Video: Ohio River bridge demolition

If you’ve ever wanted to see an Ohio River bridge demolition (or any bridge demolition at all), here’s your opportunity. I missed the demolition of my hometown’s Putnam Street Bridge in 2000, a bridge that also spanned the Ohio River, because I was out of town. When I saw this video pop up on Laughing Squid today, I couldn’t help but share. The Fort Steuben Bridge has been out of use since 2009. Built in 1928, the bridge connected Steubenville, Ohio to Weirton, West Virginia. On Tuesday, the bridge required 153 pounds of explosives for its destruction. The video above was released by the Ohio Department of Transportation. It’s not a quiet video (it’s probably best to watch this muted), but it is an exciting one.

Kentucky wins fight with Ohio over Indian Head Rock

We’ve talked about people stealing archaeological artifacts before here on Gadling, but the theft of an eight-ton rock has got to be some sort of record, especially considering that it was underwater.

A boulder called Indian Head Rock used to poke out of the Ohio River near the Kentucky side and was a popular place to visit. Boatmen in the nineteenth century used it as a guidepost, and locals would swim out to it to carve their names on it have their picture taken. This woman posed for a photo circa 1903.

Indian Head Rock gets its name from a mysterious face on it that some people believe is an ancient petroglyph carved by a prehistoric Native American.

The rock became submerged in the 1920s when the river was dammed, but low rainfall made it visible again in 2005. In 2007 a group of Ohioans pulled the rock out and brought it to Ohio, claiming that it was in danger and should be conserved.

This brought an angry response from Kentucky, with even the legislature getting in on the act and demanding its return. The Ohio legislature shot back a resolution claiming it was a part of Ohio history. The guys who took the rock faced a variety of charges ranging from antiquities theft to dredging without a license. Some of those charges have been dropped, but the rock hunters are still entangled in legal battles and are likely to face some sort of punishment for their actions.

Kentucky sued to get the rock back and it has now been returned. Sadly, it hasn’t been returned to its original location since archaeologists say the site has been “compromised”.

Scratch off yet another historic spot from the landscape.

[Photo of Indian Head Rock courtesy Billy Massie via Wikimedia Commons. Historic photo courtesy user Stepshep via Wikimedia Commons]

Riverboat gambling along the Ohio, Missouri and Mississippi

Martha’s post on gambling hot spots made me think of gambling boats that head away from shore to give passengers time to make or lose money. It seems a bit romantic–rolling the dice while rolling on the river.

Several states allow travelers to indulge in trying out Lady Luck, and each state’s riverboat cruise experience varies due to the state’s laws. You might be on a historic style boat that evokes images of days gone by–Mark Twain comes to mind, or be docked on a flat barge that doesn’t go anywhere. From what I’ve heard, this is a fairly inexpensive way to have a boat ride if you don’t gamble. I have relatives who’ve headed to Lawrenceburg, Indiana to partake in Argosy’s flavor. Since they aren’t the biggest gamblers, they enjoyed the food, but thought the several hours that Indiana’s law requires gambling boats to be out on the river a trifle long.

The Web site Riverboat Casinos lists the riverboat casinos, state by state, and provides helpful info about each. Argosy is the casino in Indiana where you are more likely to win. Too bad my relatives didn’t know this.