Cincinnati by shamandour

Photo by: A. Shamandour Location: Cincinnati, OH, USA Website | Deviant Art | Twitter | Flickr | Cincinnati was founded in 1788 when Mathias Denman, Colonel Robert Patterson and Israel Ludlow landed at the spot on the north bank of the Ohio River opposite the mouth of the Licking River. The original surveyor, John Filson, named it "Losantiville". In 1790, Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory, changed the name of the settlement to "Cincinnati" in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, of which he was a member. Germans were among the first settlers. General David Ziegler succeeded General St. Clair in command at Fort Washington and became the mayor of Cincinnati in 1802. Cincinnati was incorporated as a city in 1819. The introduction of steam navigation on the Ohio River in 1811 and the completion of the Miami and Erie Canal helped the city grow to 115,000 residents by 1850. Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal began on July 21, 1825, when it was called the Miami Canal, related to its origin at the Great Miami River. The canal became operational in 1827. In 1827, the canal connected Cincinnati to nearby Middletown; by 1840, it had reached Toledo. During this period of rapid expansion, residents of Cincinnati began referring to the city as the "Queen" city. Cincinnati depended on trade with the slave states south of the Ohio River, at a time when growing numbers of African Americans were settling in the state. This led to tensions between anti-abolitionists and citizens in favor of lifting restrictions on blacks codified in the "Black Code" of 1804. There were riots in 1829, where many blacks lost their homes and property, further riots in 1836 in which an abolitionist press was twice destroyed, and more rioting in 1842. Railroads were the first major form of commercial transportation to come to Cincinnati. In 1836, the Little Miami Railroad was chartered. Construction began soon after, to connect Cincinnati with the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, and provide access to the ports of the Sandusky Bay on Lake Erie. In 1859, Cincinnati laid out six streetcar lines, using horse-drawn cars, making it easier for people to get around the city. By 1872, Cincinnatians could travel on the streetcars within the city and transfer to rail cars for travel to the hill communities. The Cincinnati Inclined Plane Company began transporting people to the top of Mount Auburn that year. Cincinnati, a major city of the Ohio Valley, is situated on the north bank of the Ohio River in Hamilton County, which is the extreme southwestern county of the state of Ohio. It is midway by river between the cities of Pittsburgh and Cairo. The city lies opposite the mouth of the Licking River, which fact was apparently the determinant as to its original location. Cincinnati's core metro area spans parts of southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 79.54 square miles (206.01 km2), of which 77.94 square miles (201.86 km2) is land and 1.60 square miles (4.14 km2) is water. The city spreads over a number of hills, bluffs, and low ridges overlooking the Ohio River in the Bluegrass region of the country. Cincinnati is geographically located within the Midwest and is on the far northern periphery of the Upland South. Two-thirds of the American population live within a one-day drive of the city. This topography is often used for physical activity. The Steps of Cincinnati provide pedestrians a mode to traverse the many hills in the city. In addition to practical use linking hillside neighborhoods, the 400 stairways provide visitors scenic views of the Cincinnati area. via 500px http://j.mp/1xTqwvA