Sentimental Sunday: The Old Gates to Medusa in Bay Bridge

These gates (click on image above for a larger view) used to be the place where vehicles from Russell Trucking carried out loads and loads of Medusa Portland Cement. Tired men, covered in dust, would walk through these gates at the end of the work day to go home for supper, or down to the local bar for a cold beer. On occasion these gates to the old Medusa Cement Company, in the unincorporated area of Erie County known as Bay Bridge, are still open. The gates provide access for railroad employees to reach the tracks for repair, and they are also used by law enforcement officials on occasion.

You can still read the address on the mailbox:

Medusa Cement Co.
109 Sandusky Ave.
Sandusky, O.

















The gates are not exactly welcoming to vistors!

















A marker down the road from the gates of the former Medusa Cement Company recalls the history of the beginning of this operation, which was the first factory for Medusa. Click here to see a picture of some of the "twenty-five year men" from Medusa in the 1950's.

Medusa Cement Used in "Cemetery Work"

Adjacent to Sandusky Bay, in the small unincorporated area of Erie County known as Bay Bridge, are the old silos from the Medusa Portland Cement Company. (Click on above image for an enlarged view.) Spencer B. Newberry, along with his brothers Arthur St. John and William Newberry, organized the Sandusky Portland Cement Company at Bay Bridge, Ohio in 1892 due to the rich deposits of marl and clay in this area. The discovery of these raw ingredients necessary for the manufacturing portland cement were discovered by John Strong Newberry during his geological survey of Ohio. Later, the Sandusky Portland Cement Company became known as the Medusa Portland Cement Company.

The historical marker pictured below was placed near the site of the former Medusa Cement Company in 2005 by the Erie County Historical Society. The Bay Bridge plant closed about 1960.

















In a 1912 issue of Water and Sewer Works, available at Google Books, the Sandusky Portland Cement Company advertised that Medusa cement was used in the construction of a mausoleum in Tiffin. Librarians from the Tiffin Seneca Public Library helped me find the location of this mausoleum, which is found at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Tiffin, Ohio, on Coe Road.



















An advertisement in volume 52 of Architectural Record, also available at Google Books, tells us that the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington Cemetery was executed in marble that was set in mortar made from Medusa stainless white cement.



















The former Medusa Cement Company in Bay Bridge provided jobs for hundreds of residents of Erie County, and was used in many the construction of many area roads, including the Ohio Turnpike. A brief entry from volume 6 of Concrete-Cement Age, edited by Allen Brett and Harvey Whipple, describes some of the uses for Medusa Cement in this description of an informational booklet available from the Sandusky Portland Cement Company in 1915.

Medusa White Portland Cement—Sandusky Portland Cement Co., Sandusky, Ohio, paper, 9" x 7", 32 pp., illust. This booklet describes in minute detail the use of Medusa White Portland cement for building ornamentation, concrete building block, interior decoration, cemetery work, parks and grounds, tile, mosaic, statuary, etc. The method of using this cement for stucco work is also thoroughly described, and illustrations given of typical buildings wherein this cement has been used. Testimonial letters are also given from many users of Medusa cement.

Joseph and Julia Orshoski

Joseph Orshoski was first married to Julia Herzog. Together they had six sons. Julia died in 1919. As was told in an earlier blog entry, the family legend was that after his first wife died, Joseph said to his family back in Hungary, "Send me a new wife, one named Julia." And, in keeping with his wishes, a new wife was found. Julianna Szomolya came to the United States on September 30, 1921. She and Joseph were married, and had two daughters. Joseph and Julianna were married for over fifty years, and left a host of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.



Joseph Orshoski and his second wife Julianna Szomolya are buried in the Castalia Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio. They raised their family in the small unincorporated village of Bay Bridge, Ohio, situated on the northern coast of the Sandusky Bay, which leads into Lake Erie. Julianna, known as Grandma Orshoski, was known for her wonderful cooking. Some of her favorite dishes were chicken paprikash and Hungarian nut rolls.

The Medusa Portland Cement Company provided many jobs for men in Bay Bridge and the surrounding area from the late 1890’s until about 1960.



The article above was in the Sandusky Register in December 1971 when Joseph and Julia Orshoski celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversay with a family party at the Log Cabin Inn, in Bay View, Ohio.