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| date_of_death =[[August 20]], [[1930]]
| place_of_death =Pensacola
| occupation =Manufacturer, lumberman
| religion =
| spouse =Ida E. Darby<br/>Loula Abbey
| parents =
| children =Carl F. G. Wernicke II<br/>Julius F. Wernicke<br/>Walter A. Wernicke| signature =OHLWernickeSignature.png
| signaturesize =200px
}}
'''Otto Heinrich Louis Wernicke''' ([[1862]]–[[1930]]) was a manufacturer and lumberman known for his involvement in the construction of the first [[Thomas A. Johnson Bridge|Pensacola Bay Bridge]], which linked [[Pensacola]] to the [[Fairpoint Peninsula]] and [[Santa Rosa Island]], opening [[Gulf Breeze]] and [[Pensacola Beach]] to development.
==Early life==
Wernicke was born in [[1862]] at Hayton, Calumet County, Wisconsin to Carl Frederick Wernicke and Sophia Frickey. In [[1880]], he was attending Commercial College in nearby Fond du Lac.<ref>Western Historical Company. ''The History of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.''</ref>
===Wernicke Elastic Bookcase System===
===Macey Company===
==Time in Pensacola==
===Pensacola Bay Bridge===
[[Image:OldBayBridgeConstruction.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Thomas A. Johnson Bridge|Pensacola Bay Bridge]] under construction.]]
In the early 1920s, Wernicke became interested in the development of a bridge spanning [[Pensacola Bay]] and linking Pensacola to the [[Fairpoint Peninsula]] and [[Santa Rosa Island]].
Around [[1925]], Wernicke rented office space at 15 West [[Garden Street]] and began to pursue the idea seriously, investing more than $50,000 of his own money to get the project up and running. While travelling the state, he found engineer [[R. G. Patterson]] of the Minneapolis firm Johnson Drake and Piper constructing bridges in the Panama City area. After a visit to Pensacola, Wernicke convinced Patterson of the viability to a bridge over Pensacola Bay, and Patterson agreed to help Wernicke with the project.<ref name="Letter">Letter from Julius F. Wernicke to Jack Crowley, first chairman of the Santa Rosa Island Authority.</ref>
After performing traffic counts, Patterson was convinced of the bridge's economic viability, and convinced his employers, Johnson Drake and Piper, to get involved. Johnson Drake and Piper, along with St. Paul firm Siems Helmer and a third partner (who soon withdrew) formed the [[Pensacola Bridge Corporation]].<ref name="Letter" /> The first stake for the bridge was driven in February [[1929]]. The bridge was eventually opened on [[June 13]], [[1931]], less than a year after Wernicke's death.
==Death==
Wernicke died of a heart attack on [[August 20]], [[1930]]. He is buried at [[Roberts Cemetery]].
His papers from the last four years of his life were donated to the [[University of West Florida]] in [[1982]] by his grandson Julius.
==References==