Introduction Development of College Hill
John Cleves Symmes was born and raised in New York in 1742. In 1770, Symmes moved to New Jersey, where he held a number of important political positions (both during and after the Revolutionary War). While Symmes served in congress in the 1780s, he became interested in western expansion into the Ohio County. He and his friends created a company to buy land in the Northwest Territory between the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers. In 1788, the company requested one million acres of land from congress, and in the end was able to purchase about 330,000 acres. President George Washington approved the land patent in 1794, and the land purchase later became known as the Miami Purchase. Symmes and his company paid around sixty-seven cents per acre. As part of the purchase agreement, they were required to follow the same basic rules as the Ohio Company of Associates (land had to be set aside for education facilities, religion, and government use). The one portion of this agreement Symmes did not follow, ironically enough, was the obligation to set aside land for a university. Regardless of this oversight, the population in these areas grew rapidly. It was the failure of symmes to honor the United States Congress’s provisions that later led to the federal government refusing to sell large parcels of land to other private real estate speculators. After this situation, the government began surveying the land and arranging property sales directly to the potential settlers. In 1788, Symmes became a judge in the Northwest Territory, and eventually moved to North Bend.
Hamilton Ave was originally formed as a rudimentary road cut through the woods for General Anthony Wayne and his troops during the Civil War to fight Native Americans in 1790s. The road was originally called Wayne’s Trace. Cathage to Cleves (first Northbend Road) was the first officially laid out road of College Hill. In 1814, William Cary purchased 491 acres along what is now Hamilton Ave, beginning the formation of what is now College Hill. At the time, the area was known as Mill Creek Township. As the town grew wealthier, the area became known as Pleasant Hill. Later, because of the strong educational focus of the area, the neighborhood became known as College Hill. William Cary migrated from New Hampshire to Cincinnati in 1802, with his family. Below there is more information on why the Cary family was so important in the formation of College Hill. Settlers of College Hill were mostly farmers from New Jersey and revolutionary war veterans. Hogging was the most common type of farming in the original College Hill, much like the rest of Cincinnati. The slaughter pigs held many uses; dye color, bacon, sent to the Russian and US Navies, ship use, bait for fishers, smoked, picked, lard was exported to England, France and Cuba for oil, candles, soap, bristles for brushes, color for printing inks. It is the hogging industry of Cincinnati, along with its shipping access thanks to the river connectivity that helped Cincinnati grow exponentially. Mainly the hogging industry was restricted to farmers, who would raise the pigs on their own lands around College Hill, then transported their hogs along the road that is now Hamilton Ave, to get to downtown markets. The combined influx of hog farmers and wealthy vacationers from downtown spurred the development of single-family housing around the central business district (at this time the business district was along Belmont Avenue). Further development and use of Hamilton Avenue as a faster route to downtown created a shift of the business district over time, pulling businesses and traffic along Hamilton Avenue instead of Belmont. A huge factor of this shift was the development of the streetcar, since it’s route went from Hamilton Avenue all the way into downtown. Development of housing shifted to radiating from this streetcar track. Most of the stores along this track were to serve the streetcar riders, as well as workers and people who moved out along the streetcar. People would move out along the streetcar as a way to get distance from the smog and crowdedness of the bustling downtown, but still wanted easy access to the markets, resources and jobs of downtown Cincinnati. The Cholera epidemic of 1832 also brought many more people from downtown to College Hill. People thought the area was so clean and healthy that they could escape the epidemic,
which for the most part ended up working for them. College Hill had a much smaller portion of their population affected by this epidemic.
(1899 Survey Map of Cincinnati and College Hill)
Education The first settlers of College Hill were made up mostly of young married couples, with no use for a school. They were mainly farmers, who liked College Hill for its easy access to downtown and cleaner water. The economy of the area at this time was mainly poor farming families, who had moved there from the east coast for a fresh
start and cheaper land. Most came to College Hill with nearly anything at all, having heard of its fertile and cheap lands. The first resident to attend school since growing up in College Hill was William Cary’s son, Freeman G. Cary. The first schoolhouse, located in North College Hill, was “kept in a rude log cabin, with greased paper in the windows for glass” (Cary, 18). This was F.G. Cary’s first form of proper education. F.G. Cary learned along side famous poets, Alice and Phoebe Cary (Cary, 19), and went on to attend Miami University, graduating in 1832. The Cary house is a historical landmark today in North College Hill, as the home Alice and Phoebe not only grew up in, but also based many of their famed literary works upon. As College Hill begun to grow with more residents, the wealthier class of Cincinnati who lived and worked downtown, became aware of the College Hill area because of how clean and healthy it was said to be. The elevation from downtown was said to give the residents cleaner water, and fresher air, as well as distance from noise pollution, making it an ideal area for wealthier residents to have weekend and/or summer vacation homes.
(Miss Harriet Wilson)
In 1860, the famous abolitionist, Harriet N. Wilson, taught in College Hill’s first public school, and was the president from 1860 to 1871. The school was known as the “Pigeye School” because of its odd circular window near its entrance. While
older maps of College Hill show a separate building from the Pigeye school designated as the ‘colored’ school, College Hill schools actually took part of a landmark court case in 1888 ensuring that all Ohio public schools be integrated. College Hill was relatively diverse and forward thinking for the time.
(The Pigeye Highschool of College Hill)
In addition to being a teacher, and president of the Pigeye School, Wilson was also a huge contributor to the Under Ground Railroad along Hamilton Avenue. Wilson’s home is still standing, at 1502 Aster Place. More can be found about Wilson’s life and contributions to history at the Hamilton Avenue Road to Freedom website. McAuley high school was built in 1968 on land that was once part of the Laurel Court grounds. Originally the school was built as a high school for the archdiocese of Cincinnati. The school was named for Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy. It has since built many additions, including recently in 2003.
The Farmers College After graduation, F.G. Cary returned to College Hill with aspirations to create an all boys high school. While F.G. Cary’s classes starting with just three students meeting regularly in his living room (5651 Hamilton Ave), the classes quickly grew in number, encouraging him to create a new building specifically for teaching.
(Freeman Cary’s home at 5651 Hamilton Avenue, site of the 1st school in the area—Cary’s
Academy. He would later build a separate school at the corner of Belmont & Hamilton Avenues known as Pleasant Hill Academy. It is now the site of the Grace Episcopal Church.)
(Present day Cary’s Academy. 5651 Hamilton Avenue)
A two-story brick building was constructed, allowing the school to expand. The school was then called Pleasant Hill Academy (Corner of Belmont and Hamilton Avenues, where the Grace Episcopal Church now stands). F.G. Cary made himself President of the academy, and Samuel, his brother, a charter member of the board and treasurer. Cary realized that in order to draw students from across the country, he would have to include something special about the school so he initiated several intellectual debates by famous orators of the day. The lectures were just one of many reasons the school continued to grow even more, leading to F.G. Cary’s creation of a chapel and recitation rooms, as well as several buildings for dormitories and student rooms. According to the written account by Samuel Cary, F.G. Cary’s school was so beloved and had so many patrons, that it became known the ‘best academy in the West’ (Cary, 19). The academy soon outgrew even those school grounds, but F.G. Cary was uninterested in continuing to invest any more of his personal monies on expansions. The patrons decided they would come together and see how they could expand upon the beloved school, resulting in the purchase of four more acres of land, and the construction of a very grand, large school building, located where Aiken High school now sits. At its time of creation, this building was constructed to house the all-male college F.G. Cary had formed. Partially because the building was paid for by mainly farmers, and partially because of the curriculum taught by F.G. Cary at the College, the school was renamed The Farmer’s College of Hamilton County (Cary, 20). The building was paid for through shares of stock, that cost $30.00 each. About $13,000 of those investments was used for the creation of the new facilities. After the buildings creation, it was essentially given to F.G. Cary, under the condition that he would use tuition collected from the College to pay the stockholders their interest “if and when called for” (Cary, 20).
(Farmer’s College Print made around 1851)
Many of the most influential and educated teachers of the college were famous abolitionists that had been dismissed from their previous schools for their religious protests against slavery. The Cary families were community leaders for abolitionist ways of thought. Teachers regularly hid slaves in the school’s bell tower. According to Samuel Cary (whom was at the time serving on the board for the College), at the height of the Farmer College’s success, over three hundred students were of attendance, and it employed a multitude of instructors (Cary, 20). The board’s only role in the college was taking care of the building, but did not interfere in the educational practices or employment decisions. As to keep the school from relying so heavily on a single individual, F.G. Cary worked with the other professors and members of the board to convert the existing $30 shares into two year scholarships. In addition, they decided that $50 would equate to a five-year scholarship, and $70 would be a ‘perpetual scholarship’. This would make it so that the owners of these scholarships, would then own the property of the school, elect directors, and overall run the school. The State Legislature passed an enabling act to establish this change. F.G. Cary than sold the educational facilities and grounds to the board in 1852, giving them control over the institution. F.G. Cary then resigned from President of the College, in order to center his focus on the farming department.
Around this time, in the 1860s, a large portion of the funds promised to the school board from investors, begun to fall through. This lack of promised monies resulted in a large portion of the schools development funds being used to make up for regular school costs, such as teachers salaries. In the picture above, it can be seen that there are women included in the picture as well. In the 1860s, the college begun to take in female students. In 1866, the Board of Directors decided it time to abandon their original design plans, and begun selling lots of the land they had acquired for the new college facilities. The money they made from selling off these lots of land they then invested. The income from these investments was then used for continuation costs of the school. By 1885, the last remaining building of the Farmer’s College was renamed Belmont College, and both women and men were allowed to attend. The rebranding of the school did not help bring new students, however, and the property was sold to the Ohio Military Institute in 1889. This school remained open until June 1958. The school was well known for sending more students to West Point and Annapolis than any other school in Ohio. In the early 1960s, the school was purchased by the Cincinnati Public Schools and the buildings were razed to build the Aiken High School.
(Ohio Military Institute, 1902)
(Current Aiken High School, where the Ohio Military Institute once stood) On the original grounds of the Ohio Military Institute and Farmers College, now sits Aiken High School. The high school was built in 1962. The grounds that were once part of the farming land for the Farmers College were much later developed into the College Hill Fundamental Academy. The school was built in 1903. Dedicated in 1927, the school was built on the plan of Jefferson’s University of Virginia.
(Current College Hill Fundamental Academy)
Ohio Female College
(Ohio Female College Print, date unknown)
In 1843-4 Mrs. Laura B. Hayes (an accomplished scholar and teacher) opened a high school for girls. It started out in Rev. A. Benton’s Church. This church later became the laboratory building on the lot owned by John R. Davey. Mrs. Laura B. Hayes was succeeded by Mrs. Brooks, then Rev. Dr. John W. Scott.(former professor at Miami University, and later on at age 88, a Clerk in the Pension Bureau in Washington). In 1852 Rev. John Covert bought land and built a three story building on it, with a chapel and music halls. This was named the Ohio Female College (built off Hamilton Ave, where the Children’s Hospital now stands). The original campus had three buildings and 15 acres of woods and gardens. He funded the construction by taking donations from surrounding families, which in turn, gave the families room and board for their daughters to attend. The professors saw the success the Farmer’s College had with inviting famous orators to have intellectual debates, and initiated the same programming in their own educational plans. This programming helped excel their school’s notoriety. The Ohio Female College was the 5 th college in the country to provide a liberal education for women. The college grounds were home to more than 250 women pursing interests in higher learning. In 1868 the original college building was destroyed by fire. Mr. Corvet sold the grounds and remaining buildings to Alphonso Wood and Eli Taylor. Taylor and Wood built another large school building in 1869, and continued the college. As they started to run out of funds before the building was completed, Samuel Fenton Cary took over for Wood. The colleges intricate ventilation systems were considered one of the first forms of air conditioning.
(Ohio Female College Ventilation System, 1880)
From 1848 to 1873, the Ohio Female College taught young women Calculus, trigonometry, logic, moral science, daily composition, French, German, Latin, elements of criticism, intellectual philosophy, astronomy, global study, genealogy, physical geography, bible study, and evidences of Christianity. Offering women these courses in this day was incredibly forward thinking and rare. Some of the professors of the college include Rev. Henry N. Day D. D. and Madam Rive (was in charge of the musical department). Julie Rive-King, (Madam Rive’s daughter) became a very famous pianist. Julie was born in College Hill.
(Julie Rive-King, 1854-1937)
(Ohio Female College, date unknown)
College Hill neighborhood became synonymous with education. The area attracted highly educated citizens, leading to an abundance of highly educated teachers, lawyers, ministers and doctors. Houses were developed around the schools for students, and teachers alike. Many students of these educational facilities later built permanent homes in College Hill and stayed in the neighborhood, further populating the area. The graduated students that remained in College Hill also increased the concentration of wealthy and educated citizens. These citizens went on to begin many businesses in the area, including bakeries, banks, car and butcher shops, and other more specialized trade businesses. College Hill neighborhood became synonymous with education. The area attracted wealthy and intelligent citizens whom valued educational systems, leading to an abundance of highly educated teachers, lawyers, ministers and doctors. Houses were developed around the schools for students, and teachers alike. Many students of these educational facilities later built permanent homes in College Hill to stay around the neighborhood, both further populating the area as well as increasing the concentration of wealthy and educated citizens. The allure of the educational facilities not only gave College Hill its name and notoriety but also shaped the built environment, directly influencing what exists today. The Civil War depleted the number of students in attendance, hurting the financial state of the institution. The school was conveyed to a board of trustees. In 1868, the school was once again burnt down. Mr. J. C. C. Hollenshade, a member of the board, rebuilt the College with the insurance money from the fire, but also put such a large amount of his own money, that the college was then transferred to him. After a few years, he sold the property to a sanitarium, as well as in subdivisions, ending the Ohio Female College. Newbold Pierson’s company sold most of the houses on these lots. Most of these houses were sold to employees of the sanitarium, as this brought a lot of jobs and new residents to the area. Hospitals The entire area of College Hill was known for being incredibly healthy. Its location on a hill, away from the debris of the city and industry below, as well as access to cleaner water than downtown, made it a desirable location for wealthy Cincinnatians and farmers. Many affluent Cincinnati residents would have their vacation or weekend homes in College Hill because of this. The average lifespan was much longer than anywhere else in the City. Before it was known as College Hill, the area was often referred to as Mount Pleasant, because of its notoriety for being an elevated, cleaner, and healthier place to live, while still close to downtown Cincinnati. Besides a desire for farmland and/or educational facilities, the image of
health and cleanliness of the neighborhood was a major factor in people originally moving to College Hill.
(Cincinnati Sanitarium, 1930)
In December 1873, the 32-acre property that was previously the Ohio Women’s College was sold to the Cincinnati Sanitarium. The Cincinnati Sanitarium was the first private US psychiatric facility not on the East Coast. The Cincinnati Sanitarium treated the “Persons of unsound mind, afflicted with nervous prostration, and people addicted to use of opium and other intoxicants”. It was one of the major employers for College Hill residents in its time. In addition to the main hospital building, there were four two-story cottages, an amusement hall with a billiard hall in the basement, a flower conservatory, several plant buildings, an icehouse, and a station for the Cincinnati Northwestern railroad. In 1913, a large residence adjacent to the sanitarium property was purchased to create a “rest cottage”. The Rest Cottage was mainly used to care for patients with “nervous and nutritional disorders”. The land also included a 30-acre park with fruit trees, flowers, an artificial lake, gravel coated walkways, a vegetable garden and a spring. In 1927 the lake was drained, drastically altering the shape and layout of the land. In 1956, the Sanitarium as renamed the Emerson A. North Hospital in honor of Dr. Emerson North, a leading clinical psychiatrist at the University of Cincinnati. The 95bed hospital specialized in treating people of all ages with emotional, behavioral and chemical dependency problems. The facilities were closed in 1994, when it’s services moved to Providence Hospital in Mt. Airy.
(Emerson A. North Hospital, 1966)
In 1994, the hospital grounds were then sold to Phoenix International, a company that conducted clinical trials of drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. The company was sold in 2000. In December 2002, the Cincinnati Children’s College Hill Campus opened on the grounds. This hospital still stands. It offers extended hospitalization treatment programs for children and adolescents who suffer from chronic mental illness and impaired functioning.
(Current Cincinnati Children’s College Hill Campus)
Banks Trading was the main type of payment in early College Hill. Spanish silver dollars were the most used currency of the time. The coins would actually be physically cut into portions, and used as payment. Up until 1795, when Yeatmans’ store brought a barrel of pennies from Philadelphia, no small change was available in all of Cincinnati. In 1932, the current PNC bank was actually the Brighton Bank. 6038 Hamilton used to be the College Hill Savings and Loan, and in the 1970s was the Eagle Savings Association. It is now a single-family residence.
(Current day 6038 Hamilton Ave)
Churches One of the earliest regular religious meetings of College Hill was in the Carey family’s barn, with Preacher Rev. Thomas, a “Welchman, known as an Independent or Congregationalist” (Carey). He then moved to Butler County to become the pastor of the Welch Congregational Church there. He died there in 1831. When the first brick school building was built in College Hill, Methodists begun biweekly meetings there. There were two traveling preachers of the region, who would alternate in preaching for College Hill. In 1816, Danforth Witherby, a Methodist minister, purchased a part of the Spencer land to build a cabin. Witherby would preach on Sundays at the brick schoolhouse. He was a Cooper during the week with his son, but enjoyed preaching and was licensed. A few years later, Aaron Burdsall rented the Spencer residence and lived there for a few years, while preaching on Sundays at the schoolhouse as well. They would alternate resulting in almost every Sunday having a service available. In 1850 the first official church was organized in College Hill, with Rev. J. S. Edwards of Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church as the preacher at the time. ‘The Church at the Hill’, or Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church (in the area now known as Mt. Healthy) occupied the chapel of the academy for some time, and then later the chapel of the Farmer’s College, until the purchase of the first official Church structure. On April 23, 1853, 33 people met with an authorized committee from the Hamilton Presbytery to form a new church, the First Presbyterian Church (College Hill Christian Church today). The founding families presented their letters of dismissal to Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church and covenanted to ‘organize and walk according to the rules of the Presbyterian Church”. The house cost around $12,000 at the time, and F. G. Cary, D.B. Thomas, John Covert and Samuel Wilson donated about half of that cost. They then converted the house into a church. The church opened on
January 1, 1857. In 1859, the church was given a spire and bell. In 1865, exuberant ringing announcing the end of the Civil War cracked the bell. It was later melted down and recast into the current bell used. Since the church begun, Sunday school was held in the Farmer’s College Chapel. In 1877, the village school on the church grounds was purchased and dedicated, allowing a new space for Sunday school. In August 1888, a tornado destroyed the church building resulting in the 1890 building of the ‘New Stone Church and tower’. This new part of the church opened on October 5, 1890, and is the current chapel area and East End of todays Sanctuary. In 1926, the Parish House addition was added for more space for Sunday school, and in 1935 the Manse was built. On June 17,1951, ground was broken for an enlarged Sanctuary. During that time, worship was held in the Hollywood Movie Theater (currently House of Joy). The Sanctuary was completed on January 4 th, 1953. In 1953 the Chatfield property, east of the sanctuary, including the 100 year old white frame house, was donated to the church. In 1967, the Lewis property (just North of Fellowship Hall) was purchased for additional parking. The next church to organize was the Grace Episcopal church. They started meeting in 1866. Regular attendees included well-known College Hill families, such as the Cists, Knights, Tweeds, and Piersons. The first church was built on the site of the Cary’s Academy (Corner of Belmont and Hamilton Ave) in 1867, after being donated to the church by the Pierson family in 1866. The Pierson’s at the time lived across the street and were very active in the church. Many of the stones and wood from the previous Cary Academy structure were reused in building the new church. The City condemned the church in 1916 and it was demolished, so Samuel Hannaford designed plans for a new church and parish house. Only the perish house was built. The current church house was completed in 1928. The Methodists obtained a lot at the corner of Belmont and Laurel Avenues, but could not raise enough money to build a house of worship. After some time the lot was abandoned. D.B. Pierson and a few others reached out to the Protestant Episcopal Church, hoping to build a Church of this denomination in College Hill. They were able to create a church organization as a result. Baptist and Methodist families also lived in College Hill at this time, but joined other congregations for services. College Hill Theater
(Picture of Theater taken in 1935)
Under construction in 1927, the first theater in Cincinnati was built specifically for ‘talking pictures shows’. The theater opened in 1927. The building also housed the Haggis candy store, and a realtor office on the other side. It operated as a movie theater until the late 20th century. It is now the location of House of Joy church services.
(Present day condition of the old College Hill Theater Building)
Business and Housing Development in College Hill As families begun to earn larger incomes and do well in College Hill, houses continued to grow larger and grander. Walls were whitewashed, mud and stick chimneys were replaced by stone ones, iron lard lamps replaced scraped turnips, feather beds with woolen covers, calico curtains, skin carpets to cover wooden floors or packed dirt floors were all new luxuries. College Hill was incorporated into the Village of College Hill in 1866. Famed architect, Samuel Hannaford was asked to design the Town Hall building for the village. Land was purchased on Laurel Avenue (Larch Avenue) and the Town Hall was finished in 1886. In 1900, the population had reached 1,105. College Hill was then annexed by the City of Cincinnati. Skillamn’s Store and Home (5647 Hamilton Ave) was located in the center of business until the early 1900s. The Skillman’s son-in-law moved the store north of Llanfair (but still on Hamilton Avenue) in 1902. Their agricultural fields were sold as subdivision lots in the early 1900s. The College Hill Christian Church purchased two of them in 1911. The Dow Building opened in the 1920s. For most of its history it was a drug store. Guy Discepoli bought it in 1989 for a wine and pizza store.
By 1923, the business district had moved from along Coleraine Ave (Belmont) to Hamilton Ave. The Doll House bakery: Herbert Doll started the bakery in 1925. In 1959 he added a restaurant, which his son Bob Doll leased to start the first Perkins Pancake franchise. Later, it became an independent restaurant called The Doll House.
The current Hodapp Funeral Home was built in 1938, located in place of the original Cary house. When it was the Carey house, this is where the first classes were taught by Freedman Carey, which later led to the development of the Farmer’s College.
In 1945, Turners grocery store operated out of the current Dixon building. Founded in 1948 by Ralph Visconti Sr., Visconti-Kinney Drugs at 6106 Hamilton Ave was originally located in the north half of the building. In 1955, Visconti-Kinney took over the rest of the building, enlarging the popular soda fountain and remodeling. The two store fronts now owned by house of joy at 5910 Hamilton were once a dry goods store owned by Wilma knight and a barber shop owned by William Huschle.
The Streetcar
A very large contributor to the growth of College Hill’s population could be attributed to the development of the streetcar. Rail transit in Cincinnati happened in many small stages; the first step in this process was the development of horse drawn carriages. With time, the carriages grew larger and larger. In the mid 1800s, metal rails were embedded in streets to reduce friction and allow the horses to pull larger groups in the carriages. By 1880, 8 horse car lines extended beyond the central basin. At first, the steep hills of Cincinnati presented problems in the expansion of these lines. This problem was for the most part overcome with the development of inclines; a cross between railroad lines and elevators, with horse cars, cable cars, and street cars being pulled up on level platforms. Starting in 1872, five inclines were built, with the last one ending operations in 1948. Evidence of these inclines can still be seen in some of Cincinnati’s hillsides. In 1889, Cincinnati saw the first electronic streetcar, which went along Main Street in downtown Cincinnati. From the late 1800s to the 1940s, streetcars were the dominant mode of public transit around Cincinnati. The College Hill Toll Gate located at 5300 Hamilton Ave, as part of the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Turnpike Company formed in 1834. In the mid 1870s, the College Hill Railroad was making its run up and down Hamilton Ave to Mt. Healthy (6 miles). Streetcar service to College Hill began on Thanksgiving Day, 1895. Lowe Emerson, Peter G. Thompson, Adam Gray, Newbold Pierson, and other prominent residents started streetcar access to College Hill. The trip downtown cost 5 cents, while a trip
on the train would have cost 35 cents. Interestingly, College Hill streetcars were on route 17, much like the bus routes to College Hill are today. As in many other cities, the popularity of public transit declined rapidly in the 1950s due to the increase in private automobile usage as well as more funding to create highways. In the 1970s, demolition of the passenger concourse at Union Terminal was completed. The very last street car in all of Cincinnati ran on April 29, 1951. Metro Bus transit is now the only predominate public transit, except for the recent addition of the streetcars back into Cincinnati, but only in the downtown, not in College Hill. The metro does visit College Hill many times a day.
The Carys The Cary brothers together are attributed for the development of College Hill, however their entire family was quite influential. The Cary brothers (William and Christopher) were sons of Samuel and Deliverance Grant Cary. They moved from New Hampshire to College Hill with their mother and their younger half brothers (from their mothers second marriage) Zebulon and John Strong. In 1813 William Cary bought 491 acres from Jabez Tunis and became known as the “founding father� of College Hill. David Gray bought an additional 50 acres, making Cary, Tunis and Gray the three largest landowners in the original College Hill. The village was platted in 1820 by William Cary and Javez Tunis on sections 30 and 36. Jabis Tunis sold 491 acres in section 30 to William Cary in 1813, at $7 an acre. He also sold 50 acres on the east side of the section to David Gray for the same price. William Cary later purchased 75 more acres, making all of college hill in section 30 the Cary land.
William Cary William Cary moved to Cincinnati in 1802, built his log cabin in College Hill in1813, cleared the land and dug a well. On April 9, 1814, his family moved into the cabin, but only as a temporary home. This is now where the intersection of Northbend Rd and Hamilton Ave is. Cary then fired his own bricks, and built an elegant brick house in 1817. The brick house was recognized as the nicest house in all of Hamilton County when it was first built. The William and Rebecca Cary Home was located on 6041 Hamilton Ave, now the site of John Hodapp Funeral Home. The region that is now identified as College Hill originally became popular for its fertile lands. The glacial deposits had left many nutrients in the soil, despite the heavy concentration of clay in the area. Many farmers originally moved to College Hill for this reason. “The first settlers on Tunis’ section 36 were Albert Arnold, Roswell Hazeltine, Thomas B. Weatherby, George W. C. Hunter, Nathaniel Ryan, Jesse Jones, Edward Grogan and David Jessup, all between 1827 and 1832” (a little piece of paradise). Most of the new comers to College Hill were either revolutionary war vets or farmers from New Jersey. The first child born was in July 1814, R.F. Howard, son of Cyrus Howard, a grandson of Anna Cary and Solomon Howard. Three homes of the Howard family are still standing, as they all were built with brick. (5686 Folchi Drive, 1340 and 1240 Groesbeck Road). Solomon Howard bought land from Cary, and constructed the first frame house in 1820. The house was moved twice since, once in 1834, from where College Hill Presbyterian Church stands to 5749 Hamilton Ave, then once more in the 1950s to 2025 North Bend Road, where it still exists just under siding.
In 1820, William Cary established a sawmill on the creek that flowed behind where Pearce’s Auto Center now is. Oxen operated it. The team would walk in a circle on a wheel with a 30-degree angle, the motion operating a perpendicular saw. This saw mill produced the lumber used for the 1823 Mill Creek Bridge. The sawmill later burnt down. Another sawmill was started shortly after, and this one quickly burned down as well. The Cary/Strong Family were prominent abolitionists and active participants in the Underground Railroad. They were also founding members of the first church (First Presbyterian Church of College Hill).
(William and Rebecca Cary Home, 6041 Hamilton Ave, present day Hodapp Funeral Home)
(Current Carey House, now the Hodapp Funeral Home)
General Samuel Fenton Cary
February 18, 1814, Samuel Fenton Cary (son of William and Rebecca (Fenton) Cary, grandson to Dr. Samuel Cary) was born in a log cabin in College Hill, located at the current day intersection of Hamilton Ave and Northbend Rd. William and Rebecca married in 1808. They had two other sons, Freeman G and Woodward. Two years after moving into the log cabin, a brick house was made which they moved to. At time of its construction, the brick house was considered the nicest house in all of Hamilton County. Samuel F. Cary grew up in College Hill when the land was hardly developed in any way—it was basically just wilderness. Despite it being a time of little educational opportunities, Samuel and his brother Freedman pushed to educate themselves. Both attended Cincinnati Public Schools, and later attended College at Miami University. Samuel graduated from Miami in 1835. Samuel Fenton Cary ended up being one of the largest landowners of College Hill. He would raise crops in the area, including peaches used to produce brandy. Whiskey and Brandy production was a large source of income for many College Hill residents. He was also a large part of the lumber industry in College Hill. Some years before, he had begun reading law during his spare time, and later became a student in the Cincinnati Law School, which he graduated from in 1837. He ranked among the leading scores on the bar in his City, and was regarded as one of the best lawyers in Ohio. This state-wide reputation lead to his recognition from members of legislature in 1840, and his election to Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Samuel declined the election, preferring to continue his, at this point, large practice.
At age twenty-two, Samuel became very active in his support of Gen. William Henry Harrison for President of the United States. He made a number of convincing speeches in his honor, and admired him the rest of his life. Samuel Cary was Chief of Staff to three of Ohio’s governors, and was paymaster general of Ohio during the Mexican War—he was appointed by Governor Barclay with the rank of General. Oliver P. Morton, the famous war governor of Indiana, once said that General Cary had created more patriotism for the North and had been instrumental in recruiting more troops for the Federal armies than any ten men in the United States, because of how affective his speeches were. After the civil war, President Andrew Johnson, following the death of Abraham Lincoln, appointed Samuel Cary Collector of Internal Revenue. He maintained headquarters in Cincinnati, but had a wide territory he oversaw. He did not agree with Andrew Johnson’s construction policy, however, and resigned from office. He then became a candidate for Congress on an independent ticket against both parties, and won. He became one of the most popular and influential men in congress during his term (1867-9). He is well known for his efforts on behalf of the eight-hour labor law. He is also remembered for being the only Republican in the House of Representatives who voted against the impeachment of President Johnson. In 1870 Samuel Cary went to England for ten months, giving lectures on temperance and speeches on rights of labor. He was popular in Great Britain as well as America and even once addressed 34,234 people in Crystal Place Hall, London. In 1875 he was a candidate for lieutenant governor of Ohio on the ticket with Governor William Allen. In 1876 Carey was a candidate for Vice President of the United States on the Greenback ticket, with Peter Cooper. Overall, Samuel Cary developed a massive name for himself. He was very well liked and respected. He was close friends with some of the most influential statesmen of his time, including Gen. William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln, and Henry Clay, to name a few. He not only was known for his powerful oratory abilities, but also for his writing. He wrote many articles for the Cincinnati Enquirer, and was the author of the Cary memorials, a genealogical record of the Cary family. At age 87, Samuel Cary died on September 29, 1909, leaving behind a large legacy, as well as five children (Ella W., Martha, Olive, Samuel Fenton, Jessie). Pierson Family Since the 1800s, the Pierson family has been prominent in the neighborhood of College Hill.
Daniel B. and Lydia H. Pierson are the first well-known Pierson’s of College Hill. They are remembered for their home, built in the 1860s, as well as for their contributions to the founding and building of the Grace Episcopal Church. Daniel B. Pierson was also well known for his founding of the Pierson Lumber Company in 1850. The company first started on Plum Street in downtown Cincinnati, when today’s Central Parkway was a canal. In the 19th century, this canal was an important mechanism for transporting goods from Lake Erie and the Ohio River. This canal was essential for the lumber company, as they were able to receive oak and hardwoods from up the Ohio River, and pine and poplar from the North through the canal. During the economic and housing development boom after the Civil War, the Lumber Company quickly became prosperous. In 1874, the company outgrew its downtown location and moved to Cherry and Cooper Streets in current day Northside neighborhood, where it continued for another 100 years. The Pierson family continued the business until 1915, when with the death of Joshua L Pierson the company became incorporated. In the 1937 flooding of Cincinnati, the company was flooded up until the second story of the building. The company was rebuilt after the flooding. By 1950, the company’s production included Cary roofing material, Curtis architectural woodwork, plaster board and Celotex insulation board. Today the rebuilt building remains, along with its “Pierson Panel Homes” sign. The Pierson home in College Hill was built in the early 1860s, using the highest quality woods the Pierson Lumber Company had to offer. The house stood on a 10acre lot along current day Hamilton Avenue, only about 6 miles from downtown Cincinnati. Daniel B. and Lydia H. Pierson had three kids; Joshua, Rebecca and Newbold. A 1870 Census valued Pierson’s real estate (including the company) at $110,000, and his personal estate at $65,000. The family had two domestic servants living with them at the time, Adda Yayes and Lottie French, both born in Kentucky. After Daniel B. Piersons retirement, the 1880 census shows that his entire family, including his son Joshua’s wife and daughter, were still living together in the Pierson house, as well as three domestic slaves.
By the 1910s, the family became financially strained and household repairs became too expensive. The house became worn down. Boarder families began to move in. As was common at the time in College Hill, the property was subdivided and developed into a number of suburban lots in the 20th century. Daniel’s son, Newbold, led the developments. Newbold Pierson began a real estate company in the early 20 th century, which has made him remembered for his introduction of middle-income housing developments to College Hill. Many of his houses still exist today. Newbold’s land office was located at Hamilton and Ambrose, about a half mile north of the Pierson home, after receiving the land from his father. The office was later moved, covered with siding, and is currently a private residence at 1418 Cedar Avenue. Decedents of the Piersons lived within College Hill neighborhood up until the 1980s.
(Current Newbold Land Office building, taken from Google Streetview). The home and over two of the original ten acres of Pierson property were sold in 1919 to Edmund Lunken. Luken was the owner of Lunkenheimer & Company, and donated more than 200 acres to the City of Cincinnati for an airport. In return, they named it Lunken Airport, which still exists today. Luken modernized the home, changing it to face Hillcrest Road to the south instead of Hamilton Avenue, where two new homes had been built in front of the house. The Pierson home and slightly more than two of the original ten acres were sold in 1919 to Edmund Lunken, owner of Lunkenheimer & Company and the donator of more than 200 acres to the City of Cincinnati for a municipal airport which still bears his name: Lunken Airport. Lunken modernized the home and changed it to face the newly developed Hillcrest Road (which was at first called Lathrop Road) to the south, along what had formally been the southern border of the grounds, rather than Hamilton Avenue to the east, where four new homes were built on what had been the Pierson's front yard. Lunken then sold the property in 1924 to Orville Simpson, owner of the Orville Simpson Company (now known as Rotex, Inc.). Simpson then re-gutted and remodernized the home into its current design, with the help of Architect John Scudder Atkins. Some of the major changes to the house included the additions of the large front porch, rear portico and elevator inside the home. Since the Piersons, five families have lived in the home: Edmund H & Katheryn French Lunken (1919-
1924); Orville and Cora Allen Schneider (1975-1977) and Larry J & Gloria Blanco Loyd (1977-present).
(Current Pierson House from Google Streetview) Lunken sold the property in 1924 to Orville Simpson, the owner of the Orville Simpson Company (today known as Rotex, Inc.), who began a second complete gutting and modernization of the home by architect John Scudder Atkins into its current appearance and design. Among the changes, Simpson added the large front porch, rear portico and elevator in the home. Since the Piersons, five families have lived in the home: Edmund H & Kathryn French Lunken (1919-1924); Orville & Cora Allen Simpson (1924-1952); Fredriks D & Elizabeth H Berger (1952-1975); Norbert C & Mary Ellen Schneider (1975-1977) and Larry J & Gloria Blanco Loyd (1977present). Newbold Pierson, son of Daniel Pierson, was a lifelong resident of College Hill. He was a member of the firm of J. L. & N. L. Pierson. He worked as the manager of the Pierson Lumber Company for many years, until shortly after his retirement; he sold his interest in the company to his brother Joshua Pierson. During the early 1900s, Newbold Pierson became a largely known housing developer for College Hill, and more specifically, the developer for many of the houses around Cedar Ave. He built a
log cabin on the corner of Hamilton and Ambrose to attract buyers, and use this as his sales office. When George Pughta was elected mayor of Cincinnati, Pierson was elected his secretary. He remained in that position for ten years, serving under Mayors John Galvin and George P Carrel. He retired the same year the City Chapter formed. Since Newbold Pierson was involved in a number of local civic enterprises around College Hill, he was one of four people to inaugurate the streetcar service to College Hill on Thanksgiving day, 1895. He was also a founder of the Business Men’s Club, the start of the Cincinnati Club. Pierson also loved bicycles and was an avid rider. Pierson even won the medal for the five-mile race sponsored by the Cincinnati Enquirer in November 1883, during his time in the Cincinnati Bicycle Club. Pierson was struck by an automobile at the corner of Aster Place and Hamilton Avenue and fatally injured. Pierson and his wife Margaret are buried in the Pierson plot at Spring Grove Cemetery. Other Prominent College Hill Residents Powel Crosley Jr., a famed inventor and car manufacturer, grew up and lived in College Hill. His antique Crosley Cars are very valuable today. He was born in College Hill on September 18, 1886. He attended the Ohio Military Institute in 1901, graduating in 1905. Crosley then enrolled as an engineering student at the University of Cincinnati, then transferred to law school. Crosley attempted to start a car manufacturing company right out of college, but failed due to not enough capital. He then worked odd end jobs to save up and buy a mail-order car parts business. In the 1920s, radios were incredibly expensive, so Crosley became interested in creating and selling affordable ones. His first radios were about $35, and produced by college students. By 1922, Crosley was the leading radio manufacturer in the entire world. Crosley then became interested in broadcasting, and established WLW, a Cincinnati radio station. He increased the stations broadcasting power to 500,000 watts, making it the most powerful radio station in the world at the time. Eventually the Federal Communications Commission reduced the maximum wattage for radio stations to fifty thousand watts. During the great depression, radio sales went down. Cosley decided to begin selling household appliance, including refrigerators. He created the first refrigerator with shelves inside the door. During th 1940s and 1950s Crosley returned to car production, focusing on light-weight and fuel efficient car designs. The cars remained unpopular among Americans at the time, although now are considered very valuable collector cars. In 1934, Crosley purchased the Cincinnati Reds. Crosley died on March 28, 1961.
Isaac LaBoiteaux home was located on what is now the Hammond North property. LaBoiteaux was a highly affluent jeweler, who had a very beautiful and architecturally advanced home for his time. It was an octagonal home, with eight gables, each supported by pillars resting on the 232-foot porch. Under each gable was a balcony. The interior had marble floors, and fine furnishings. LaBoiteaux was also one of the founders of the S.P.C.A, and was one of College Hill’s first historians.
(Isaac LaBoiteaux House)
The Obed Wilson Home was located at the corner of Hamilton Ave and Windermere Way. Wilson was a wealthy publisher who became the main benefactor for the College Hill Methodist Home for the Aged. His permanent home was in Clifton, but
he would often escape to his College Hill home to avoid the City pollution as many others did. Wilson was also the benefactor who brought Etsu and Matsuo Sugimoto to College Hill where they were married in his College Hill home. They lived in College Hill for many years, where they raised their kids. After Matsuo’s death, Etsu returned to Japan and wrote a book titled ‘Daughter of the Samurai’. The book is her memoir, describing life in turn of the 20th Century College Hill for a Japanese woman who was raised in a Samurai home.
(Matsuo & Etsu [Inagaki] Sugimoto and daughters: Hanno and Chinyo)
Sources http://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16998coll15/id/12955 cary book http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohhamilt/histhc/346.htm https://books.google.com/books?id=VxXLpvQM6MC&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&dq=college+hill+newbold+pierson&source=bl&ots =Cka-UQ63wR&sig=-
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