Brevet Brigadier General Charles Henry Howard and James W. Wilson of the Howard-Wilson Publishing Company of Chicago acquired rights to sell land from California Senator Frederick K. Cox and businessman Crawford W. Clarke in 1895.

The Howard-Wilson Company advertised Fair Oaks as an innovative and growing citrus colony after destructive freezes in Southern California and Florida and a national depression hitting in 1893.

Three hundred permanent settlers resided in Fair Oaks by 1897 and bought land in 5, 10, and 20-acre (8.1 ha) tracts at an average of $30 per acre.

Promises of a bridge being built over the American River to better transport the new colony's fruit to the booming markets in Sacramento and beyond further sustained this hope.

The following year, however, investment began to diminish and the Howard-Wilson Company withdrew from the colony and with it went unfulfilled promises of a bridge over the American River and railroad service from Sacramento.

Businessmen in Chicago and Sacramento who had an investment (land or fruit) in the newborn colony and Orangevale formed the Chicago-Fair Oaks Club in 1899.

Local businessmen, including Valentine S. McClatchy (the co-owner of the Sacramento Bee), incorporated the Fair Oaks Development Company in 1900.

The Fair Oaks Bridge was closed to traffic in 1967 and became the property of the Sacramento County Parks and Recreation Department after serving more than fifty years as the major crossing over the lower American River.

The Sacramento County Surveyor hoped to minimize the number of piers in this dangerous current that necessitated very long main spans.

The trusses form vertical sides to the bridge, connected to one another by traverse beams, and by stingers and other members which support the deck.

While not meant to be an exhaustive list, see the following sources for more on the history of Fair Oaks, including the bridge: Late 19th through early 20th centuries 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s