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Historic Corduroy Road Found in Bucyrus
01-07-2012
In 2009, during the excavations to install new storm sewers along State Route 4 in downtown Bucyrus, a segment of a historic corduroy road was discovered. The corduroy road logs were remnants of the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike that began in 1829 after a Congressional Act provided 31,596 acres of public land for the turnpike. Construction of the turnpike coincided with the improving economic development of Bucyrus and northwest Ohio.A safer, more efficient road was needed for farmers and merchants to transport their goods. A trip from Bucyrus to Sandusky would take a settler from ten days to two weeks to travel the muddy, often swampy road. Although quite bumpy to travel, a corduroy road was considered to be a great improvement when compared to the problems that a wagon mired in mud would present.
Corduroy roads were normally constructed by placing rows of logs across the width of the road. These were called the tread logs and were often laid across stringer logs which were positioned parallel to the direction of the road. The corduroy road logs discovered in Bucyrus were located near the Sandusky River bridge. Approximately 150 feet of the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike was unearthed. The logs were uncovered at varying depths with most of the logs being discovered between seven to nine feet below current road grade.
The Crawford Park District, along with the Bucyrus Preservation Society, the Bucyrus Historical Society and the Bucyrus Public Library has planned an informative program on the Bucyrus corduroy road discovery.The program will be held in Community Room of the Bucyrus Public Library on Tuesday, January 10th at 6PM. The speaker will be
Thomas Grooms who currently works at the Ohio Historic Preservation Office as the Archaeology Transportation Reviews Manager. Mr. Grooms assisted ODOT archeologists in the recordation of the buried corduroy road in Bucyrus. All interested citizens are encouraged to attend. Any questions can be directed to the Crawford Park District at 419-683-9000.
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