PIPE CREEK BRIDGE 1887-2020
TEXT – The previous bridge which carried Columbus Avenue over Pipe Creek was a two-span, filled, spandrel, segmental stone arch. Sandusky firm J. Py & Crackstetter was the lowest bidder at 29 cents per cubic foot of stone. Erie County awarded the construction contract on March 28, 1887. The total cost to build the bridge was $7,199.19.
In 1886 the Ohio legislature authorized the creation of the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Home (now the Ohio Veterans Home) for veterans of the Civil War. A commission appointed by Governor J.B. Foraker and chaired by I.F. Mack of Sandusky chose the present site in Perkins Township one mile south of Sandusky, to be the location of the home. Construction began in 1887 and the first veterans were admitted for residence in November 1888.
The Pipe Creek Bridge was one of a series of projects to improve the roadway connections from Sandusky to the Ohio Soldiers and Sailors Home. In addition to the bridge, Erie County also awarded contracts to widen and macadamize Columbus Avenue and Milan Road from Perkins Avenue to the Home, as well as construct a stone arch bridge on Milan Road over Pipe Creek (demolished in 1970).
Stone arches have been constructed since pre-Roman times and were preferred where strength and longevity were important. While wrought iron truss bridges were becoming common, this bridge’s short span – 40 feet – and exceptional width – 99 feet – made trusses impractical. Steel bridges were still in their infancy, concrete would not be widely used until the early 20th century, and Erie County possessed many sources of good quality stone. The Pipe Creek Bridge thus represented the use of proven materials to build a durable bridge with practices that had been known for millennia. An 1894 stone arch bridge on Tiffin Avenue over Mills Creek in Sandusky and still in use represents similar construction principles.

The Sandusky Register ran an article about the construction of this bridge: “The current two-arch masonry bridge just doesn’t let enough water through. It’s not big enough,” he said. “This can aggravate flooding upstream of the bridge, such as (what) the county experienced in June 2006.” This structure was built in 1887. For perspective, at the time, there were just 38 U.S. states. READ MORE

This pretty cool stone monument was installed when the County replaced the bridge over Pipe Creek. They used the old cap stone and other stone from the bridge to make the monument and then added the signage to tell the story.

Read about another Pipe Creek Bridge at Oakland Cemetery on the Library Blog.