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Constructed in 1873, the Bigelow Bridge spans approximately 100 feet across Little Darby Creek. Reuben Partridge built the superstructure at a cost of $12.50 per linear foot ($1,500). Bercupile & Snell built the masonry foundation at a cost of $7.00 per perch (a perch is approximately 25 cubic feet). Partridge built bridges throughout Union County and the surrounding area from 1866 until his death in 1900. The covered bridge is named for Eliphas Bigelow, an early resident of Union County, who built the nearby Bigelow House on the south side of Post Road (SR 161) in 1846. Union County Engineer employees rehabilitated the bridge from 1989 to 1991 by installing a new support system. The Partridge trusses currently carry only the weight of the original bridge. The rehabilitation project received the 1992 Engineered Timber Bridge Award from the National Forest Products Association.
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Around 1867, along the shale cliffs of the lakeshore of Sheffield Lake, Jay Terrell found fossils of a “terrible fish” later named in his honor as Dinichthys Terrelli. This animal, now known as Dunkleosteus terrelli, was a massive arthrodire (an extinct, joint-necked, armor-plated fish) that lived in the Devonian sea, which covered much of eastern North America some 354-364 million years ago. Dunkleosteus was armed with an incredible set of shearing jaws and was clearly the top marine predator in the Devonian Period (the “Age of Fishes”).
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Culbertson Covered Bridge was built in 1872-1873 by Reuben L. Partridge at a cost of $1,375, using his “Partridge Block” truss design. This bridge was originally constructed across Treacle’s Creek on State Route 4, south of Milford Center. In 1921, the bridge was replaced, but the wooden superstructure was saved for reuse for a new bridge on Winget Road. The bridge was put into place in 1922 on abutments built by Reed & Snyder. In 1988, Union County employees rehabilitated the bridge by installing wood girders inside the wood trusses and suspended the floor from the girders. The Partridge trusses currently carry only the weight of the original bridge. The steel piers under the bridge are not original.
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Construction of this Great Stone Viaduct began in 1870 at Union Street as an Ohio approach to the railroad bridge spanning the Ohio River. It was completed to Rose Hill in April 1871, and the entire bridge span connecting Ohio to West Virginia, of which the Viaduct is a part, was opened to rail traffic on June 21, 1871. Jointly constructed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Central Ohio Railroad, its sandstone piers rise in varying heights 10 to 20 feet above the streets, from which are placed 43 stone arches supported by 37 ring stones (18 on each side of a keystone) intended to symbolize a united Union consisting of 37 states. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, this Ohio River crossing became known as the “Great Shortline to the West.”
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Stone Arch at Howard, Ohio. The arch at Howard, built in 1874, is a bridge for U.S. Route 36 over the old Cleveland, Mt. Vernon, and Delaware Railroad bed, a part of the Kokosing Gap Trail. Samuel Israel, Sr. (1810-1889) sold the right to quarry nearby stone for the arch to Robert S. McKay (1813-1885) and his son William (1845-1892). R.S. McKay & Son employed local stone masons, shown here, to build the arch according to the contract with the railroad. (Continued on other side)
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The Teegarden-Centennial Covered Bridge, constructed primarily of white oak is of Multiple King Post design spanning 67 feet. It was built nearly 100 years after the birth of the nation. Located on Eagleton Road, just off Teegarden Road, it is still at its original location, spanning the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek in Eagleton’s Glen Park. It remained in use until 1992 when it was bypassed by a new concrete structure. The official contract for the construction of the bridge was awarded to Jeremiah C. Mountz in June of 1875. The stonework for the abutments was awarded to David Reese and painting of the original structure to George W. Akin in 1876. Members of Highland Christian Church came here to be baptized by immersion. There were over 250 covered bridges in Columbiana County, including at least 16 railroad covered bridges. The Teegarden-Centennial Covered Bridge is one of only five still remaining.
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Labeled “Union Square” on the first village maps, block 12 of the City of Bellaire was formed by joining portions of the Harris and Rodefer Farms in 1857. Used for tent shows, circuses, political meetings, and playing baseball, the land during the Civil War was used as a canteen for feeding Union recruits from nearby Camp Jefferson. Stonemasons cut sandstone blocks here that make up “Great Stone Viaduct” railroad bridge. A steam derrick and stable for horses that helped to move the sandstone to the bridge’s construction site were also placed temporarily on this land. In 1882, a monument was erected to honor Civil War veterans as “Union Square” became a city park. Former President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech here to the citizens of Bellaire in 1912.
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East Toledo, early home of Ottawa Indians and originally part of Oregon Township, was annexed to the city in 1853. Peter Navarre, fur trader and War of 1812 scout, was a well-known pioneer resident. A post office named Utah was established in 1851 and located on Front Street near Oak Street, then the commercial center of the East Side.