POLAND — A small group of members from the Poland Historical Society were joined by residents and Mayor Tim Sicafuse on Friday to witness the dedication of a national historic marker at the Riverside Cemetery Bridge.

The marker is one of two national markers the village of Poland will have this year as a second has been approved for historic Main Street.

According to information provided by Poland Historical Society member Dave Smith, the bridge (long known as the white bridge because it was originally painted white) was built in 1877. It was an unusual design patented in 1872 by Dr. William Rezner of Cleveland, who also operated the Ohio Bridge Co. of Cleveland. The Poland bridge was fabricated by the Wrought Iron Bridge Co. of North Canton.

“This bridge became the main route through town the following year when the Main Street bridge collapsed,” Smith said. “Apparently a group of men attempted to move a large building across the Main Street Bridge when the bridge twisted, and two men fell into the creek and died.”

The bridge continued to serve the Poland community until the early 1980s when it was closed to traffic. The bridge was also the remaining survivor of the patented design in the entire country. In 1983, it was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Smith said he thought of the bridge when he was searching computer websites and came across the William C. Pomeroy Foundation. The mission of the foundation was preserving historic national sites like the White Bridge.

Smith worked with Poland officials, including Sicafuse and Rebecca Rogers from the Poland Village Architectural Review Board, who assisted in filling out the grant application for the marker. The bridge marker was approved and the grant covered its cost.

“I am thankful to our Poland Street Department for installing it,” Smith said. “The marker is one of about 1,300 across the country, and we will be getting a second one for historic Main Street. We are among a select group throughout the nation to enjoy one of these markers.”

Unlike the Ohio historical markers that are around the village and at the historical Little Red Schoolhouse in Poland Township, the bridge marker is for national acknowledgement.

Following the short ceremony on Friday, Rogers, who is also an architectural preservationist, was able to show some of the finer points of the design, including rivets, which she said the Ohio Department Of Transportation has ceased using on bridges. She said today’s bridges are all bolted together, but the Riverside Cemetery Bridge still has its original rivets in place.

“What really is special about this bridge is the fact it was hand made specifically for this spot,” Rogers said. “In fact, even the stone supports are the originals from when it was built. It is a real survivor.”