Shawnee Bridge

Shawnee Bridge. . During Piqua's early settlement period, the only way to cross the Great Miami River was by fording at the low water point just south of the big bend in the river (at current Shawnee Bridge location). To solve this problem, a group of local citizens formed the Piqua Bridge Company in 1820 to build Piqua's first permanent bridge at the site of the river ford. Under the leadership of Charles Hilliard, sycamore tree stumps were used as pilings to support the new bridge. By today's standards the bridge was a little rickety, but it was able to sustain the fairly heavy traffic generated by the Piqua to Urbana Road. However, the bridge was fragile enough that the bridge trustees published a notice asking that users not gallop their horses over the bridge. Traffic diminished in 1822 when the Piqua to Urbana Road was rerouted to the river ford at Ash Street. By this time, the route was already well established and so the bridge remained. It was improved in 1832 with new stone embankments to strengthen it against the periodic flood waters. The re-built bridge survived the 1835 flood but was washed away in the 1847 flood. The need for a bridge to connect Piqua and the new Village of Huntersville was so compelling that a new bridge opened at the site within a year., Flood waters were a constant threat to the fragile wooden bridges of the pre-Civil War period. To strengthen the bridge, the 1847 structure added walls and a roof. The abutments of stone were enlarged to give them a greater strength against future raging waters. The “covered bridges” were the state-of-the-art constructs of their time. The walls provided a stabilizing function for the trusses while the roof protected the decking from the deteriorating effects of the weather. But with the testing of water soaked wood and the need for constant care of the coverings, progressive nineteenth century communities began constructing iron truss bridges., During 1886, the old covered bridge was demolished and replaced with an iron truss bridge erected by the Columbia Bridge Company of Dayton, Ohio. Despite being slightly higher than the old covered bridge, the new bridge lost its two truss spans in the flood of March 23, 1898. It was replaced that same year with an iron truss bridge with a large long span. Fifteen years later, the Great Flood of 1913 hit the Miami Valley and destroyed large portions of the 1898 iron bridge. For a time nothing was done to replace it. The community seemed poised to give up on this site after so many washouts., But a citizens committee was organized to promote the rebuilding of what had become known as the Shawnee Bridge, (the village east of the river had been annexed by Piqua and the area nicknamed Shawnee). Businessman, inventor and Piqua Mayor George W. Lorimer chaired the committee and successfully lobbied the city and county to fund a new bridge. The new connection between East Main in Shawnee and South Main in Piqua became the community's first rebar reinforced concrete bridge. At the formal dedication of the structure on June 25, 1915, it was named the Lorimer Bridge to honor the mayor's dedication in making the bridge a reality., The Lorimer/Shawnee Bridge has its place in folklore. According to local stories, in 1917 magician and escape artist Henry Houdini was placed in a locked and chained box and pushed off the bridge into the Great Miami River. The local tales say that while Houdini escaped, his trunk got stuck in the mud at the bottom of the shallow river. Another, story reveals the daredevil nature of future World War II flying ace Don Gentile. Told that no one could fly a plane under the Shawnee Bridge, a young Gentile promptly took his Aerosport bi-plane and in the late 1930's successfully flew under the middle span of the bridge. Gentile would be the first and only aviator to try that particular stunt. The Lorimer-Shawnee Bridge lasted longer than any other span at this location, a total of over ninety years. It was demolished in 2005 and a totally new decorative concrete structure replaced it. The new Shawnee Bridge was formaly dedicated on September 01, 2006., Timeline , 1700's Native American trails used the ford at the river , 1820 Piqua Bridge Company , 1832 New Bridge built , 1847 Bridge washed away in flood , 1847 First covered bridge at site , 1866 Flood damaged bridge , 1886 Iron truss bridge built , 1898 Flood damaged bridge , 1913 Flood destroyed bridge , 1915 Lorimer Bridge dedicated , 2006 Shawnee Bridge dedicated