Bridgewater

The bronze tells how Nation became Bridgewater but not why. Most accounts say the name recalls water carried to the townsite for the railroad, and Senator Tim Johnson's tribute for the town's 125th anniversary in June 2005 is more exact: rail workers, forced to carry their drinking water across a bridge near town, renamed the place. The same tribute calls the settlers' town Nation City. Bridgewater counted 511 people in 2020, and Montrose, whose votes were thrown out as nonexistent, had 468.

What the plaque says

Bridgewater 1880 The Milwaukee, building from Marion to the Missouri, in 1880 soon reached Nation, platted in 1879 by Robert and J. B. Nation, with Orlan K. Bullard its postmaster on 5 January 1880 and when changed to Bridgewater on November 20th he continued to serve. The election that year shifted the county seat from Cameron to Bridgewater, 119 to 109, when the canvassing board threw out 76 votes for Montrose on the pretext that it was nonexistent. The Cameron pioneers flocked to Bridgewater and to Melas, (Salem in reverse), and County Clerk H. H. Pierce took the records to the new Courthouse in Bridgewater on the corner of Poplar & 3rd Streets. Tabor & Berry, storekeepers at Cameron, shifted to Bridgewater too and had their store S of the tracks where the Shannard elevator now is located and all went through the terrific blizzard winter of 1880-81 without a train from January to April. That spring J. P. McKee's general store and W. J. Bollinger's hardware were put up on Poplar and Nation's bank at 3rd & Main. Salem won the county seat in the 1882 election. The school was moved from south of the tracks and a fine new 36 x 40 building erected in 1883 as well as the Catholic, Methodist & Presbyterian Churches. The Tribune was started in February 1881 and E. C. Kibbe ran the "Cricket" as an opposition paper. Thus for 80 years Bridgewater has been a good place to live and gets better every year. Erected 1959 by Bridgewater City Commission and State Highway Commission

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Salem Rest Area — 9.0 mi
• Mennonite and Hutterian Immigration Memorial — 14 mi
• Rumpus Ridge — 16 mi
• Turner County Poor Farm — 20 mi