Category Archives: Ohio

In Bellefontaine, Ohio, an archway beside the courthouse proclaims Court Avenue as the oldest concrete street in America. Below this declaration stands a statue honoring George Bartholomew, the visionary who first proposed paving the street with concrete in 1891.

Bartholomew, undeterred by skepticism, convinced the Bellefontaine City Council to allow a small test patch of concrete paving on nearby Main Street. Despite concerns about durability, the experimental section proved successful. This paved the way for the 1893 council approval to pave the streets surrounding the courthouse, including Court Avenue.

Initially, the council was hesitant, having no precedent for such a project. They demanded that Bartholomew provide the cement and post a $5,000 bond to guarantee the pavement’s longevity for five years. Such caution also led to the unusual practice of covering the concrete with sawdust during cold weather.

Bartholomew’s innovation prevailed. The surrounding roads, though initially paved with concrete, were later resurfaced with asphalt after a water main break caused significant damage in the 1950s. However, Court Avenue, a testament to Bartholomew’s vision, remains paved in concrete, proudly holding its title as the oldest concrete street in America.

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Deep in the Wayne National Forest in southeastern Ohio, between the towns of New Straitsviille and Shawnee, the ground stays warm all year long, including the middle of winter. This is the result of a coal fire that burns underground which has been burning for more than a century. The fire started in 1884 during the Hocking Valley Coal Strike. The miners were striking because their wages had been reduced from seventy cents per ton to sixty cents. After the company brought in migrant workers, unknown strikers set coal cars on fire and pushed them into the mine, igniting the underground coal seam.

The mine owners tried to extinguish the fire by plugging the entrances and holes, hoping to starve it of oxygen. Their attempt was unsuccessful, and the fire continued to rage underground. At times, flames would shoot one hundred feet into the air from fissures in the ground. The well water used by citizens of New Straitsville came out of the wells steaming hot. The underground fire became a curiosity, and people came from miles around to see the strange sights. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not broadcast a radio report on the “unbelievable” fire. Soon after, locals began charging twenty-five cents for people to see the strange events unfolding underground.

After years of burning, the fire started taking its toll on the town of New Straitsville. Besides workers losing their jobs after the mine closed, the gasses from the fire started seeping into homes, schools and businesses. The coal underground turned to ash and foundations of structures began sinking into the unstable earth. Starting in the 1930s, the federal government began purchasing the land and incorporating it into the Wayne National Forest. Reclamation efforts have been ongoing to reclaim the land for recreational use, but the fire is still smoldering underground. A historical marker and interpretive site to educate visitors has been erected at the Rock Run Reclamation Site along Ohio State Route 93.

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