The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1365997
A-6 Wednesday, April 28, 2021 The Press-Dispatch JUNE 12 Petersburg Elementary School Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and will be available at the German American or Home Building banks May 17 – June 7. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Jack Rostas, MD, FSSO and Micahel Boyd, MD, FACS Daviess Community Hospital has skilled, board-certified surgeons on staff who specialize in many procedures, including the only surgical oncology trained surgeon within 50 miles of Washington. You'll be treated like family in our state-of-the-art facility. There is no need to travel long distances for a surgical procedure. High-quality care is closer than you think at Daviess Community Hospital. NEW PATIENTS WELCOME 300 NE 14th Street | Washington, IN | dchosp.org/surgery Offering a wider varity of surgical services including but not limited to: Colonoscopy | Breast Cancer Surgery | Endocscopy Gastrointestinal Surgery | Hemorrhoid | Hernia Repair Skin and Lymphatics | Thyroid and Parathryoid Removal and more! Call 812-254-8856 today! Jack Rostas, MD, FSSO and Micahel Boyd, MD, FACS Daviess Community Hospital has skilled, board-certified surgeons on staff who specialize in many procedures, including the only surgical oncology trained surgeon within 50 miles of Washington. You'll be treated like family in our state-of-the-art facility. There is no need to travel long distances for a surgical procedure. High-quality care is closer than you think at Daviess Community Hospital. NEW PATIENTS WELCOME 300 NE 14th Street | Washington, IN | dchosp.org/surgery Offering a wider varity of surgical services including but not limited to: Colonoscopy | Breast Cancer Surgery | Endocscopy Gastrointestinal Surgery | Hemorrhoid | Hernia Repair Skin and Lymphatics | Thyroid and Parathryoid Removal and more! Call 812-254-8856 today! The following is a reprint of a story on the history of the "Old Iron Bridge" that was original- ly published in the 2015 Back- yard Adventures section. By Ed Cahill When construction of a bowstring truss bridge across the Patoka River on the Sul- phur Springs and Augusta Road began in late 1875, Lieu- tenant Colonel George Custer and 300 men of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment were six months away from their fa- mous encounter with 5,000 Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapa- ho led by Sitting Bull and Cra- zy Horse at Little Big Horn. Almost 140 years later, the Pike County Commission is planning to relocate the bridge – officially designated Bridge 150, but which is known lo- cally as the "Iron Bridge" – to the current site of the Char- ger Bridge near the intersec- tion of Hwy. 57 and Hwy. 56 (across from McDonald's) in Petersburg after being award- ed almost $1.8 million in Fed- eral Highway Administration (FHWA) Bridge funds. "It's an old iron bridge that the county wanted to replace with a new bridge and they wanted to tear that down," then Petersburg Mayor Frank Coleman told members of the city's Board of Public Works and Safety in February. "Well, they found out it's an histor- ical bridge and they cannot tear that bridge down." Coleman said that county officials had contacted him to get his thoughts on their plans to disassemble the Iron Bridge, refurbish it and relo- cate it at the current site of the Charger Bridge. "They could not get fund- ing to restore the Charger Bridge," Coleman said. "They tried that before, trying to get grants. So the Charger Bridge will be torn down, and this historical bridge ... will be brought and put in its place after they restore it." Coleman said that the Iron Bridge, when relocated, would only be used for pedestrian and bicycle traffic. "And the neat thing is it ties right into our fitness trail," Coleman said. "I think they just wanted the city to bless that effort and be in support of it. We don't have a lot of say in it since the county's over the bridges. But they want to pre- serve it and they want us to be okay with it." "I like the idea," council member John Melhiser said. "It'll give the city a little more historical value." The Iron Bridge was built by the Smith Bridge Compa- ny of Toledo, Ohio, with Wil- liam T. Washer, of Troy, Ind., as the on-site contractor for the substructure and bridge construction. According to a report is- sued by historic bridge ex- pert James L. Cooper in Sep- tember 2013, the Iron Bridge is the only surviving example of the Smith Bridge Compa- ny's "Open Arch" Bridge de- sign in Indiana, and possibly in the United States as well. Cooper's report also notes that Washer was consid- ered a "celebrated contractor and bridge-builder" across southwestern Indiana and in north-central and northwest Kentucky in the last quarter of the 19th century. "He has been best remem- bered in covered bridge cir- cles," Cooper wrote. "But even the dean of Hoosier covered bridge history, George Gould, reported that 'little is known about William T. Washer, ex- cept for the covered bridges he built in southwestern In- diana.'" According to the website historicbridges.org, the Iron Bridge is "extremely signif- icant," not only for possibly being the last surviving exam- ple of a bowstring truss bridge built by the Smith Bridge Company, but for its "distinc- tive details," which distin- guish it from other bowstring truss bridges built by other companies. "The most noteworthy de- tail of this bowstring is its unusual top chord, which is composed of back-to-back angles with corrugation run- ning between them," the web- site states. "A similar detail is found on the beams under the deck that support the outrig- gers." "Because of the unusual composition of the top chord, unique cast iron connection assemblies were used to form the top chord connections," the website continues. "These castings are located between the channels and are rivet- ed to the channels. These as- semblies have holes that al- low the vertical and diagonal members to make a connec- tion with the top chord via the threaded rod and nut method. Threaded rod and nut connec- tions were common during this period." The remainder of the bow- string truss bridge, the web- site notes, is more traditional. "Cast iron connection as- semblies are located along the bottom chord, and the bottom chord is composed Iron Bridge built same year Custer fell at Little Big Horn The "Old Iron Bridge," also known as County Bridge 150, as it stood for 145 years spanning the Patoka River on CR 650 E. since 1875. Continued on page 8