This post certainly belongs to one of the unique roadside attractions in Ohio. The oldest concrete street in America is located in Court Avenue in Bellefontaine, Ohio, and was built in 1891 using Portland Cement.
The person responsible for concreting it — George Bartholomew. He perfected and patented a new process for making concrete that withstood the wear and tear of horses and carriages, and later automobile, yet it was relatively cheap to produce.
Bartholomew utilized a small laboratory in the rear of his childhood friend George Kalteyer’s drug store at 124 South Main Street where he developed his formula for durable paving concrete.
Bartholomew founded the Buckeye Portland Cement Co. in 1887 at Marl City south of Rushsylvania because of the native marl pits in the area. Marl is a mixture of clay, sand, limestone, and shells.
Portland cement was produced through his patented wet process of pulverizing and blending the marl to extract the limestone. The resulting product was then burned into a clinker at a continuous high temperature in German kilns and then ground into a fine dust using round flint stones imported from Iceland.
In 1891, Bartholomew convinced the City of Bellefontaine to allow him to pave an 8-feet wide section along Main Street across the Court House with the promise that it would hold up to horse and buggy traffic. The city approved when Bartholomew agreed to post $5,000 bond for any repairs that might be needed within the streets first 5 years.
Bartholomew’s concrete pavement worked so well that in 1893 the city contracted to have the streets surrounding the Courthouse Square paved with concrete. Bartholomew donated the concrete for the paving. Today, on Court Avenue remains.
The pavement of Court Avenue was laid out in 5-foot squares about 6-inches think and without any reinforcement. The pavement was built in 2 layers and aggregate was clean unwashed gravel separated into course sand and pebbles ranging from 1/4 inch to 2 inches in diameter.
The bottom course had 18 sacks of cement mixed with 104 cu.ft. of aggregate and water making a mixture of 1:2:4 and was placed on a 2-inches rolled stone base, tamped until it was 4 inches thick. Then a 2 inches 1:2 mortar top was spread on the base and tamped.
Initially, the concrete could withstand 5,400 lb/sq.in and originally cost $2.15/sq.yd. It was later found to have large amounts of air entrained within the concrete which made it more durable.
Bartholomew was awarded first place for engineering technology at the International Exposition of 1893 in Chicago for his paving materials. The first concrete street was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1976.
Here’s a video clip
Address
101-163 E Court Ave, Bellefontaine, OH 43311
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