My sister has been doing some research on the family. Our great grandfather was John Cole and he and his Son and Brother Ben and Lew started a construction company and did much building. Lew withdrew from the firm but over the years the family built many bridges and buildings
She writes
Due to the Memorial Union's 85th Birthday celebration Monday night; I have been researching Ben Cole. Holy Crap his company built a lot of cool things!! Some I knew about. I also found photos on web-sites without labels as to who the lovely ladies are. Do any of you know?
Due to the Memorial Union's 85th Birthday celebration Monday night; I have been researching Ben Cole. Holy Crap his company built a lot of cool things!! Some I knew about. I also found photos on web-sites without labels as to who the lovely ladies are. Do any of you know?
Many of the photos are from the Ames Historical Society (Linked on the right) but since I gave them the collection of family pictures so that everyone could enjoy them I am certain that I still have some "rights" to use them
Ben Cole & Son
of Ames, Iowa
View Exhibit map
BNSF Railroad Bridge (Lucas County, Iowa)
Built 1937
Arch bridge over BNSF Railroad on 200th Avenue
Open to traffic
Built 1937
Arch bridge over BNSF Railroad on 200th Avenue
Open to traffic
CNW Grand Avenue Overpass #2 (Story County, Iowa)Built 1937
Lost pony plate girder bridge over Grand Avenue
Removed
Herrold Bridge (Polk County, Iowa)Built 1921
Concrete deck girder bridge over Beaver Creek
Closed to all traffic
Main Street Overpass (Story County, Iowa)Built 1938
Steel stringer bridge over Grand Ave. (US69) on Main Street
Open to traffic
Skunk River Bridge (Story County, Iowa)Movers, 1876
Warren through truss bridge over Skunk River on a vacated road in Ames
Abandoned
UP Grand Avenue Overpass (Story County, Iowa)Built 1938
Steel stringer bridge over Grand Avenue on Union Pacific Railroad
Herrold bridge
| County: | Polk |  |
| Alternate Name: | ||
| Constructed: | 1921 | |
| Bridge Type: | concrete cantilevered deck girder | |
| Physical Status: | replaced; still stands | |
| Length: | feet | |
| Width: | feet | |
| Spans: | 
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| |
| FHWA: | 282190 | |
| Jurisdiction: | Iowa Army National Guard | |
| Address: NW 88th Avenue over Beaver Creek, .6 miles north of Herrold, Section 22, T80N-R25W, on Camp Dodge | ||
| Description: Built in 1921, the Herrold Bridge spans Beaver Creek near the abandoned town of Herrold on the Iowa Army National Guard installation in west-central Polk County. This outstanding early structure is comprised of three arched concrete deck girder spans, cantilevered from concrete abutments and piers. County engineer M.D. Blue surveyed the site late in 1920 for a new bridge that would replace an earlier timber pile structure here. That year engineers for the Iowa State Highway Commission's Bridge Department designed the new concrete structure, as well as a 150-foot steel through truss--the two configurations to be bid as alternates. As drawn up by ISHC, the deck girder alternate was comprised of a 64-foot central span, flanked on both sides by 42-foot girders; the bridge would consume some 607 cubic yards of concrete and 52,000 pounds of reinforcing steel. Polk County solicited competitive bids for the two bridges early the following year, using ISHC's designs and specifications. On March 29, 1921, the county awarded a contract to Ben Cole of Ames, Iowa, to build the concrete girder bridge for $24,550. Cole began work on the substructural excavation soon thereafter, completing the new Herrold Bridge later that year. It has functioned in place since, in essentially unaltered condition. The choice to use a rather esoteric structural type at this crossing was for the Highway Commission a logical extension of its design policies. ISHC had first developed the design for simply supported concrete girder bridges--designated Standard Series H--among its first standardized bridge plans in 1914. Three years later the ISHC designed its first cantilevered deck girder for a three-span structure over the Boyer River at Woodbine. The Woodbine Bridge was followed by a handful of other cantilevered girders in the 1910s and 1920s, including spans at Goldfield in Wright County, and this one at Herrold in Polk County. In its 1917 annual report, ISHC deemed the cantilevered deck girder design "particularly well adapted for use on deep drainage ditches and streams subject to widening." A cantilevered span could carry more weight over a greater distance than a shorter, simply-supported girder. Moreover, the arched profile of ISHC's cantilevered girders was considered more architecturally accomplished than the straight spandrel of simply supported girders. The Beaver Creek structure allowed the ISHC the opportunity to demonstrate the superiority and flexibility of concrete for bridge construction. With a 68-foot center span and a total length of 156 feet, the Herrold Bridge is an excellent example of this type of construction. It is one of the most technologically significant of the state's numerous concrete girder bridges [adapted from Crow-Dolby and Fraser 1993]. | ||
Burlington Railroad Overpass
| County: | Lucas |  |
| Alternate Name: | ||
| Constructed: | 1937 | |
| Bridge Type: | riveted 3-hinge deck arch | |
| Physical Status: | remains in use | |
| Length: | 322 feet | |
| Width: | 30 feet | |
| Spans: | 6 | 
Click to view larger image
|
| FHWA: | 226430 | |
| Jurisdiction: | Lucas County | |
| Address: Co. Road S23 over Burlington Northern Railroad, Chariton Vicinity, 4.3 miles northwest of Chariton, Section 14/15, T72N-R22W (White Breast Township) | ||
| Description: In the 1930s the Iowa State Highway Commission designed a handful of steel arch structures to function as grade separations in various locations in the state. One of these structures was this overpass over the Burlington Northern Railroad in central Lucas County. For this crossing the commission in 1936 drew up a single-span, three-hinge arch supported by concrete arch pedestals. The highway commission designated the project WPGS-620 and let a contract for its construction to Ben Cole and Son of Ames, Iowa. The overpass was completed and accepted by the highway commission in June 1937. It has since carried traffic in essentially unaltered condition. Until recently the last two steel arch overpasses in the state were located in Lucas and Clinton counties. The Clinton County arch has been replaced, leaving the Lucas County structure as the last remaining example of this bridge design trend. It is thus significant as a rare example of ISHC aesthetics and a unique structural type in the state [adapted from Fraser 1992]. | ||
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In 1865, Ohio resident William Cole got western fever and came to Iowa on the railroad which was being built across the state that year. One of many who moved west after the end of the Civil War, he bought 390 acres on the bluff west of the Skunk River. When he and his sons arrived with the family’s goods, depot conditions in Ames were very primitive. Their possessions were unloaded onto a wagon and it immediately became stuck in one of early Ames' famous bogs! With the aid of a logging chain, the wagon was pulled to firmer ground. The family’s farm included the area where Homewood golf course and Carr's Pool are now located, as well as some acreage on the east side of the Skunk River.
John, one of William’s sons, was 19 when he arrived in Ames in 1866, and had spent three years in the army during the Civil War. He was a husky lad who had not been able to attend much school, but was naturally bright. John bought land in the area of 13th and Burnett and continued farming. Eventually, he turned to brick making and owned a plant at 13th & Burnett and one northeast of town on his father’s farm. He later became a well-regarded general contractor, a business he pursued for 35 years.
Two of John’s four sons, Lew and Ben, and then later Ben and his son Herman, continued in the building business. Ben passed away in 1939. John Cole's home at 13th & Burnett was occupied by family members from 1866 to 1967, when the last of John’s daughters died. The house was sold to the First Assembly of God and was demolished to make way for a church.
The jog in 13th Street at Burnett was caused when John planted a row of trees along the road. When the city wanted to straighten and pave the street, John refused to let them cut down the trees to do it!
In addition to Ben, there were three other boys. William continued to farm on land south of town. Clarence Dig graduated from the Veterinary Department of Iowa State and was in charge of the Agricultural Experiment Station on the bank of the Skunk River, east of town. It was the forerunner of the National Animal Disease Laboratories. Lew and Dig were members of Ames High's first football team.
The girls were Elizabeth, Jess, Nell, Catherine (Kate) and Avis. Elizabeth, Jess, and Kate homesteaded in South Dakota and then returned home to Ames. Avis taught first grade in Old Central (east of Clark between 5th and 6th) and Roosevelt School for about 40 years. Nell was a school teacher at the Ray School and Catherine was with the Iowa State Extension Service for many years. The girls were all active in social clubs of the day. Catherine and Jess were members of a merry social club called the Bachelor Maids which started when they were in high school and continued until all were quite advanced in years.
There are fourth, fifth, and sixth generations of the Cole family still living in Ames.
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This downtown Ames construction photo shows John Cole (in vest) and a work crew.
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the Cole steam-powered trenching machine
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another view of the Cole trencher and crew
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1917 bridge building project by Ben Cole & Co.
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Cement mixer working next to a riverbank
Living quarters on site
click to enlarge
(John, Lew, Ben, or Herman)
Ames Savings and Loan Building
Bridges Logan, Lincoln Highway (largest viaduct in Iowa) Mahaska County, Highway No. 2 (longest bridge in Iowa on state highways) City of Ames City Hall (formerly Ames High School) Filtration Plant & Reservoir Implement Shed Lincoln School addition Louise Crawford School (1930) Underpass on Grand Avenue (1938) Water Softening Building & Plant College Savings Bank Cranford Apartments Duitch (Max) Garage Fair Store (1895) Fareway Grocery at 417 Kellogg (1938) Iowa State College buildings Armory Chemistry Fraternities & Sororities Adelante Alpha Sigma Phi Beta Theta Pi Delta Delta Delta Delta Sigma Phi Gamma Phi Beta Kappa Delta Pi Kappa Alpha Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Sigma Memorial Union 4th & 5th floors Knapp (Herman) residence Lechner Building (formerly Adams Building) McFarland Clinic at 313 5th Street Octagon (formerly Masonic Building) St. Cecilia Catholic Church on Lincoln Way (now demolished) Sheldon-Munn Hotel addition to the west Standard Oil Station Tilden Building Tribune Building West Super Service Station Yates Oil Co. |
Memorial plaque at the north approach to the Grand Avenue underpass built by Ben Cole
Citation: 118.647.4 (Full image size: 91Kb)This photograph was taken, in about 1895, of a construction job on the south side of Onondaga (Main) Street in Ames of a structure which today [2010] is 236 Main and is occupied by Gilger Designs. The building to the left of the store under construction (west of it) is wooden. The brick store to the left of the store under construction (east of it) was occupied for many years by the Fair Store. The Fair Store and the store here under construction were built by John Cole, a Civil War veteran, who came to Ames in 1865 at the age of 19. His son Ben also became a builder [Ben Cole & Son] and built many of Ames's iconic stuctures (the Sixth Street overpass, the 1937 Ames High School building, which in 1990 became the Ames City Hall). The men in this photograph are not identified except for John Cole, the man in the vest on the far right.
Citation: 197.1121.5 (Full image size: 56Kb) Construction of the Grand Avenue underpass got underway in 1936. Shown here are changes in the street grade being made at the Fifth Street corner. A Ben Cole Construction truck can be seen. Photo, courtesy of the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Citation: 127.700.2-4 (Full image size: 60Kb)Bids for the construction of the Grand Avenue underpass were received in August, 1936. The contract was awarded to Ben Cole & Son of Ames. Looking southeasterly in this photo from the mainline of the railroad we can see the excavation partly completed. The Ames High School Field House, on the south side of Lincoln Way, at upper left, was in its prime. Kimler Coal & Ice office is at far left. (See also: 131.718.5-6) Photo, courtesy of the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Citation: 131.718.2-4 (Full image size: 69Kb) Construction workers build the Grand Avenue underpass. Heavy timbers were used to temporarily support the railroad tracks that continued to carry their traffic while construction of the underpass proceeded. Ben Cole & Son, which was also building the new Ames High School at the same time, was the contractor. One of the company's trucks is shown here. During construction all of the Grand Avenue traffic was detoured over a temporary railroad crossing south of Brookridge Avenue, which later became permanent. The underpass was completed in 1938. Photo, courtesy of the Iowa Department of Transportation.
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