Who Was George Bartholomew?

As the previous post mentioned George Bartholomew and his concrete, I needed to learn more about him. I'd never heard of him.

Thank you good old Wiki.

George is credited with inventing concrete. In 1886 (already knowing about concrete),he moved to Bellefontaine, Ohio which is located near a good source of key ingredients clay and limestone. He founded the Buckeye Portland Cement Company.

In 1891, the city ok'd a paving test on the streets around the Logan County Courthouse. It was a success and then the paving of Court Avenue approved. (The original concrete around the courthouse has since been covered with asphalt after water main problems.)

The actual laying of the concrete was done by county engineer James Wonder.

Mr. Bartholomew was honored for his invention at the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition. Court Avenue was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. A statue and marker to George Bartholomew is located along the street.

Thanks, George. --RoadDog

About Time Someone Fixed Those Potholes

With winter upon us, that means the return of those glorious tire-wrecking, neck-shaking potholes. And, around here, we also have a salt shortage because of GRB manipulations and huge cost increases. As such, side streets and roads are essentially sheets of ice.

Nut, this was good news last summer in regards to the nation's oldest concrete street in Bellafontaine, Ohio. It is getting its potholes fixed. Court Avenue is a major thoroughfare and a way to get downtown, where merchants would rather see it used than preserved.

ODOT gave $215,000 to repair and restore it. When completed, almost 60% will be the exact way that inventor George Bartholomew first tested it here in 1891.

Thanks to Mobilene of American Road Forum for alerting to this one.

That is a Hole of Another Color. --RoadDog