Howe truss covered bridge. It was designated a
National Historic Landmark in 2012. Knights Ferry became the county seat in 1862, replacing
La Grange. It was soon succeeded by the new, prosperous railroad
boomtown of
Modesto, in 1871. ==Tourism==