Page 19 - A Flood of Memories
P. 19
TODAY
Piqua:
Shawnee Bridge
Far Left: The force of the ood made a mockery of steel bridges, twisting
pieces and piling them up like Pick-up Sticks. Rugs and various household items were trapped in the wreckage that was the Shawnee Bridge.
Left: After the ood, the Shawnee Bridge was rebuilt, reopening in 1915. The bridge also was known as the Lorimer Bridge after former mayor, G. W. Lorimer. Following the ood, Lorimer led a successful campaign to construct a concrete bridge instead of another steel truss bridge.
The 1915 bridge was dedicated, in part, to the 44 men, women and children who lost their lives in the ood. That bridge served the Piqua community for 90 years before being replaced. The new bridge opened in 2006. Commemorative plaques at both ends of the bridge list the names of those who died in the 1913 ood.
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