Court Avenue
Encyclopedia
Court Avenue is a small street in downtown Bellefontaine
Bellefontaine, Ohio
Bellefontaine is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2000 census. It is the center of the Bellefontaine Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau in 2003...

, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, located adjacent to the Logan County Courthouse
Logan County Courthouse (Ohio)
The Logan County Courthouse is a historic Second Empire building located on the southeastern corner of Main Street and Columbus Avenue in downtown Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States. Built in 1870 at a cost of $105,398.08, the courthouse was constructed primarily of locally-mined sandstone, and it...

. Constructed in 1891, it is known for being the first street in the United States to be paved with concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

.

Early history

Court Avenue, like Bellefontaine's other streets, was originally a dirt road
Dirt road
Dirt road is a common term for an unpaved road made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable for vehicles; a narrower path for pedestrians, animals, and possibly small vehicles would be called a...

 that could easily become dusty or muddy in bad weather. In 1886, concrete pioneer George Bartholomew
George Bartholomew
George Bartholomew was an American inventor who is credited with the invention of concrete pavement. In 1886, Bartholomew moved to Bellefontaine, Ohio, after having learned about cement production. Bartholomew found a good source of limestone and clay in the area; from this, he hoped to create an...

 moved to Logan County, where he found high-quality raw materials used for concrete production. By 1891, he had hopes of using concrete for street pavement, so he gained the Bellefontaine city council's permission to pave a few square feet of the nearby Main Street as a test patch. Although some feared that concrete pavement would quickly be damaged or destroyed, the pavement endured, and in 1893, the council permitted the pavement of all the streets surrounding the courthouse, including Court Avenue. While Bartholomew provided the materials, the actual process of laying the concrete was led by James Wonders, the county engineer. The council was not initially enthusiastic about the proposal, nevertheless; having found no previous examples of such paving methods, it required Bartholomew to donate the cement and to pay a $5,000 bond
Surety bond
A surety bond is a promise to pay one party a certain amount if a second party fails to meet some obligation, such as fulfilling the terms of a contract...

 to ensure that the pavement would last for five years. These fears also led authorities to have the concrete covered in sawdust
Sawdust
Sawdust is a by-product of cutting lumber with a saw, composed of fine particles of wood. It can present a hazard in manufacturing industries, especially in terms of its flammability....

 in cold weather.

Intermediate history

Although Bartholomew paved all four streets surrounding the courthouse, Main and Opera Streets and Columbus Avenue have since been paved over with asphalt
Asphalt concrete
Asphalt concrete is a composite material commonly used in construction projects such as road surfaces, airports and parking lots. It consists of asphalt and mineral aggregate mixed together, then laid down in layers and compacted...

 due to damage from a broken water main
Water supply network
A water supply system or water supply network is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components which provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes:# A drainage basin ;...

 in the 1950s. Consequently, Court Avenue has become a center of historical interest and preservation efforts as the only remaining example of Bartholomew's original pavement. Various anniversaries have seen celebrations and reconstructions, including the placement of a large concrete memorial on the courthouse grounds on the 50th anniversary, rededication on the 70th anniversary, and recognition with a historical marker on the 75th anniversary. Bartholomew's concrete was strong enough to see little damage for its first several decades, requiring the expense of only $1,400 for maintenance in its first fifty years, although it required reconstruction in the 1960s. On February 25, 1974, the street was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Recent history

In recent years, Court Avenue has been the center of various historic preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

 efforts. The street was the focus of a centenary celebration in 1991: a monument of Bartholomew was placed at the western end of the street, both to honor the pioneer and to close the street to motor vehicles, and the street was turned into a pedestrian mall. However, few people (except for skateboaders
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

) used the street, and its impact on the downtown traffic flow led to its reopening several years later. The monument to Bartholomew remains, but has been moved to ensure that only the eastbound lane is usable. Today, the Logan County Historical Society and others hope to see the street restored to its car-free state, although downtown businesses and many other local residents want it to stay open for traffic.

Composition and structure

The pavement as originally laid was composed of two levels of concrete made in a method similar to that used to pave sidewalk
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...

s. Aside from Bartholomew's cement, made from clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

 and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

, the concrete included aggregate
Construction Aggregate
Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...

 of no larger than ½ and 1½ inches (top and bottom layers respectively), with water-cement ratios of 0.45 and 0.60 (top and bottom), laid on a 4 inches (101.6 mm)-deep base. Mixed by hand, the concrete has an air mixture of about 8% and a total strength of about 34.5 megapascals, or slightly over 5,000 psi
Pounds per square inch
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...

. The total cost of paving the street was approximately $9,000, aside from the bond. Restorations performed on the pavement since the original construction have proven less resilient; most patches in poor condition are those that have been restored, with Bartholomew's remaining segments withstanding damage more satisfactorily.
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