A Brief History of Cincinnati Ohio

Founded in 1788 by John Cleves Symmes and Colonel Robert Patterson, Cincinnati was originally named 'Losantiville' by surveyor John Filson. The name was comprised of four terms from different languages, which roughly translated to 'the city opposite the mouth of the Licking River' (the L being the only component from the river's name). The city was renamed Cincinnati by Arthur St. Clair in 1790, after the Society of the Cincinnati, of which he was a member. Cincinnati was incorporated as a city in 1819.

The Ohio River, bordering Cincinnati on its southern side and forming the dividing line between Ohio and Kentucky, has had a great impact on the history of Cincinnati. Because of inexpensive river trade along this river, Cincinnati was able to weather the Great Depression better than most cities of its size. However, in springtime, the river was more foe than friend: Floods passed the 60-foot mark 21 times in the 20th century. The worst in Cincinnati's history occurred on Jan. 26, 1937, when waters reached 79.9 feet. This disaster sped the already-approved effort to build flood protection on the Ohio and other major rivers. 78 anti-flood reservoirs were built in the Ohio River basin, flood walls were built around Cincinnati's riverfront, a barrier dam protects the Mill Creek Valley, and Covington, Newport and Dayton all have levees built to withstand an 80-foot flood. Since 1964, only one flood passed the 60-foot line: a 64.7 foot flood in 1997.