USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The city of Cincinnati : a summary of its attractions, advantages, institutions and internal improvements, with a statement of its public charities > Part 5
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THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
trade in tobacco increased tenfold; that in coal, salt, leather, and wood doubled; in boots and shoes trebled, while the general trade in dry goods increased also. These facts prove, that so great were the resources of Cincinnati in the productive country around it, that even the depressing effects of the war on a border city- from which commerce on one side was nearly cut off- could not arrest its progress. In the whole loyal coun- try no town was as liable to damage, commercially, as Cincinnati. It was damaged by the war, but has since recovered rapidly, and its commerce has expanded with a natural and healthy vigor. If we inquire in what directions the trade of this city extends, we shall not be restricted to the mere commerce of the Ohio and the Mississippi, whose interior coasts extend tens of thousands of miles, but we find even its small prod- ucts passing over half the globe to reach the remote nations of Europe and of Asia. Its crackers have been exported to China and its candies to Greece. It is on the Atlantic coast where most of its vast exports of breadstuffs and provisions may be found. Its largest export trade has been with New Orleans, Memphis, and other Southern ports, whence its products are distributed through the entire South. By the way of Baltimore it finds access to the coasts of Virginia and the Caro- linas, where the hams and the flour of the Miami Valley are consumed by thousands, with whom Cincinnati has. 6
82
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
as yet, no railroad connection. This fact is suggestive of what may be done hereafter to extend the direct commerce of Cincinnati to the whole Southern coast.
The manufactured articles of Cincinnati go chiefly to the West and South-west; in other words, to the new settlements, where furniture, stoves, candles, and articles necessary to the comfort of a household are chiefly needed. Among these articles is the home itself; for one of the curiosities of Cincinnati is the making and exportation of houses by wholesale for the new farms and towns of the great valley. Far down the Missis- sippi, over the plains of Kansas, and on the waters of the Missouri, the Cincinnati manufacturer has put up whole houses, every joint and floor of which have been sawed, planed, and grooved in Cincinnati. In the same
regions, the mills, the plows, the machinery necessary to carry on agricultural life have been made in this city. Resources of industry and commerce like these can not be limited by competition, or exhausted in growth till, in some future age, the country shall be like China, filled with its hundreds of millions of people.
4. If industry creates commerce, so commerce must be carried on by LINES OF INTERCOMMUNICATION with all parts of the country. Cincinnati was early to see the need of these. It is now forty years since the Miami Canal was made. At that time canals were all
83
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
the rage, and Ohio made more than four hundred miles of canal, and the benefits expected from them have been fully realized. Cities, towns, villages, and cultivation have sprung up in their course, and even now, with all the prodigious competition of railroads, the canals carry an immense amount of produce and merchandise. The Miami Canal, which was then only intended to reach Dayton, has since been extended to Toledo, and connects with the whole lake region.
Soon after the completion of the canals, the farmers became intent on turnpikes ; for no sooner was a great and easy artery to the city made, than the necessity of turnpikes to communicate with it became evident. Cin- cinnati engaged heartily in it, and there is now no dis- trict of country better supplied with good roads than is the Miami Valley. The twelve counties composing the Valley have now one thousand five hundred miles of turnpike and plank roads, all of which tend directly or indirectly to this city. These, with the common farm roads, make more than six thousand miles of roads, by which the farm produce of this fertile region is carried off to its great markets.
More than thirty years ago, when the Baltimore Rail- road had been completed to Frederick, the subject of railroads was agitated in Cincinnati, and promptly was the work begun. The Little Miami Railroad was the first made, but was soon followed by the Hamilton and
84
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
Dayton, by the Indianapolis, by the Covington, and by the Ohio and Mississippi, till now there is no city-and we speak advisedly-which has more or more extended railroad communications than Cincinnati. It is cus- tomary with Chicago, St. Louis, and Philadelphia to speak of their railroad lines which enter the city as theirs, although they may extend across half the con- tinent. In one sense this is correct, for if a railroad enter Cincinnati from the East, and another from the West, and both connect with other lines over the con- tinent, bringing freight and passengers from town to town, those lines may fairly be said to belong to that city as much as to any other. A line which connects Cincinnati with Chicago belongs as much to one as it does to the other; and a line which goes directly to the Atlantic cities belongs as much to this city as to New York and Philadelphia. If this were the rule of cal- culation, Cincinnati, being entirely central, would have the advantage over either. But to give a correct and proper view of the railroad system of Cincinnati, we will give two tables of railroad distance, one bound by State lines, and the other of direct continuous lines centering here, and terminating in other large cities. The city of Cincinnati is central to three States-Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. There is no large city in either of them to compete with it except Louisville, which is not half its size, and competes but little with its commerce.
85
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
This being the case, we may very properly take the rail- roads of these States as being centralized at Cincinnati and connected rather with it than with any other place. The following table presents the number and the length of railroads in these three States, viz .:
NO.
MILES.
Ohio,
36,
3,500
Indiana,
14,
2,500
Kentucky, .
5,
700
Railroads,
55,
6,700
Here are over six thousand miles of railroad in the three States, whose central city is Cincinnati. The two States of Ohio and Indiana have a mile of railroad to every fourteen square miles of surface, an amount which is not equaled on any equal surface in the United States. When we consider the newness of the country, and the small amount of active capital compared with older States and countries, this is an extraordinary re- sult, and sufficient to show that Cincinnati has now in- ternal communications enough to drain every pound of surplus products in the region tributary to herself on the north side of the Ohio. But when we look south of the Ohio, we see comparatively a blank. The whole State of Kentucky has only about seven hundred miles of railroad, of which only two hundred are really tribu- tary to Cincinnati. In the one hundred thousand
86
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
square miles of territory south of the Ohio, whose whole trade must hereafter come to this city, extending to the mountains of North Carolina, there are only five hun- dred miles of railroad, four-fifths of which does not touch Cincinnati. This is a region, too, rich in all the resources of nature, and it is perfectly certain that these resources must soon be developed by the energy of en- terprise and the power of capital. For half a century the idea, rather than the reality, of slavery (which ex- isted only to a small extent) prevented men and capital from going where that shadow continued to rest. But now it is gone, and nothing can prevent that flow of people and energy which heretofore went only West, but will now pass the Ohio, and develop the rich re- gions of the South.
In order, however, to look at the railroad connections of Cincinnati in another point of view, yet which con- nects it with other cities, we give a table of direct lines to them:
LINES.
MILES.
To Baltimore, .
2
840
To Philadelphia,
1
668
To New York, .
2
1705
To Toledo,
1
202
To Chicago, .
2
650
To St. Louis,
2
717
To Louisville, .
1
105
To Lexington, .
1 100
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87
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
There are five thousand miles of railroad on the DI- RECT LINES to the principal cities, and which, with their lateral branches, will make an aggregate of at least seven thousand miles. To Baltimore the routes are by Wheeling and Parkersburg; to New York, by the Central and the Erie; to St. Louis, by Vincennes and by Terre Haute. The direct railroad lines to each of these cities are respectively :
MILES.
To Baltimore, 506
To Philadelphia, 668
To New York, 764
To Chicago, 294
To St. Louis, .
340
To Louisville, 105
It will be seen that the shortest line of railroad to tidewater is to Baltimore; but the distance to Norfolk and Charleston, on the Atlantic, is no more than to Baltimore, while that city is one hundred and fifty miles from the ocean. It is apparent, therefore, that if a direct Southern line is made to either Norfolk or Charleston, it will command the Atlantic freight from Cincinnati to Europe.
The summary of the facts above presented, in regard to the commercial intercommunication of Cincinnati, exhibits some extraordinary results in the narrow Valley of the Miami, all of which is tributary to Cin- cinnati. There are:
88
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
Canals,
MILES. 100
Turnpikes, 1,600
Common Roads, 4,500
Railroads, .
500
In the three States tributary to this city, there are six thousand seven hundred miles of railroad, and in the direct lines centering in the city there are five thousand miles. We have not the means of comparing this ex- hibit with the best districts of Europe, but it exceeds any thing to be found in an equal space of this country. Chicago is probably the nearest; but the three States of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin have not yet exceeded Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky in railroads. All New England and New York do not exceed, in miles of rail- road, the three States which lie around Cincinnati. But we need not proceed with these comparisons. It is evident that the broad plains and fertile vales, the inexhaustible beds of iron and coal, and the now fast- accumulating capital of cities and towns, will cause and compel, in all time to come, the largest amount of in- tercommunication which can belong to any great com- mercial center.
5. Where industry, commerce, fertile lands, and nu- merous lines of communication exist together, indi- vidual PROPERTY and AGGREGATE WEALTH must grow and accumulate. Let us, for a moment, see how Cin- cinnati stands in regard to wealth. The assessed values
89
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
of property are never accurate, and always below the true values ; but these assessments serve very well for a comparison, and to show the growth of capital by the gradual accumulations of industry and commerce. The following table shows the valuations of property in Hamilton County (in which Cincinnati is) for a series of years :
Value of all property in 1841, . $10,760,494
Value of all property in 1850, 55,670,631
Value of all property in 1860, . 119,508,170
Value of all property in 1869, 166,945,497
These statements are taken from the Annual Report of the Auditor of State, and are sufficiently accurate to show the progress of the city in wealth and capital. From 1850 to 1869, the value of property increased threefold, and, in the past nine years, thirty-two per .cent. The main increase is in money, merchandise, banks, and manufactures. These have, in nine years, increased nearly forty millions of dollars. This proves that Cincinnati is now passing through the same change, in the kind and growth of its wealth, which New York and Philadelphia passed through at the same period of their growth. In the first period of building up a con- siderable city, all the accumulations of capital go into real estate and manufactures, so that there is a defi- ciency of commercial capital; but, after this, when cities become self-sustaining, commercial and banking
90
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
capital is increased, and the valuations form a much larger proportion of money, merchandise, and stocks. This period, New York passed through thirty years ago, and Cincinnati is going through now. With the increase of capital, comes also more frequent sales of property, more loans, and more building. This may be seen in two lines, exhibiting the deeds made, the money loaned on property, and the new buildings in the years 1859 and 1867-the one before the war, and the other since, and showing the change in eight years :
1859.
1867.
Deeds,
4,560
6,697
Money on Mortgages, .
$6,642,225
$12,739,512
New Buildings,
683
1,372
Perhaps nothing can show the true condition and prog- ress of Cincinnati better than this table. It shows that, just previous to the war, the progress of this city had been much checked, but that, since, its former growth has recommenced. There is now more building and more sales of real property than has been known for many years.
6. With new buildings and new growth, there comes the need of PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, and, accordingly, the public mind, which has only recently thought of Cincinnati as something more than a mere inland town, has been quickened and excited with the idea of public works which may adorn and improve the true
91
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
metropolis of the West. It is but a short time since was completed, by an incorporated company, the most magnificent suspension bridge in the world. When the bridge at Niagara was built, it was considered one of those extraordinary things which could hardly be equaled; but the Cincinnati bridge surpasses that. It spans the entire River Ohio, and, at the height of one hundred feet in the air, admits the passage of the largest steamboats. Another bridge over the Licking unites Newport and Covington; so that now the Queen City and her Kentucky daughters sit in a united, com- pact, and graceful circle on the waters of the Ohio, and in the splendid amphitheater which nature has provided for them.
The bridging of the Ohio, being thus commenced, is not to end with this. It is now certain that every great arte- rial line of railroad passing from the great lakes of the North to the Southern sea-board must, to be successful, cross the Ohio on bridges; accordingly, the Baltimore and Ohio Road is building one at Parkersburg; and so, also, the great roads which connect New York and Philadelphia with Cincinnati seek to bridge the river, that they may connect fully with the line now, or here- after to be, made from this city to the South. The bridge from Newport to this city, which is understood to be in the interest of the Pennsylvania Railroad, is begun, and will progress to completion. The roads ter-
92
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
minating in the west of the city have a charter, and anticipate building a bridge below. Thus, it takes no great imagination to see that cities on both sides of the Ohio, united by bridges and streets, will seem to be one harmonious whole.
With the bridges comes also a vision of parks and avenues. The city council have already authorized and laid out three great avenues, corresponding to the natural outlets of the city; and as the city climbs the hills and extends into what were once mere rural shades, these avenues will also ascend the furthest sum- mits, and unite the pleasures of the country with those of the city. The street car, that most convenient of mod- ern inventions, will go with them. But there will still be needed also great breathing places-parks; and parks the people will have, although no great progress is made yet. On the east of the city, near the hill where the old Indian chief looked down on the garrison of Fort Washington, the city has a large piece of ground called Eden Park. There the new water reservoirs are to be placed; and when such a park shall be filled with water, trees, and shrubbery, and one shall look down on this vast city, and follow with the eye the winding Ohio, it can not be said that Cincinnati is without one of the most beautiful walks and gardens which natural beauty or artistic skill has produced for any city. Other parks and other adornments will come with time, and the
93
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
charms of nature be enhanced by the improvements of man.
7. With all this growth of industry, commerce, and material improvement, Cincinnati has never forgotten that mind is superior to matter, and that to educate the people is the highest obligation of a civilized commu- nity. Hence, from the very beginning, means have been taken to promote popular education, till now, every child in the city can be educated in the most prac- tical branches of knowledge; and, by the sagacity and liberality of individuals, means have been provided for the foundations of the highest institutions of learning. A brief outline of the schools, seminaries, and colleges of Cincinnati will serve the purpose of this general description.
At the basis of education in this city are the PUBLIC SCHOOLS. To these all youth, between the ages of five and twenty-one, have access. According to the law of pro- portions, established by the censuses, this comprehends thirty-nine per cent. of the whole population, and at the present time gives ninety thousand seven hundred youth within the legal age entitled to public instruction. Of these only about twenty-five thousand are in the schools at any one time; but ten thousand others are in the parochial and private schools-making in all thirty-five thousand at one period in course of education. Some persons have compared this with the whole number
94
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
entitled by law to attend the schools, and hence in- ferred that there must be great numbers of children who do not attend school at all, but this is a great mistake. The children of the poor and working classes, which are the greatest number, are withdrawn from school at not more than twelve or thirteen years of age, and nearly the whole body of youth in school are with- drawn before they are eighteen years; so that the at- tendance in the schools is by classes and installments, and probably thirty-five thousand is as many as can be expected to be in attendance at the present time. Probably not more than one in a hundred escape in- struction at any school, and those who do not attend more than one-third of the time to which they are en- titled, nevertheless get what are called the rudiments of knowledge. But some one may ask, How come ten thousand in parochial and private schools? The great body of these are in the Roman Catholic parish schools. They originated in consequence of the dissatisfaction of the Catholics with the conduct of the public schools. Parish schools are attached to nearly all the Roman Cath- olic churches, and contain several thousand pupils. In addition to these are many private schools and semina- ries, especially those for girls, which are preferred by some parents on account of special instruction, particu- larly in the ornamental branches which they afford.
In 1860, there were forty-six schools and seminaries,
95
THE CITY OF CINCINNATI.
parochial and private, in Cincinnati, of which twenty- seven were Roman Catholic, containing nine thousand and six hundred pupils, but the number is no doubt increased. There are now in this class of schools and seminaries fully twelve thousand. The public schools of Cincinnati have, in recent years, been crowned by the high schools, institutions, which, in their general char- acter, are the same with what are commonly known as " colleges," and in regard to law, may be made to com- prehend universal knowledge, for the law does not re- strict their studies. Of these one is for boys and the other for girls. Both have been founded by the sagac- ity and liberality of early pioneers-William Wood- ward and John Hughes-from whom they are called the Woodward and Hughes Schools. The pupils of these colleges are the graduates of the common schools. At each annual examination a certain number of those who have passed out are entitled to enter the High Schools, and thus they may pursue, so far as they have time and ambition, the highest range of studies. The list of subjects pursued in the high schools, as returned in the annual reports, shows that to these students is open every branch of learning attainable in any of our col- leges. Then the public system is perfected by the estab- lishment of a graduated system of instruction, which leads the minds of youths, if they give time to it, from the very alphabet of knowledge to the higher regions of
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