USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The suburbs of Cincinnati : sketches, historical and descriptive > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15
In front of the entire building there will be a magnificent stone terrace.
44
Suburbs of Cincinnati.
fifty feet wide, upon which a carriage drive will be constructed. There will be a stone terrace on the east also, twenty feet wide.
This description will give an idea of what "Scarlet Oaks," which this country seat is called, will become, when Mr. Shoenberger shall have com- pleted a work which he has so liberally begun.
Opposite Mr. Ellis', on the south side of Lafayette avenue, is the residence of Mrs. Charles Neave. The location is a high and commanding one, and the surroundings attractive. There are six acres of handsomely-rolling lands, shaded with forest trees and ornamented with evergreens.
Adjoining Mrs. Neave's, on the west, is the home of the Rev. Charles P. McIlvaine, D.D., Bishop of Ohio. He has fourteen acres of land, well covered with forest trees of many years' growth. He has a comfortable mansion, free from ostentation, erected in 1845, surrounded by evergreens and shaded by the great oaks, among which one drives in approaching his residence.
Adjoining this is the pleasant home of J. H. Hewson, erected on four acres of land, eight years ago. This has a broad veranda on the west, which is shaded by a spreading oak, with verandas also on the east, and portions of the north, front. The premises are quiet and pleasant, with a neat graveled drive leading to the dwelling.
The next place is William C. Neff's, on the south side of the avenue, consisting of twenty-five acres of land, well covered with forest timber. Mr. Neff has just completed one of the finest residences in Clifton. The new building is constructed of blue limestone, with walls of broken ashlar work and limestone trimmings. Unlike Mr. Probasco's, it is exclusively of limestone. The greater number of the corners of the building, including the windows and doors, are splayed, the margin rendered smooth with the chisel, and the panel rough-tooled.
The main building, exclusive of veranda, is one hundred and twenty-two feet long by seventy-two feet at its greatest width, the mediumn width being fifty-eight feet. The hight of the main walls is thirty-two feet, and the whole building is covered with a metallic roof. The tower, the summit of
45
Clifton.
which is sixty-four feet from the ground, exclusive of the observatory, which adds twenty-one feet, is square, twenty-three feet from out to out, and has at each angle octagonal buttresses. The building faces the avenue, which is on the north. The porte cochere connects immediately 'with the main front, and is about nineteen feet square. This opens to a vestibule, which communicates immediately with the main hall, thirty-two feet in length and fifteen feet in width.
The first room after entering the main hall is the library, thirty-two by twenty-three feet, with a large bay window looking to the north, and a French window opening upon the porch, which describes the entire west front of the edifice. To the rear of this is the parlor, thirty-six by twenty- three feet, with a recess on the west of eleven by five feet. On the south the parlor terminates in a spacious bay window. The hall leads to a boudoir fifteen feet square, which has three sets of folding doors-one open- ing into the hall, the others into the parlor on the one side and the dining room upon the other. The latter room, in the south-east part of the main building, is thirty by twenty-two feet. The family room, separated from the dining room by a hall thirteen feet in width, is nineteen by twenty-five feet. It is furnished with a large bay window looking out from the main front, and on the south communicates with an arcade of wood and glass, fourteen by twenty-six feet. To the south are the kitchens, pantry and ser- vants' dining room. The second floor conforms in general to the plan of the first. The attic is large and the cellar the size of the entire building.
The whole edifice inside is finished with oak, white and black walnut, and supplied with hot and cold water.
Mr. Neff's house is set well back from the avenue, and commands a fine view of the country to the westward. The work has been under the imme- diate superintendence of the architect, Thomas Sargent.
Near by is the residence of William H. Shoenberger, which is an elegant edifice, trimmed with freestone, entered by a roomy porch, and partially surrounded by verandas. This was erected by John A. D. Burrows, about the year 1847, and subsequently improved by R. A. Whetstone. Mr.
46
Suburbs of Cincinnati.
Shoenberger has eighteen acres of land, and enjoys a fine lawn, evergreens, flowers and forest trees, among which rustic seats have been erected.
Beyond Mr. Shoenberger's, on the right, just as the avenue turns sharply to the left, is the place of the late R. B. Bowler. Here Mr. Bowler, in 1844, purchased about seventy acres, upon which, in 1846, he built a resi- dence, to which he soon thereafter removed. At the gate is the porter's lodge, now occupied by Mr. Rice, the gardener of the premises. This passed, a smooth graveled drive, skirting the brow of the hill, leads to the family mansion. To the right is the valley far below, with beautiful gar- dens, Spring Grove Cemetery, the remote farms, the hill-sides and distant villages; to the left, the beautiful green lawn, intersected by graveled walks, with here and there an old forest tree, and, at intervals, groups of young native and foreign trees, which invite one to their refreshing shade or their rich and rare foliage. The dwelling is a large two-story brick edi- fice, stuccoed in imitation of stone, with broad porches looking out to the west and north, and an extensive terrace on the south. Though the house is superbly finished, and within has rare attractions, it is not the sole dis- tinguishing feature. Claiming a share of the honors of the place are the splendid landscapes that open up and down the valley; the distant hills of Kentucky upon the south and the highlands on the north; the profusion of foreign forest and ornamental trees, and the ten extensive green-houses, filled with the richest flowers of our country and the rarest varieties of for- eign lands. In one house are collected ninety varieties of camelias, sixty of begonias, and the sago palm, with trunk a foot in diameter, together with a splendid specimen of the century plant. Then there is the orchid- house, containing the largest collection of orchids, or plants that live with- out soil or moisture, save what is contained in the atmosphere, that is found in the United States.
In addition to these is the banana-house, containing eight banana trees, whose green, fleshy-looking trunks are now full grown. Here, the year round, may be seen the fruit of the tropics, abundant under the warm skies of the South, but rare enough amidst the ice and snows of this latitude.
47
Clifton.
Among the rich collection of trees there are eleven varieties of magnolia one of the few variegated weeping lindens of the country ; the mountain, vari' egated, and striped-bark English maple; Tartarian maple; the curled-leaf. willow-leaf, walnut-leaf, black, weeping dwarf, and variegated English ash; a great variety of the English elm, besides five varieties of the linden. There are also the hardy pines of this country, England and Norway. This is but an allusion to a part of the rich collection which stud these grounds.
In the lake on these premises are one pair each of black and white swans, the former now the oldest that are in this country.
The Bowler property has had the same superintendent, James Cluxton, for twenty years.
These premises, during the absence of Mrs. Bowler in Europe, have been the hospitable home of her brother, the Hon. Geo. H. Pendleton.
On Crescent avenue, near the base of the hill, is the residence of J. C. Ringwalt-a substantial edifice, with tower, veranda on the south, and pleasant surroundings. Mr. Ringwalt has evergreens and shrubbery, besides a pretty lakelet which he has formed in the ravine that passes through his premises in the rear. He has about eight acres of land, and enjoys a place of unusual retirement and beauty.
Below him are the premises of Thomas L. Brown, consisting of six acres of land and a spacious dwelling, with comfortable surroundings.
Beyond this is the old home of W. G. W. Gano, who, in this retired spot, has lived from the earliest history of Clifton.
On Resor avenue, after passing Theodore Cook's property, on the south side of the avenue, is the place of Mrs. C. W. Ellis, consisting of an ele- gant building, with Mansard roof and tower. The grounds are handsome, and a rustic fence separates the property from the avenue.
West of this is the dwelling and comfortable surroundings of General Yorke.
Immediately adjoining are the premises of George W. McAlpin, consist- ing of two and a half acres of land, and a spacious residence, with French
48
Suburbs of Cincinnati.
roof, and verandas on the north and east. Mr. McAlpin's grounds are attractive, and his home one of comfort and taste.
At the end of the avenue, on one of the most eligible sites in Clifton, is the residence of David Gibson, built about sixteen years ago by Reuben Resor. Mr. Gibson has here made very valuable improvements. The house is a spacious one, with an ample veranda, and an exterior both imposing and attractive. The interior finish of the building is of a beau- tiful character. The halls are wide and airy, and the rooms large and well finished. The landscape from this place, embracing Mt. Auburn and the valley of Millcreek, and parts of Avondale, is unusually attractive.
Returning to Glenway, on the north side is the dwelling of James R. Smith, an edifice surrounded by verandas, about which vines and flowers are skillfully trained. The lands, comprising six acres, lie high and hand- somely, and are well covered with forest trees and evergreens. Mr. Smith has also a beautiful lawn.
Next on the east are about three acres, owned by S. Holmes, on which he has erected a handsome residence, with verandas looking both to front and west. His grounds are well shaded and set with evergreens and flowers.
The next improvement on Glenway is that of S. C. Foster, with verandas fronting both on Glenway and Carthage road. This is a tasteful resi- dence, two stories, with Mansard roof, built on an elevation that rises sud- denly from the Carthage road on the east, and beautifully from Glen- way. Mr. Foster has twelve acres, well covered with young forest trees and evergreens.
All these places to which we have alluded on Glenway have well-con- structed carriage drives intersecting their grounds, by which the buildings are approached.
North of Mr. Holmes', S. G. Sterling has recently erected a handsome dwelling. Mr. Sterling has a lot of four acres, which is approached by Biddle street, a short, new street running north between Mr. Holmes' and Mr. Foster's premises.
49
Clifton.
On the south-east corner of Glenway and Brookline avenue, E. T. Kidd, of the Cincinnati Gazette, last year finished a very tasteful residence. The house is a two-story brick, amply supplied with verandas, and, in addi- tion, has what is beautiful, but rare in this country, a bay window at the angle. His dwelling is furnished with the modern improvements, and his commanding lot of five acres gives him an outlook which is exceedingly desirable.
Between Brookline avenue and the Carthage road, Alexander Lewis has a tract of about twelve acres. Though Mr. Lewis' residence is near and immediately above the Carthage road, it is approached through his ample grounds, which are entered at the intersection of Brookline and Ludlow avenues. He has a lakelet, plenty of fruit trees, and a very eligible location.
On the Carthage road is the place of Judge William Johnson, who has twenty-eight acres, upon which is a stone dwelling, built many years ago.
On Ludlow avenue is the dwelling of William Weighell and the new residence of P. McAvoy; on the south-east corner of Clifton avenue, the neat dwelling of P. M. Hirst; diagonally opposite the latter, the Bryant premises, lately much improved.
On the south side of Ludlow avenue, west of Clifton avenue, is the new residence of Richard Smith, of the Cincinnati Gazette, Few persons have been so fortunate in the selection of sites. From an elevated position, Mr. Smith looks out upon the splendid improvements on the north, and enjoys the distant landscapes in which this locality is so rich. His residence is of brick, two stories, with observatory, and spacious portico looking to the ave- nue. His parlors, library, and every thing, indeed, pertaining to the prem- ises, are characterized by simple elegance. The entire house is supplied with hot and cold water, and no appointment seems wanting to make it one of the most complete suburban homes.
Following, successively, are the cottage of Mr. Nash and the residences of Charles M. Shays and John G. Brotherton.
Still farther west, Howell Gano has purchased ten acres, and has erected
50
Suburbs of Cincinnati.
a pleasant frame dwelling, which he will occupy until he makes the more valuable improvements, which are in contemplation.
On the opposite side of Ludlow avenue, Theophilus Jones has a lot of five and three-quarters acres, and a desirable residence.
Not remote from this, but on Lafayette avenue, are the premises of Daniel Bowdle, consisting of twenty-six acres of land and two dwellings- one occupied by his son and the other by himself.
CHURCHES.
The first church was erected in Clifton twenty years ago, and was known as Clifton Chapel. This was the old building recently vacated, at the inter- section of Lafayette and Crescent avenues. In this Bishop McIlvaine officiated until Rev. Wm. F. Lloyd was procured, about which time a par- ish was regularly organized. This was occupied until the 19th of January, 1868, when Calvary Church was completed. This new church edifice is ele- gant in its proportions and beautiful in design. It is built of blue limestone, with rich freestone quoins and angles. The general style is Gothic, with nave and small transepts. Looking to the avenue is a cluster of elegant, narrow, longitudinal windows. The roof is steep and covered with slate. The tower, for symmetry and elegance, has among the smaller church edi- fices of the country, few equals. Unlike the less enduring slate, with which many towers and spires are now covered, it is built of freestone to the very summit, and conveys to the mind the idea of grace combined with solidity and safety. Throughout generations, without the interposition of mechanic or artisan, it will stand the same enduring monument to the taste and liber- ality of the people. The interior is neat and tasteful. The pews are open, and the wood-work is composed largely of oak and other white woods. The entire cost of the edifice was about $60,000.
This congregation has also a parsonage, located on Crescent avenue, between Mr. Ringwalt's premises and Mr. Buchanan's. It is a neat cot- tage, nestled in a little nook of about two acres, with pleasant surroundings.
51
Clifton.
The rector is Rev. G. D. E. Mortimer. The Sabbath-school is in charge of Caldwell Neave.
SCHOOLS.
Clifton has an excellent public school. The old building, a two-story brick, erected about ten years ago, has recently been supplanted by a build- ing that would do honor to any place. This is known as Resor Academy and Clifton Literary Institute. It was completed in February, 1870, and on the evening of the second of that month was dedicated with appropriate cere- monies, in the presence of a large audience. The edifice is a very large two- story brick, with a main building presenting its front to Clifton avenue, and commodious wings stretching on either side. The heavy brick walls are relieved by ashlar work of freestone. A heavy square tower rises from the south wing, bearing a bell of considerable dimensions, and also displaying a town-clock of unique construction. Besides being well supplied with rooms for study and recitation, the building contains one of the most elegant halls in the county. In this the citizens of this delightful suburb have their lec- tures, concerts, etc., and by its aid have little trouble in finding compensa- tion for absence from the amusements of the city.
The school has been until recently under the charge of Mr. S. G. Ster- ling, with one female assistant, Mr. Sterling was a teacher in Clifton twenty years. No greater tribute could be paid any teacher than to employ him for a period so long. The school has been eminently successful, and it is largely due to his untiring labors.
A wonderful advance has taken place in the price of lands in this locality since public attention was first turned in this direction.
In the year 1844 James Robb, of New Orleans, a prominent banker, now of New York City, purchased about sixty-five acres of land, comprising what is now the Bennett, Taylor and Ellis property, for which he paid $65 per acre. In 1849 this was sold by him for $275 per acre, and six years afterward a portion of the same lands was sold for $1,000 per acre. Early
52
Suburbs of Cincinnati.
in 1868 lands belonging to the Bryant estate, on Clifton and Ludlow ave- nues, sold at an average of about $3,000 per acre. This indicates that eligible lands in this locality have increased about forty-six hundred per cent. in twenty-four years.
The following gentlemen are officers of Clifton for 1870-71 :
Mayor -- ROBERT HOSEA.
Clerk-S. G. STERLING.
Trustees of Council-WILLIAM RESOR, JAMES BUGHER, HENRY PRO- BASCO, THOMAS SHERLOCK, RICHARD SMITH, S. C. FOSTER.
School Directors-GAZZAM GANO, J. L. WAYNE, JR., THEODORE COOK.
COLLEGE HILL.
"OLLEGE HILL is a name with which nearly every one acquainted with Cincinnati is familiar. The location of one of the largest female schools in the West; the seat of a once popular college, and at an early period the possessor of a large academy from which the former grew, it needs, as an educational point, no introduction.
In the history of the place the Cary family have performed an important part. Much of the land upon which the village is built was originally owned by Wm. Cary. Freeman G. Cary, the son, was the founder of Cary's Acad- emy and Farmers' College, and both he and his brother have been identified with the educational history and progress of the place from the beginning. College Hill is about five miles from the northern limits of the city, a few degrees west of north from the court-house, and embraces a little less than a section of land. It includes a fraction more than the west half of section thirty of Millcreek township, besides about one-third of section thirty-six, which lies immediately west. The place is square, with the exception that nearly thirty acres, belonging to Zebulon Strong, are taken from the south-east cor- ner. William Cary, as far back as September 8, 1813, purchased four hundred and ninety-one and one-half acres, from section thirty, of Jabez (1. Tunis, who procured his title from Nehemiah Tunis. The latter purchased both this and section thirty-six from John Cleves Symmes, in October, 1796. For this large tract Mr. Cary paid $3,440, a sum which would now scarcely
54
Suburbs of Cincinnati.
buy an eligible lot in the same locality. Its schools created the village. Allusion has been made to Cary's Academy, which was established by and named for Freeman G. Cary. A good school brought with it, one by one, desirable families, who came to the place to educate their children and enjoy the general benefits to be derived from proximity to educational institutions.
About the year 1855 many Cincinnati people began to feel like seeking country homes. At this time there came to College Hill such men as Charles Cist, D. B. Pierson, G. Y. Roots, Rev. Clement E. Babb, George C. Knight, Norris S. Knight, Charles E. Cist, J. C. C. Holenshade, and A. D. E. Tweed.
It was not long before it began to be seen how railroads were to almost annihilate distance, equalize values, and sweep population out over the hills, where they could have the fresh air of heaven and revel amid the beauties of nature. College Hill had enterprising citizens, who took hold of matters in earnest, and soon gave the village a new life. An event trifling in itself had not a little to do in acquainting people with the singular beauty and desirableness of this locality. This was the opening to boarders, during the summer vacation, of the Ohio Female College. Hundreds visited College Hill for the first time; and many, after having enjoyed the cool nights, pure air and splendid landscape, returned to the city with reluctance. People learned, too, that though the hills were high, they were by no means as difficult of ascent as the Alps. Thus public attention was directed to College Hill, and a new impetus given to its progress.
In 1866 the village was incorporated, and since that time the authorities have entered upon a general system of improvement. Streets have been laid out and macadamized, sidewalks authorized and constructed, new school buildings projected, and a general advance made in all that pertains to the growth and prosperity of a village.
The location of College Hill is among the highest in Hamilton county. The air is salubrious, and the locality one generally of remarkable health. The scenery is not excelled, if, indeed, it is equaled, by any about Cincin-
55
College Hill.
nati. From the eligible points of the hill, panoramas are spread out which almost rival mountain regions in beauty and extent.
FARMERS' COLLEGE.
Farmers' College is an institution that has been well known throughout Ohio and adjoining states for twenty years. It has seen times of great prosperity, when its halls were crowded with students, and again when it has had little more than an existence. The effort, years ago, to endow an agricultural professorship was by no means successful, and the college labored under the embarrassment of a debt it could not pay. This was the situation five years ago, when an effort was made by its friends to relieve it of its indebtedness and restore it to its former prosperity. It was thought by them the better course to convert the unprofitable real property of the col- lege into money with which the debts could be paid, and to use the residue for the benefit of the school. Accordingly, an act was procured from the legislature enabling them to sell the lands, and, after the payment of the debts, to provide an irreducible fund, the interest of which was to be faith- fully used for the conduct of the school. The land used for agricultural and horticultural purposes was sold under this authority, and from the ninety-two acres was realized a sum sufficient to pay the indebtedness and leave a balance of about fifty-two thousand dollars, which will constitute a fund, the interest of which will be a source of constant revenue to the insti- tution. In 1867-8 two professors were employed, J. C. Brodfuehrer and Mr. Hoffman. Since then Mr. Hoffman has retired and C. H. Gerard become his successor. The average attendance during the past two years has been about thirty-five scholars. Professor C. D. Curtis was re-elected President of the Faculty at the reorganization, and has held the position to the present time. It will thus be seen that this institution of learning is placed in a situation where it can, with proper management on the part of those engaged in the actual educational labor of the school, either turn its attention to creating an academy with facilities for taking a front rank
56
Suburbs of Cincinnati.
among such institutions of the land, or even aspiring to a collegiate position not inferior to the one occupied by it during its palmiest days.
The building is one hundred and twenty feet front by forty-eight feet in depth, is three stories, and is provided with a large chapel and two good, well-furnished society rooms.
OHIO FEMALE COLLEGE.
The charter of this institution was procured in 1848, Justice McLean being the first president of the board of trustees. Originally it was an individual enterprise, with a board of trustees having only advisory power. This state of things continued until the year 1865, at which time the prop- erty was owned by Samuel F. Cary, Franklin Y. Vail and Joseph Brown. Late in this year the interests of the two former were purchased by the board of trustees, with means raised by subscription for this purpose. In the following year Mr. Brown's interest was also purchased, when the entire institution was vested in the president and board of trustees.
This disposition of the property was regarded as a favorable change, and the school was progressing admirably under the new administration, when, on the 23d of April, 1868, the main building was completely destroyed by fire, it being the second time a calamity of this kind had befallen the institution.
While the building was yet burning, a meeting of the board of trustees and citizens was called at the house of J. C. C. Holenshade, at which, with a courage and liberality equally commendable, it was determined to con- tinue the school to the close of that collegiate year. The citizens generally came forward, and made provision at their own houses for the houseless young ladies until the close of the following June.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.