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Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1891

First concrete street in the United States

George Bartholomew paved a test strip of Main Street beside the Logan County Courthouse with Portland-cement concrete in 1891; Court Avenue, paved in 1893, still has its original concrete and is called the first concrete street in the United States.

At a glance

Year
1891
By
George Wells Bartholomew Jr.
Place
Bellefontaine, Logan County ZIP 43311 · Bellefontaine · Logan County

The story

In the 1800s streets were dirt, brick or cobblestone, and all of them were hard to keep up. George Bartholomew developed a way to pave with Portland cement concrete.

In 1891, with the city council's permission, he paved a small test strip of Main Street on the west side of the Logan County Courthouse in Bellefontaine. It held up, and in 1893 the council let him pave the streets around the courthouse, including Court Avenue along the south side.

Main Street has since been covered with asphalt, but Court Avenue has kept its original concrete for more than a century. A historical marker was placed in 1968, on the 75th anniversary of the paving. For the centennial in 1991 the city made the street a pedestrian zone and put up a statue of Bartholomew at the western end; the street later reopened, and the statue leaves only the eastbound lane usable.

Bellefontaine also has Campbell Hill, Ohio's highest point at 1,240 feet, inside the city limits.

Timeline

  • 1891: George Bartholomew paves a test strip of Main Street next to the Logan County Courthouse. (Bellefontaine, OH) source
  • 1893: Court Avenue and the other streets around the courthouse are paved with concrete. (Bellefontaine, OH) source
  • 1968: A historical marker is placed on the 75th anniversary of the paving. (Bellefontaine, OH) source
  • 1991: For the centennial the city makes Court Avenue a pedestrian zone and adds a statue of Bartholomew; the street later reopens to eastbound traffic. (Bellefontaine, OH) source

What it changed

  • Court Avenue's original concrete has lasted more than a century.
  • A 1968 historical marker and a 1991 statue of Bartholomew stand on the street.

Why it matters

Beginning of concrete paving in America.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.