A rail and wagon trestle bridge built by the Vaca Valley Railroad across Putah Creek into Yolo County in 1875 helped bring about the birth of Winters. It was financed with help from prospective businessmen and landowners, including Theodore Winters and D.P. Edwards, and that same year the growth of Buckeye, the area's first town, came to an end as many residents moved to Winters, sometimes hauling their homes by horse for two miles. In 1906, the Southern Pacific Railroad replaced the 1875 wood trestle with a steel Pratt truss railroad bridge. On April 1, 1908, a celebration dedicated both the bridge and the new Yolo-Solano Concrete Bridge for automobiles, attended by 3000 people, and the Chamber of Commerce published a special illustrated brochure for the occasion. In 1977, Southern Pacific donated the bridge and a 60 foot right-of-way on either side of Putah Creek to the City of Winters for use by visitors on foot and bicycle, a gift encouraged by Southern Pacific Vice President and Chief Counsel Allen C. Furth, whose family had business and farming interests in Winters. Along with the gift, Southern Pacific sold a land parcel to the city for construction of the Winters Community Center in 1980. In 2006, the City of Winters rehabilitated the formerly dilapidated railroad bridge for safe transit and viewing of Putah Creek by strollers and cyclists, and the renovated bridge was dedicated to the memory of Winters native Robert Chapman, who served the city for 21 years, including 14 years as mayor.