Historic Bridge - Dave's Midwestern Ohio Memories

Series of Guest Blogs by an out-of-state Fish Report reader originally from this area about fond memories of growing up in Midwestern Ohio during the 50’s & 60’s

Historic Bridge

The New Bremen Historical Society recently posted an article about the so called “Morrison Bridge”, a 160 year old span that provides pedestrian access across the Miami-Erie canal in New Breman. In 1864, it was located at Blackhoof Street over the Auglaize River in Wapakoneta.The bridge represents an early example of the work of David H. Morrison, founder of the Columbia Bridge Works of Dayton, Ohio, and one of the most important bridge engineers and manufacturers in 19th century Ohio. The span is considered among the oldest such cast iron bridges in the United States and is commemorated in the Library of Congress.

My cousin Joan sent the article to me as her brother Joe (pictured left) had been instrumental in relocating and restoring the bridge. Joe grew up along the canal in Minster, moving to New Bremen after getting married in 1975. He coincidently attended a New Bremen Village Council meeting in 1984 where a presentation by Auglaize County Bridge Engineer Dan Bennett caught his attention. The historic bridge was no longer fit for vehicular use and Bennett was presenting to all the local governments in the county hoping the historic span could be relocated and restored as a pedestrian bridge. Cousin Joe took interest and didn't want the bridge to be destroyed, so he purchased it for $650, two times the scrap value at the time.

Joe teamed up with other civic-minded New Bremen residents to form the New Breman Bridge Committee, working with the County, village officials and the local Lions Club to identify the preferred site along the canal. They settled on a spot adjacent to historic Lock One, the highest elevation lock along the canal route. The County had already disassembled the old bridge and agreed to transport the components to New Bremen. The Committee then went to work preparing the site including temporarily draining the canal, pouring the concrete abutments, sand blasting the 1000+ parts, while also narrowing the bridge from 17’ to 8’ to accommodate pedestrian and bike traffic.

Several of the vertical cast iron supports had been replaced with steel plates over the years, so the Committee found a local foundry to cast new iron supports using original supports as a pattern. The actual out-of-pocket cost to purchase and restore the bridge was $3,500, which was funded by donations from the New Bremen residences and businesses. Local contractors graciously volunteered their time and equipment to help assemble the bridge.

When it was finished, several ancestors of David Morrison, the original bridge builder, attended the dedication. The following plaque commemorating the historical significance of the bridge is mounted on a stone pedestal at the foot of the bridge.

Fast forward to 2007, cousin Joe surprisingly noticed the color of the bridge was red compared to the original black. He was shocked and immediately appealed to the Village Council, who had it quickly repainted to the original black according to this article entitled “Red Faced over Bridge in Bremen", while also putting in place provisions to keep it that color forever.

Sadly in 2015, Joe Eilerman passed away at age 64. His obituary, which references his work on the historic bridge restoration, can be accessed at this link. Below is his holy card; RIP cousin Joe.

Joe inspired another of our cousins, Duane Gaier, Sidney Parks & Rec Director, to successfully pursue a grant to move and restore another Auglaise County Morrison bridge pictured above for use as a pedestrial bridge across the canal feeder in Tawawa Park. That work will be completed in 2025 and cost the City $44,000 as described in this News Flash on Sidney’s website. Looks like Duane could use ole Joe’s help restoring this baby!

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