Losantiville is one of the first permanent European settlements in Ohio, has been established on the site of present-day Cincinnati throughout 1788. It began to draw in settlers after 1789, when an army post referred to as Fort Washington was built nearby. Around 1790 the community was renamed Cincinnati. The settlement was referred to as a village in 1802 and incorporated as being a city in 1819.
Not only was Cincinnati strategically situated to benefit from westward migrations, additionally, it became a important center for north-south commerce, both overland and also by water. The Ohio River was actually a primary route connecting the East with the nation's growing frontier, particularly after steamboat travel started in 1811. The Miami and Erie Canal later on linked the city to Great Lakes shipping. It has been aptly remarked that Cincinnati is the "northernmost southern city and the southernmost northern city."
Cincinnati's extensive ties towards the south provoked a mixed reaction to the American Civil War (1861-1865). The city was a center of activity by the Copperheads, a name applied to people who for a number of reasons opposed fighting the war. At the same time, the city had been a leading point within the Underground Railroad, the informal system to move slaves from the South to freedom in the North.
During and soon after the Civil War, the economic state of the city experienced as trade with the South was disrupted. At the same time, westward traffic started to bypass the city as new railroads made Chicago the region's primary crossroads. The city's economy elevated only slowly. In an attempt to reinvigorate trade with the mid-South, the city constructed a railroad to Chattanooga, Tennessee. This particular railroad, the Southern, is the only long-distance line ever owned by an American municipality.
Ljao/jan/1v21