Sell Your Car for Cash in College Hill, Cincinnati

Before 1789: Native Americans inhabited the area then known as “The Glade”. The first recorded white settler in College Hill was Henery Stephens from Virginia , who came to Cincinnati in 1788 and settled there.

Early history: In 1789, John Cleves Symmes (1742-1814) of New Jersey purchased of land from the Northwest Territory government in Cincinnati for $2,000. Among other things, he had hoped to sell some of this land to Revolutionary War veterans who desired their own farms after the war. At that time, College Hill was a steep hill overlooking the valley where Cincinnati was just beginning to be constructed.  The first settler on the hill was Henry Stephens in 1788 and many others followed after him as they saw potential with its great views of downtown Cincinnati, a good water supply from springs on the hillside and fertile soil from being glacial till  In those days residents used College Hill as a place to escape the fever and sickness of Cincinnati, choosing instead to visit the hill only in the summer since it was cooler than downtown Cincy.

History: From 1788-1830s: The first home on College Hill was built around 1788 by Henry Stephens. It has been moved twice before being dismantled for its lumber in 1883. In 1800, William Lytle (1748-1826) built his brick home along with an orchard which advertised apples for sale in 1806; this house can still be seen at 1332 Chase Ave. Dr.Josiah Harmar (1753-1813), who became one of Cincinnati’s original six trustees when Washington township (Cincinnati) was incorporated in 1802, built a house with gambrel roof about 1800.

College Hill’s most famous resident, America’s 9th president William Henry Harrison (1773-1841), moved onto the hill in 1801 with his wife Anna Tuthill Symmes (daughter of John Cleves Symmes) . His grandson Benjamin Harrison would become the 23rd president nearly 100 years later. The President’s home was built on property bought from Adam Schoenbrun, who had bought it from Joseph Woodruff shortly after 1800. This land is now occupied by St. Francis de Sales Church and Rectory at 1345 Bunkerhill St. Dr.William Lytle lived next door to the Harrisons until his death in 1826.

After 1830s: In the early 1830s, new roads and paths were cut through College Hill to ease access from the west side of town to downtown; this made development more attractive and easier. Many brick homes were built on narrow lots between large estates and orchards, filling up the hill very quickly by 1840. Among these new homes was one for General James Taylor Jr., son of Colonel James Taylor who had been a member of the pioneer party that settled Fort Washington in 1789. The house stood at 1383 Chase Ave (no longer standing). Also notable is 1357 Bunkerhill St (now demolished), which was built in 1834 by Dr Henry A Burnet as his home and office. During this era College Hill was part of the greater west side area of Cincinnati, which also included Price Hill, Westwood, Sedamsville, Carthage and Elmwood Place along with future municipalities Saint Bernard and Kennedy Heights.

The Civil War Era : During the Civil War there were no battles fought in Cincinnati itself but it did serve as a major hospital center for soldiers injured in battle. By 1862 there were nearly 400 patients at Grandview Hospital on Kellogg Avenue (now part of Xavier University’s campus). It was said that many Confederate soldiers could be found walking around College Hill after the war ended because they couldn’t or wouldn’t return to their homes in the South.

1880-1910: College Hill continued growing during the 1880s and ’90s with many beautiful Queen Anne-style homes built on large lots for wealthy Cincinnatians. The houses on the eastern side of Chase Ave between Erie and Bridgetown were much more modest though, having been built for middle and working class families and immigrants (mostly German).

During this era Irish Catholics began moving onto the hill to escape Cincinnati’s growing crime problems; there had already been a small but established Irish community in Price Hill since 1835 when work began on the Miami Canal. The canal was routed through that area as it headed south from downtown to Lockland (see map), which was named after early settler Gottlieb Lockner. These new residents welcomed an all-Irish parish being built on the hill at about this time, St. Lawrence O’Toole, which still stands today.

Start of the 20th Century: College Hill’s last large growth spurt came at the turn of the 20th century during Cincinnati’s streetcar system expansion. Many new homes were built between 1910 and 1930 in several different styles that are still fairly common today; smaller bungalows, Foursquares, Cape Cods and Tudor-style houses can all be found on narrow lots throughout the neighborhood.

The neighborhood was affected very little by the Great Depression due to its relative distance from downtown (it is actually split down the middle by Main Street) but it was badly impacted by The Great Flood of 1937, reached nearly to Erie Ave west of Kellogg.

World War 2 Era: During this time, a temporary housing complex was built near the end of Erie Ave called “Terrace Row” that housed workers at the nearby Kingsbury Ordnance Plant which converted raw materials to finished munitions for use overseas. It consisted of 5 apartment buildings with over 1,000 units surrounding a landscaped park area. After the war they were rented to veterans who couldn’t find homes or apartments elsewhere because most existing structures had been damaged by bombs and bullets from both armies. In 1955 it was renamed Kingsbury Estates and turned into condominiums although some units are still rented today for low-income families.

The public housing project on Erie St west of Elmwood called The Orchards opened soon after Terrace Row was completed.

In the 1950s:  a new high school, not quite as large as the local college, was built on the hill at Erie and Bridgetown which eventually turned into a junior high school but that closed in 2001 due to too few students enrolled. Instead of being used for anything else it has been allowed to completely fall apart by its owner (the school district) who now uses it as storage space for maintenance equipment. A developer is looking to buy the property from the school board with plans for upscale condominiums or apartments on most of the site and commercial space on Erie St.

In 1958 an outdoor mall called “College Hill Plaza” opened next to Soin Medical Center shortly after it moved onto its newly built campus. It included a Woolworth’s 5 & 10, Red Barn restaurant, Drug Fair drug store and several smaller shops which are all now gone for various reasons. The medical center itself has grown to become one of Cincinnati’s largest doctors’ groups with over 80 different specialties represented in its 15 buildings.

Modern Day Era: College Hill continues to be an attractive location for many businesses today due to its high income demographic (median household income is 30% higher than the rest of Cincinnati), its convenient location near downtown, UC and St Xaviers as well as two major highways (I-75 & I-74) that intersect within walking distance on Erie St where many people go to work each day without needing their car.

There are currently two large shopping centers in College Hill, one at Bridgetown and Glenway and the other on Hamilton Ave near North Bend Rd. In addition to several smaller shops along Hamilton Ave there are a few other businesses located within industrial or office buildings scattered around the neighborhood although many have been vacant for years.

Another major employer is Cincinnati State Technical & Community College which was originally known as “Ohio Mechanics Institute” when it opened its doors in 1847 with a few hundred students who were taught by a small faculty of instructors for a fraction of what it costs today. The school has about 5,000 enrolled credit students each semester from all over Greater Cincinnati but only about 1/3 will graduate within 3 years due to their overly-demanding course requirements.