Our Past Is Present January 12, 2018

January 12, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            Today’s story is about the first concrete bridge in Geary County.  H.H. Ziegler recalled that the first concrete  bridge ever erected in Geary County in 1909 spanned Humboldt Creek on a township road west of the Chris Zumbrunn farm.  The firm of Ziegler and Dalton had built the bridge over the protests of many people who said the contractors had gone “concrete crazy.”  Little was known at the time about mixing concrete.  Gravel was taken from the creek and sand was secured on the military reservation near the present site on Marshall Field.  Instead of using pilings, two big concrete slabs were poured for the piers to rest on and then the whole bottom of the creek was given a concrete slab beneath the bridge to prevent washing. 

            Since its construction, floods had covered the bridge frequently and big trees came downstream and hit the bridge with tremendous force.  However it had stood for twenty years at that time and apparently was in as good a condition in 1929 as on the day it was finished.

            And… speaking of bridges and floods here is another reminder that our Museum is hosting a special Smithsonian display titled “Water Ways”.  It will be at our Museum at the corner of Sixth and Adams Streets , January 5 through February 18. Our Museum is one of only seven sites in Kansas where this display can be seen.  Please stop by and see the impact water has on our play, our celebrations, our work and where we live.  Learn where our community’s water comes from, what the future holds for water and what you can do for water in Junction City.