Marker Name: Conde B. McCullough - Oregon’s Master Bridge Builder
Marker Text: Conde B. McCullough arrived in Oregon in 1916 to teach engineering at Oregon Agricultural College (today’s Oregon State University). He was among a new breed of college educated engineers, and a pioneer in the movement to create a well-planned American highway system. In 1919 McCullough became Oregon’s State Bridge Engineer, and began to boldly lead the state’s bridge program. McCullough believed that bridges should be built efficiently, economically, and aesthetically. McCullough’s bridges were characterized by the elegant reinforced concrete arches married with Gothic, Tudor, and Art Deco details. During his 16-year tenure, McCullough was responsible for the design of hundreds of bridges statewide, and today many of McCullough’s structures remain as Oregon treasures.
A rickety wooden structure crossed Rocky Creek before McCullough’s 360-foot-long reinforced concrete bridge spanned the chasm.
The Rocky Creek (Ben Jones) Bridge constructed by the H.E. Doering Company of Portland, Oregon, was built at a cost of about $45,000. Tradesmen constructed the bridge on site. The forms were used to support the concrete until it was set.
Dedicated to the memory of Ben Jones, the Rocky Creek Bridge was greeted with great enthusiasm during opening ceremonies September 17, 1927.
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