WASHINGTON, July 7 /CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM/ — Following is the daily “Profile America” feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 7: FIRST CONCRETE ROAD
Profile America — Wednesday, July 7th. The residents of Bellfontaine, Ohio, had a lot to talk about this week in 1891 — an eight-foot wide section of Main Street, where horses were hitched, had just been paved with concrete by engineer George Bartholomew, who supplied his own materials. This was the first use of concrete as a road surface in North America. This experimental section not only proved to be sturdy, it still exists. Now, it is a historical site, including a statue of Bartholomew. When the road in Bellfontaine was paved, America moved by horse and buggy, and just about every road in the nation was unpaved. Now, there are just over four million miles of roads cris-crossing the country, including nearly 47,000 miles of interstate highway. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Sources: Kane’s Famous First Facts, 6622
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t. 1053
Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for “Multimedia Gallery” by the “Newsroom” button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
