On November 27, 1932, the Bixby Creek Bridge opened on the Big Sur coast of California. It was the longest concrete arch span in California and the highest single-span arch bridge in the world at the time of its completion. The Bixby Creek is named for New York businessman Charles Henry Bixby, who first came to the area in 1852. He received a land patent for 160 acres south of the Bixby Creek (known then as Mill Creek) and established a successful sawmill. Bixby also discovered lime deposits that he collected and sold for use in cement and other building materials. Bixby requested a road be built to the creek, but the county refused. So he had the first wagon road built between the Carmel Mission and Bixby Creek. Bixby eventually sold his property to a lime company and the area hosted a resort and ranch in the years to come.