Bend Iron Wks - Bend, OR - Unique Manhole Covers on Waymarking.com

This manhole cover is in the sidewalk in front of the Baptist Church in downtown Bend near the corner of NW Oregon Ave. and NW Irving Ave. The cover is cast with a diamond pattern and the name BEND IRON WKS. BEND ORE. The letters IRO from IRON have been removed. The diamond pattern was used earlier by the Huffschmidt Dugan Iron Works which was an early iron works here in Bend and later became the Bend Iron Works. The Bend Iron Works later became the Central Oregon Iron Works.

The downtown area of Bend was orginally sewered in the late 1920's. In the late 1970's the sewer system was rebuilt and extended to the rest of the town. In the downtown area, this waymark and the two others (WM4AQJ & WM4AR8) are the only manhole covers that remain from the original sewer system. Each one is different and one of a kind.

In Bend, manhole covers fall in to five groups:

1. Drainage catch basins - about 25” in diameter, mass produced with standard message about draining to river.
2. Water system - generally less than 7” diameter, mass produced with W or WATER on cover.
3. Survey monuments below roads - about 9” diameter, mass produced with MON on cover.
4. Buried telephone lines - about 30” in diameter, four styles representing the three systems that have provided service: Bell System, U.S. West Communications, and Qwest.
5. Sewer system - about 25” in diameter, generally mass produced with S or SEWER on cover. There are a few older covers unique to Bend, such as this waymark.