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| OH-66, St Marys, OH 45885, USA (Saint Marys, Ohio)
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Bloody Bridge
Bloody Bridge is located on the old Miami-Erie canal between St. Marys and Spencerville Ohio on Route 66. It got its name from the bloodstain that was left after a murder took place on the bridge. Local legend says that the blood would not even come out of the wood when it rained (only after the murder, not today). It was closed down for years and was finally re-built and re-opened in the 1990s
In 1854, the bridge was the scene of a double murder. Bill Jones and Jack Billings were canal boat workers and had both fallen in love with Minnie Waren. Minnie, the daughter of a canal boat captain, fell in love with Jack, while Bill fell in love with her. Since he couldn't have her, he killed both of them with an axe. Years later, a skeleton and an axe head were found in the bottom of a well. I have heard two versions of this story. The first, Bill killed both of them, and second, Minnie fell from the bridge and drowned after watching Bill chop off Jack's head with one swing of an axe.
People say that the bridge is haunted. It's said that sometimes when you look off the bridge into the water, you can see Minnie Warren's face looking back. Another story says that Minnie can be seen at night walking around the bridge. Or you can sometimes see a headless man on the bridge.
In 1976, the Auglaize County Historical Society put a memorial stone up next to the bridge that reads:
"During the canal years of the 1850s a rivalry grew between Bill Jones and Jack Billings for the love of Minnie Warren. There became hatred by Bill because Minnie chose Jack. On a fall night in 1854, returning from a party, Minnie and Jack were surprised on the bridge by Bill, armed with an axe. With one swing, Bill severed Jack's head. Seeing this, Minnie screamed and fell into a watery grave. Bill disappeared, and when a skeleton was found years later in a nearby well, people asked was it suicide or justice." |
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The Ghosts Of Ohio
An article on the famed "Bloody Bridge" on route 66 near Spencerville, Ohio from the Ghosts Of Ohio. |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| There are no other pages on this site associated with this location. |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Follow Blue Blazes: Guide To Hiking Ohio'S Buckeye Trail (Ohio Bicentennial) |
A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era, 1825-1913 |
North Country Cache: Adventures on a National Scenic Trail |
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