Needles was founded in May 1883 during the construction of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which originally crossed the Colorado River at Eastbridge, Arizona three miles southeast of modern Needles. Its name was taken from the Needles, a group of pointed mountain peaks at the south end of the valley, visible only by boat from the Colorado River. However, the crossing was a poor site for a bridge, lacking firm banks and a solid bottom. A bridge was actually built, but it was of poor quality. Not only was it a "flimsy looking structure", but it was also an obstacle to navigation on the river. The flooding of the Colorado River destroyed the bridge three times – in 1884, 1886 and 1888. The railway finally built Red Rock Bridge, a high cantilever bridge, at a narrower point with solid rock footings ten miles downstream near today's Topock. The bridge was completed in May 1890, and the old bridge was dismantled.