Fort Steuben Bridge photograph   Save
Ohio Department of Industrial and Economic Development
Description: This image shows the Fort Steuben Bridge near Steubenville, Ohio. The bridge was demolished on February 12, 2012. The demolition of the bridge was not a universally accepted idea. Bicyclists and trail enthusiasts began a campaign back in 2007 to save the bridge in order for it to be the Ohio River crossing for a bike trail that will ultimately run from Washington, D.C. to Indianapolis. The bike trail concept ran into opposition because the Ohio portal access is to Ohio 7, a divided expressway. In 1786, the United States government built Fort Steuben within the area known as the Seven Ranges, in what is now southeastern Ohio. The federal government had arranged for a survey of this area in order to prepare for the settlement of the Northwest Territory. Fort Steuben served two purposes: troops stationed at the fort were supposed to keep illegal settlers from moving into Ohio, and the surveyors of the Seven Ranges used the fort as a base of operations. The fort, which was destroyed in a fire in 1790, did not deter people from moving into the Seven Ranges. After the fort was abandoned, these settlers established a town, which became known as Steubenville. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06508
Subjects: Bridges--Ohio River; Bicycles; Steubenville (Ohio); Forts & fortifications; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood;
Places: Steubenville (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)