Journey Through The Western States (1827)

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UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

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in 2010 with funding from
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PAINTED BV JAMES HILLOCK, LOMBARD STREET, WHITEFRIARS.

SKETCH

OF A JOURNEY

THROUGH

THE WESTERN STATES OF NORTH AMERICA,

FROM

NEW ORLEANS, BY THE MISSISSIPPI, OHIO, CITY OF CINCINNATI
AND FALLS OF NIAGARA, TO NEW YORK, IN 1827

BY W. BULLOCK, F. L. S., &c. &c. t. «

WITH A DESCRIPTION” OF THE NEW AND FLOURISHING CITY OF

CINCINNATI,

BY MESSRS. B. DRAKE AND E. D. MANSFIELD.

AND

\ SELECTION FROM VARIOUS AUTHORS, ON THE PRESENT CONDITION AND
FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE SETTLERS, IN THE FERTILE
AND POPULOUS STATE OF OHIO,

CONTAINING

INFORMATION USEFUL TO PERSONS DESIROUS OF
SETTLING IN AMERICA.

Where grand Ohio rolls his silver floods, t

Through verdant fields, and darkly waving woods,
Beholding oft, in flowery verdure drest,

The green isle swelling from his placid breast }
Here where so late, the Indian’s lone canoe,

Swift o’er the wave, in fearless triumph flew,
Behold the stately steam-borne vessel glide,

With eagle swiftness, o’er the yielding tide,

And where so late, its shelter, rude and low,

The wigwam rear’d, beneath the forest bough.

Lo ! cities spring before the wondering eyes,

And domes of grandeur swell into the skies.

_

LONDON:

JOHN MILLER, 40 , PALL MALL.

1827.

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SKETCH

OF A JOURNEY

THROUGH

THE WESTERN STATES OF NORTH AMERICA,

FROM

NEW ORLEANS, BY THE MISSISSIPPI, OHIO, CITY OF CINCINNATI
AND FALLS OF NIAGARA, TO NEW YORK, IN 1827.

BY w. BULLOCK, F. L. S., &c. &c. C\. 1 ' *

WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW AND FLOURISHING CITY OF

CINCINNATI,

BY MESSRS. B. DRAKE AND E. D. MANSFIELD.

AND

i SELECTION FROM VARIOUS AUTHORS, ON THE PRESENT CONDITION AND
FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE SETTLERS, IN THE FERTILE
AND POPULOUS STATE OF OHIO,

CONTAINING

INFORMATION USEFUL TO PERSONS DESIROUS OF
SETTLING IN AMERICA.

Where grand Ohio rolls his silver floods, !

Through verdant fields, and darkly waving woods,
Beholding oft, in flowery verdure diest,

The green isle swelling from his placid breast;
Here where so late, the Indian’s lone canoe,

Swift o’er the wave, in fearless triumph flew.
Behold the stately steam-borne vessel glide,

With eagle swiftness, o’er the yielding tide,

And where so late, its shelter, rude and low,

The wigwam rear’d, beneath the forest bough.

Lo! cities spring before the wondering eyes,

And domes of gr andeur swell into the skies.

LONDON:

JOHN MILLER, 40, PALL MALL.

1827 -

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PREFACE.

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T It will be perceived that the account of Cincinnati, con¬
tained in this work, is written by Messrs. Drake and
Mansfield, in 1827, and that they have used much of the
information before published by Dr. Drake, in 1815, and
whose anticipations in favour of the place were fully
realized in the interim. The work is so accredited, as
exhibiting the actual state of the place of which it treats,
that the author of the present volume has purposely
^inserted it, instead of relying on his own observations
juerely, and which might be supposed to be influenced
by the favourable impression that the place made upon
him. Convinced of the accuracy of the account by
Messrs. Drake and Mansfield, he lays it before the public,
as likewise his purposed intention of forming a rural town
in its immediate vicinity, with full confidence, that those
persons who may choose to seek a cheap, agreeable, and
healthful retreat in that part of the world, will not be
disappointed.

The generalized plan of the United States of America,
represents the relative situations of Cincinnati and
Hygeia, and it will be found, on inspection, that they
are placed in the very heart of the country, and possessing
much greater advantages towards increasing prosperity,
than is to be found in any other part of the country.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC.

The Author was so pleased with the country in the
neighbourhood of Cincinnati, and convinced of its
eligibility, in every respect, for the residence of persons
of limited property, that he purchased an extensive estate
with a handsome house there, within a mile of the city,
to which he is about to retire with his family. The spot
is so beautiful and salubrious, and affords such facilities
for the erection of pleasurable dwellings, with gardens to
them, that, on his arrival in England, with a survey
of the estate, he engaged Mr. John B. Papworth, the
ai'chitect, to lay out the most beautiful part of it as a
town of retirement, to be called Hygeia, as shown in the
plan exhibited in the front of this volume. This will
enable, persons desirous of establishing themselves in this
abundant and delightful country, to do so at a very
moderate expense.

Mr. Bullock returns to this estate immediately, and
application may be made to Ml*. Papworth, 10, Caroline
Street, Bedford Square, where the plan and model of the
spot may be seen.

JOURNEY

FROM

NEA}£ ORLEANS TO NEW YORK, BY THE MISSISSIPPI,
OHIO, FALLS OF NIAGARA, &c.

On my return from Mexico to England, in the spring of the
present year, I was induced, by the representation of an
American friend, to pass through the United States by way
of New Orleans, up the Mississippi and Ohio, by lake Erie,
the falls of Niagara, the Erie canal, and Hudson river, to
New York, as by this route the tedious sea voyage would be
much shortened, with the advantage of affording me the view
of a large and interesting portion of North America, without
losing time, or adding much to the expense; nearly the whole
journey being now performed by commodious steam and tow¬
boats on the rivers, lakes, and canals in the interior of the
states.

We sailed from Vera Cruz on the 20th of'March, in the
small American schooner General Warren; our little cabin
contained a motley groupe of eighteen persons, natives of
France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and North
America—myself and wife being the only natives of England.
The morning after we sailed, we had the misfortune to find
that one of our party, a Spanish merchant, who came on board
unwell, had brought among us that terrible malady, the
black vomitta, so fatal to strangers in this part of the world.
We were without medical assistance, and the sufferings of
the unfortunate man were dreadful; to add to our distress,
the weather, which was unfavourable on our first sailing, had
settled into one of those gales so well known in the Gulf of
Mexico by the name of Northers , so that we were compelled
to confine ourselves to the cabin with the invalid. On the
sixth day from our leaving land he expired, and was com¬
mitted to the deep.

On the following morning we made land, and in the
evening entered one of the mouths of the Mississippi, about

VI

JOURNEY FROM

100 miles below New Orleans. The wind being adverse, we
cast anchor on those muddy banks covered with reeds, which
here commence the great swamp, or wilderness, that composes
this part of the United States, and which, though extremely
fertile, and under a fine climate, is a most dangerous district
for -the residence of strangers, at the close of the summer,
and during the autumn, the miasma, or insalubrity of the air
at those periods, generating a disease, similar to that so pre¬
valent, and so fatal at Vera Cruz. The next morning a fine
steam tow-boat of 300 tons, that we had passed the evening
before, outside the bar, whilst taking out the cargo of a
stranded vessel, came up, and took us, and another schooner in
tow, and proceeded up the river against wind and current to
New Orleans, where we arrived the following morning.

The woody flats that confined, or rather marked, the river
on both sides, as far as the eye could trace, were overgrown
with reeds, and other aquatic plants, which appeared springing
up amidst millions of whole trees, with their roots and
branches, which had been brought down with the floods, from
the sides of the rivers of the interior, 1000 miles above, and
deposited here, on the shallow mud-banks. In some instances
young trees were springing from these old trunks, and thus,
with the alluvial deposit surrounding them, were increasing
the territory of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico.

As we advanced farther up the river, we observed places
where some of the choicest of these dead trees had been
pulled on shore, and negroes were employed in splitting them
for firewood, or sawing them into boards. The recollection
of the sufferings of the poor in many parts of Europe, from the
want of fuel, cannot but excite regret, at the sight of such
abundance of timber, wasting here in decay. For many miles
the ground does not admit of cultivation or settlement, but,
travelling onward, about noon we observed trees which began
to increase in size, and to assume the appearance of low
woods, which, however, seemed to spring from the water; not
a spot of dry land being visible across these vast marshes, even
from the lofty and ample deck of the steam-boat.

About twelve leagues above the entrancefrom the sea, we came
in sight of Fort Jackson, now erecting on the left side of the
river, on the first solid ground we had yet observed ; and on the
other side Fort Philip, on which the American flag was flying.

The ground from hence began to improve; we passed several
houses, and, as we came opposite the site of the battle in which

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK. Vii

'the British army was defeated by General Jackson, during the
late war, the banks of the river assumed the appearance of the
neighbourhood of a populous city. We now passed numerous
good houses, each with a large verandah and garden; and a
nunnery, in which several of the ladies in their habits were
distinctly visible. A few minutes brought us in sight of the
city of New Orleans, where the river was crowded •with com¬
mercial vessels from all nations, the majority of which, how¬
ever, were- from England. We immediately landed, and found
ourselves in the midst of a well built street, nearly choked up
with bales of cotton. Here were handsome shops, filled with
well dressed people, in the European costumes, the ladies in
the fashions of London and Paris. The English language
being generally spoken, produced that unexpected delight,
which could only be felt by Britons, who, like ourselves, had
been long absent from our native land, and residents of such
a country as Mexico. We had an introduction to a respectable
boarding-house, kept by an English lady, whose politeness and
attention shortly made us feel ourselves at home. We re¬
mained a week in this commercial city, and saw whatever was
deemed worth seeing; but, as the city has been so well de¬
scribed by the Rev. Timothy Flint, in his “ Recollections of
the Last Ten Years spent in the Valley of the Mississippi/
lately published, I shall gratify the English reader by giving
that gentleman’s account in his own words.

“ One hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi,
and something more than a thousand from the mouth of the
Ohio, just below a sharp point of the river, is situated on its
east bank, the city of New Orleans, the great commercial
capital of the Mississippi valley. The position for a com¬
mercial city is unrivalled, I believe, by any one in the world.
At a proper distance from the Gulf of Mexico—on the banks
of a stream which may be said almost to water a world—but
a little distance from Lake Ponchartrain, and connected with
it by a navigable canal—the immense alluvion contiguous to
it—penetrated in all directions either by bayous formed by
nature, or canals which cost little more trouble in the making
than ditches—steam-boats visiting it from fifty different
shores—possessing the immediate agriculture of its own
state, the richest in America, and as rich as any in the world,
with the continually increasing agriculture of the upper
country, its position far surpasses that of New York itself.

Viii JOURNEY PROM

It has one dreary drawback—the insalubrity of its situation.
Could the immense swamps between it and the bluffs be
drained, and the improvements commenced in the city be
completed ; in short, could its atmosphere ever become a dry
one, it would soon leave the greatest cities of the Union
behind.

Great efforts are making towards this result. Unhappily,
when the dog star rises upon its sky, the yellow fever is but
too sure to come in its train. Notwithstanding the annual,
or at least the biennial visits of this pestilence; although its
besom sweeps off multitudes of unacclimated poor, and com¬
pels the rich to fly; notwithstanding the terror, that is every
where associated with the name of the city, it is rapidly ad¬
vancing in population. When I visit the city, after the ab¬
sence of a season, I discover an obvious change. New build¬
ings have sprung up, and new improvements are going on.
Its regular winter population, between forty and fifty
thousand inhabitants, is five times the amount which it had
when it came under the American government. The ex¬
ternal form of the city on the river side is graduated in some
measure to the curve of the river. The street that passes
along the levee, and conforms to the course of the river, is
called Levee-street, and is the one in which the greatest and
most active business of the city is transacted. The upper
part of the city is principally built and inhabited by Ameri¬
cans, and is called the ‘ Fauxbourg St. Mary.’ The greater
number of the houses in this fauxbourg are of brick, and
built in the American style. In this quarter are the Pres¬
byterian church and the new theatre. The ancient part of
the city, as you pass down Levee-street towards the Cathe¬
dral, has in one of the clear, bright January mornings, that
are so common at that season, an imposing and brilliant
aspect. There is something fantastic and unique in the ap¬
pearance, I am told, far more resembling European cities,,
than any other in the United States. The houses are stuc¬
coed externally, and this stucco is white or yellow, and strikes
the eye more pleasantly than the dull and sombre red of
brick. There can be no question, but the American mode of
building is at once more commodious, and more solid and
durable, than the French and Spanish; but I think the
latter have the preference in the general effect upon the eye.
Young as the city is, the effect of this humid climate, ope¬
rating upon the mouldering materials, of which the buildings

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK. ix

are composed, has already given it the aspect of age, and to
the eye, it would seem the most ancient city in the United
States. The streets are broad, and the plan of the city is
perfectly rectangular and uniform. There are in the limits
of the city three malls, or parade grounds, of no great extent,
and not yet sufficiently shaded, though young trees are
growing in them. They serve as parade grounds, and in the
winter have a beautiful carpet of clover, of a most brilliant
green. Royal and Charter streets are the most fashionable
and splendid in the city. The parade ground, near the basin,
which is a harbour, dug out to receive the lake vessels, is the
most beautiful of the parades.”

“ In respect to the manners of the people, those of the
French citizens partake of their general national character.
They have here their characteristic politeness and urbanity;
and it may be remarked, that ladies of the highest standing
will show courtesies that would not comport with the ideas
of dignity entertained by the ladies at the North. In their
convivial meetings there is apparently a great deal of cheerful
familiarity, tempered, however, with the most scrupulous ob¬
servances, and the most punctilious decorum. They are the
same gay, dancing, spectacle-loving race, that they are every
where else. It is well known that the Catholic religion does
not forbid amusements on the Sabbath. They fortify them¬
selves in defending the custom of going to balls and the
theatre on the Sabbath, by arguing that religion ought to
inspire cheerfulness, and that cheerfulness is associated with
religion.”

“ The Americans come hither from all the states. Their
object is to accumulate wealth, and spend it somewhere else.
But death—which they are very little disposed to take into
the account—often brings them up before their scheme is
accomplished. They have, as might be expected of an as¬
semblage from different regions, mutual jealousies, and
mutual dispositions to figure in each other’s eyes; of course
the New Orleans people are gay, gaudy in their dress,
houses, furniture, and equipage, and rather fine than in the
best taste.

There are sometimes fifty steam-boats lying in the harbour.
A clergyman from the North made with me the best enu¬
meration that we could, and we calculated that there were

a 5

X

JOURNEY FROM

from twelve to fifteen hundred flat boats lying along the
river. They would average from forty to sixty tons burden.
The number of vessels in the harbour from autumn to spring
is very great. More cotton is shipped from this port than
from any other in America, or perhaps in the world. I could
never have formed a conception of the amount in any other
way, than by seeing the immense piles of it that till the
streets, as the crop is coming in. It is well known that the
amount of sugar raised and shipped here is great, and in¬
creasing. The produce from the upper country has no limits
to the extent of which it is capable; and the commerce of
this important city goes on steadily increasing.

This city exhibits the greatest variety of costume, and
foreigners; French, Spanish, Portuguese, Irish in shoals; in
short, samples of the common people of all the European
nations. Creoles, all the intermixtures of Negro and Indian
blood, the moody and ruminating Indians, the inhabitants of
the Spanish provinces, and a goodly woof to this warp, of
boatmen, half horse and half alligator ;* and more languages
are spoken here than in any other town in America. There
is a sample, in short, of every thing. In March the town is
most filled; the market shows to the greatest advantage; the
citizens boast of it, and are impressed with the opinion that
it far surpasses any other. In effect this is the point of union
between the North and the South. The productions of all
climes find their way hither, and for fruits and vegetables, it
appears to me to be unrivalled. In a pleasant March fore¬
noon, you see, perhaps, half the city here. The crowd covers
half a mile in extent. The negroes, mulattoes, French, Spa¬
nish, Germans, are all crying their several articles in their
several tongues. They have a wonderful faculty of twanging
the sound through their noses, as shrill as the notes of a
trumpet. In the midst of this Babel trumpeting, f un pica-
lion, un picalion/ i& the most distinguishable tune.”

“ The communications from this city with the interior, are
easy, pleasant, and rapid, by the steam-boats. More than a
hundred are now on these waters. Some of them, for size,
accommodation, and splendour, exceed any that I have seen
on the Atlantic waters. The Washington, Feliciana, Pro-*
vidence, Natchez, and various others, are beautiful and com¬
modious boats. The fare is sumptuous, and passages are
comparatively cheap. I have also uniformly found the pas-

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW JTORK. XI

sengers obliging and friendly. Manners are not so distant or
stately as at the North; and it is much easier to become ac¬
quainted with your fellow passengers. A trip up the Missis¬
sippi at the proper season of the year is delightful/*

The vicinity of New Orleans is not interesting, and the roads
and drives but few, owing to the swamp in which it is placed.
We went in a carriage to lake Ponchartrain, about three miles
distant, where we procured a few interesting fresh-water
shells; but, in general, the subjects of natural history, which
I had lately seen, had not much novelty to recommend them.

I must not omit stating, that, in one of my rambles, in a
small street, near the steam-boat landing, I saw on a sign, in
large letters, “ Big Bone Museum/* This excited my curiosity,
and I expected to see mammoth-bones, as the banks, past which
the water of this river rolls, had produced a great number of
those surprising remains. I therefore entered, and was indeed
astonished at the sight, not of the remains of a mammoth, but
what are believed to be those of a stupendous crocodile, and
which, indeed, are likely to prove so, intimating the former
existence of a lizard, at least 150 feet long; for I measured
the right side of the under jaw, which I found to be 21 feet
along the curve, and 4 feet 6 inches wide; the others con¬
sisted of numerous vertebrae, ribs, femoral bones, and toes, all
corresponding in size to the jaw; there were also some teeth,
these, however, were not of proportionate magnitude; but the
person who found them (W. S. Schofield), assured me that he
had also discovered another tooth, similar to the rest, but con¬
siderably larger, which had been clandestinely taken from his
exhibition-room. These remains were discovered, a short time
since, in the swamp near Fort Philip, and the other parts of
the mighty skeleton, are, it is said, in the same part of the
swamp.

On my hinting the probability that these bones might have
belonged to a species of whale, Mr. S. gave me such reasons,
on the authority of an intelligent zoologist, and comparative
anatomist, who was preparing-to give the world a description
of them, as convinced me, that my conjecture was without
foundation. I offered a considerable sum for these immense
remains, but the proprietor refused to part with them, assuring
me that it was his intention to procure the remainder of them,,
and then take them to Europe.

On the 3rd of April we left New Orleans, in the beautiful

Xll

JOURNEY FROM

steam-boat George Washington, of 375 tons, built at Cin¬
cinnati, and certainly the finest fresh-water vessel I had seen.
River boats, like these, possess the advantage of not having to
contend with the ocean storms, as ours have, and are therefore
built in a different manner, having three decks or stories above
water. The accommodations are much larger, and farther re¬
moved from the noise, heat, and motion of the machinery;
wood being the only fuel made use of, they are consequently
not incommoded by the effects of the dense smoke, so annoying
in some of our steam vessels. The accommodations are ex¬
cellent, and the cabins furnished in the most superb manner.
None of the sleeping rooms have more than two beds. The
principal are on the upper story, and a gallery and verandah ex¬
tends entirely round the vessel, affording ample space for
exercise, sheltered from sun and rain, and commanding,
from its height, a fine view of the surrounding scenery,
without being incommoded by the noise of the crew passing
overhead. The meals furnished in these vessels are excellent,
and served in a superior style. The ladies have a separate
cabin, with female attendants, and laundresses; th%re are,
also, a circulating library, a smoking and drinking room for
the gentlemen, with numerous offices for servants, &c. &c.
They generally stop twice a day to take in wood for the
engine, when fresh milk and other necessaries are procured,
and the passengers may land for a short time. The voyage
before the introduction of steam, was attended with much risk
and labour, and occupied ninety days, from New Orleans to
Cincinnati, for small vessels ; the same voyage (1600 miles) is
now performed, with the greatest ease and safety, in eleven or
twelve days, against the stream, and the descent between the
above places is done in seven days; each vessel taking several
hundred passengers, besides her cargo of merchandise. The
rate of travelling is extremely moderate in proportion to the
advantages of the accommodation. We paid about 8/. each
from New Orleans to Louisville (1500 miles), which includes
every expense of living, servants, &c. In ascending this
magnificent river, the Mississippi, of which the Ohio may be
considered a continuation, is navigable for the largest vessels,
at high water, from the Gulf of Mexico to Pittsburgh (2212
miles). The traveller is now enabled, without the least
danger or fatigue, to traverse the otherwise almost impass¬
able and trackless wilderness, and wilds, that bound the
western states of America, and this, without leaving his com-

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK.

Xlll

fortable apartment, from the windows of which he can enjoy
the constantly varying scenery, so new to European tra¬
vellers.

On leaving New Orleans, in ascending the river, the
country, still the same continuous flat, is enriched and en¬
livened by a succession .of pretty houses and plantations, with
each a small negro town near them, as well as the sugar-
houses, gardens, and summer-houses, which give the idea of
wealth and industry. For sixty miles the banks present the
appearance of one continued village, skirted with plantations
of cotton, sugar-cane, and rice, for about two miles from the
river, bounded in the rear, by the uncultivated swamps and
woods. The boat proceeds continually near the shore on one
side or the other, and attracts the inhabitants to the front of
their neat houses, placed amidst orange groves, and shaded with
vines and beautiful evergreens. I was surprised to see the
swarms of children of all colours that issued from these abodes.
In infancy, the progeny of the slave, and that of his master,
seem to know no distinction ; they mix in their sports, and ap¬
pear as fond of each other, as the brothers and sisters of one
family; but in activity, life, joy, and animal spirits, the little
negro, unconscious of his future situation, seems to me to enjoy
more pleasure in this period of his existence, than his pale com¬
panions. The sultry climate of Louisiana, perhaps, is more
congenial to the African constitution, than to that of the
European.

The next morning we arrived at Baton Rouge, 127 miles
on our journey; a pretty little town, on the east side, and
the first rising ground we had seen, being delightfully
situated on a gradual acclivity, from which, is a fine view of
the surrounding flats. The fine barracks close to it, contain
a few companies of troops. We here stopped to take in
some ladies, who continued with us to the end of the voyage.
To this place the levee, or artificial banks, are continued
on both sides of the river from New Orleans, without which
the land would be continually overflowed. From this to
Natches (232 miles), the country is not interesting, consisting
principally of dense forest and wilderness, impenetrable to the
eye, diversified, however, by the various water fowl which the
passing vessels disturb, in their otherwise solitary haunts, and
by the number of black and gray squirrels leaping from branch
to branch in the trees. The great blue kingfisher, which is
common here, is so tame, as scarcely to move, as the boat passes.

xiv

JOURNEY PROM

and we frequently saw, and passed close to large alligators,
which generally appeared to be asleep, stretched on the half¬
floating logs. Several were fired at from the vessel, but none
procured. One pair that I saw together, must have been
each upwards of twelve feet long.

Natches is a pleasantly situated town, on rather a steep
hill, about half a mile from the landing place, where are
many stores and public houses. The boat remained here an
hour, and we ascended to the upper town, a considerable
place, with a town-house, and several good streets and well-
furnished shops, in which we purchased some books. This
place exports much cotton, and the planters are said to be
rich. It commands a fine prospect over the river and sur¬
rounding country. It has been tried as a summer residence
by some of the inhabitants of New Orleans, but the scourges
of this part of America (fever and ague) extend their ravages
for more than 1000 miles higher up. A partial elevation of
ground, in an unhealthy district, has been proved to be more
pernicious, than even the level itself. From hence, to the
junction of the Ohio, there is little to interest the stranger, ex¬
cepting the diversity of wood and water. The ground rises in
some places, though with little variety, till you pass the junction
of the Ohio, 1253 miles from the sea. Shortly after entering the
Ohio, the country begins to improve; you perceive the ground
beginning to rise in the distance, and the bank occasionally
to rear into small hills, w r hich show their strata of stone,
and rise into bluffs, projecting into the bends of the river,
shutting it in, so as to produce the effect of sailing on a suc¬
cession of the finest lakes, through magnificent woods, which
momentarily changed their form, from the rapid motion of our
boat. It was now full moon, and these scenes viewed during
the clear nights, were indescribably beautiful. The tenth
day brought us to the flourishing commercial town of Louis¬
ville, in Kentucky, 1542 miles from the sea, considered as
second only to Cincinnati, in the western states. It is situated
in the commencement of the healthy district, but w r as lately
visited by sickness, but not to the degree experienced lower
down. The streets are spacious and regular, the houses
mostly of brick, and the shops and stores large, and well filled
with merchandise. The falls of the Ohio, which are at this
place, excepting at high water, prevent large vessels from pass¬
ing up; we therefore left the Washington, and embarked in a
smaller vessel, above the falls. On our road up from Shipping-

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK.

XV

port, at the foot of the falls, we had an opportunity of examining
the fine canal and locks, now constructing at great expense, to
enable vessels of all dimensions to navigate the river at all
seasons. It is a great work, and calculated to be of consider¬
able advantage to this country. We took a hackney coach,
of which there were several in the streets, and proceeded to
view the town, which is much more extensive than it appears.
We visited the museum, an appendage to almost every Ame¬
rican town. Among the fossil remains, therein, I observed
the perfect skull and horns of a species of elk, which was new
to me. The firing of the boat’s gun, the constant signal for
passengers to come on board, obliged us to shorten our survey,
and in a few minutes we were again proceeding up the Ohio
in a steam-boat, with most of our late companions, and many
additional passengers. I must here observe, that the society in
the steam-boats is generally very pleasant, consisting of well
informed, intelligent people, attentive and obliging to strangers,
readily pointing out to their notice every thing worthy of ob¬
servation, or that can contribute to raise their opinionof the
country and its constitution, of which they are, with good
reason, proud. They universally complain of the injustice
done them by English writers, who, they say, seem to have
come among them only to misrepresent what little they have
seen of the country, and that, perhaps, like myself, from the
deck of a steam-boat.

On leaving Louisville, the magnificence of the American
rivers and scenery seemed to commence. In no part of the
world, that I have seen, are these surpassed in grandeur, or
variety, every mile affording a perpetual change. The trees
attain here an altitude, and size, unknown in Europe, and
their diversity of form and colour, formed a contrast with the
monotonous green of the wilderness below. Among the snow-
like blossom of the dog-wood, and bright scarlet of the red¬
bud, which were conspicuous in the woods that now covered the
sloping banks of the river, the openings between, at in¬
tervals, exhibited rich pasture lands, with comfortable farm¬
houses, surrounded with gardens, orchards, and vineyards,
and convinced the traveller, that he had left the regions of
swamps and marshes, fevers and agues, and arrived at those
of hill and dale, pasturage arid health. We now saw greater
numbers of land and water fowl. The beautiful little summer
duck was plentiful—we shot several ; and the black vulture
was occasionally seen. In our passage up the river we had

xvi

JOURNEY FROM

not unfrequently seen alligators, but now they entirely dis¬
appeared. We now found the cottages comfortably furnished,
and surrounded by small gardens ; the inhabitants possess
numerous hogs and cattle. We passed several respectable
dwellings, with luxuriant orchards and vineyards, that an¬
nounced our approach to a more cultivated and richer popula¬
tion than we had before seen.

When within a mile of Cincinnati, the elegant house and
extensive estate, called Elmwood, the residence of Thomas
D. Carneal, Esq. was pointed out to me, by a gentleman of the
country, as one of the finest residences in that part of America.
Passing the powder-works, and tlie bridge over the Deer
creek, a few minutes brought us opposite the city, where we
saw the glass-houses, paper-mills, foundries, and other demon¬
strations of a flourishing, and rising commercial and manufac¬
turing city. It was Easter Sunday, and the landing was
crowded with respectable, well-dressed people. We had only a
minute to view the front of this part of the city, with the steam¬
boat landing, and the villages of Newport and Cavington on
the opposite side, before we were landed, and introduced to
Col. Mack, proprietor of the principal hotel ; an establishment
of order, regularity, and comfort, that would do credit to any
city of Europe. The number and respectability of its guests,
proved at once, the estimation in which it was held in the
country. The dinner-bell summoned us at two o’clock, and
we found an assemblage of about seventy ladies and gentle¬
men ; the former at the head of the table, with Mrs. Mack,
while the colonel was on his feet, attending to the wants of
his guests, and seeing that the waiters were attending to
their duty. The dinner was such, that an epicure, from
whatever part of the world he might have arrived, would have
had little cause to complain, as in no part of my travels have I
seen a table spread with more profusion, or better served;
the only occasion of complaint with an Englishman would
arise from the want of warm plates, and a little more time
to have enjoyed the repast, twenty minutes only being
allowed by the industrious habits of this part of America,
for their principal meal. Little wine is used at the dinner*-
table; the guests, being principally merchants, who prefer this
mode of living, to housekeeping, return immediately to their
stores, or counting-houses, with a better relish for business
than is usually found after the enjoyment of the bottle. I
should have stated, that, before dinner, we underwent the un-

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK. xvii

deviating ceremony of introduction, to the principal guests,
who were assembled in the drawing-room. In no part of the
old Continent that I have visited, are strangers treated with
more attention, politeness, and respect, than in Cincinnati;
and where, indeed, can an Englishman forget that he is not at
home, except in the United States ? In most other regions,
he must forego many early habits, prejudices, and propen¬
sities, and accommodate himself to others, perhaps, diame¬
trically opposite; he must disguise or conceal his religious
or political opinions; must forget his native language, and
acquire fluency in another, before he can make even his wants
known, or his wishes understood; but here the same language
and fashion, as in his own, prevail in every state; indeed it is
necessary for him to declare himself a foreigner, to be known
as such; and I have always found this declaration a passport to
increased attention and kindness, for every man in this land
of freedom enjoys his opinions unmolested. Not having the
slightest intention of stopping at any town on my way to
New York, I was without any introductions; but this de¬
ficiency, by no means prevented my receiving the usual benefit
of the hospitality of the inhabitants, which was such, as to in¬
duce us, at first, to remain a few days, and ultimately, pro¬
bably, to end our lives with them.

My first ramble on the morning after my arrival was to
the market, at an early hour, where a novel and interesting
sight presented itself. Several hundred waggons, tilted with
white canvass, and each drawn by three or four horses, with a
pole, in a similar manner to our coaches, were backed against
the pavement, or footway, of the market-place, the tailboard,
or flap of the waggon, turned doAvn, so as to form a kind of
counter, and convert the body of the carriage into a portable
shop, in which were seated the owners, amidst the displayed
produce of their farms; the whole having something of the
appearance of an extensive encampment, arranged in perfect
order. It was the first time I had seen an American market,
and if I was surprised at the arrangement, I was much more
so, at the prices of the articles, as well as at their superior
quality. For a hind quarter of mutton, thirteen-pence was
demanded; a turkey, that would have borne a comparison
with the best Christmas bird from Norfolk, the same price;
fowls, three-pence to four-pence each; a fine roasting pig,
ready for the spit, one shilling and three-pence; beef, three-
halfpence per pound; pork, one penny per pound; butter.

xviii JOURNEY FROM

cheese, Indian corn, wlieaten flour, and every other article in
the same proportion.

The fish market was equally good and reasonable; and the
vegetables as excellent as the season would allow; the
asparagus in particular, superior in goodness and size to that
exposed at Covent Garden, and at less than one-fourth of its
price.

It was not the season for fruits, but, from the best informa¬
tion I could obtain, they were on a par with the other produc¬
tions of the country. Melons, grapes, peaches, and apples, are
said to be equal to those of any part of the states, and are
sold also at a proportionate price. Dried fruits of various sorts
were plentiful, as well as apples, and chesnuts of last year:
taking the market altogether, I know of none equal to it;
yet, this was considered to be the dearest period of the year;
game and venison were not to be had.

In the afternoon I accompanied some gentlemen to view
the environs. We descended the Ohio, in a small wherry,
about half a mile below the city, and landed on the Kentucky
side, at the foot of one of those hills, that together form a sort
of amphitheatre, in which Cincinnati stands. From the side
of this hill, a complete view of the whole neighbourhood is
obtained. The town, with its domes, churches, and public
buildings, lay at our feet. The extended prospect reminded
us strongly of the view from Richmond Hill; the same de¬
lightful variety of hill and dale, enriched by the windings
of the tranquil Ohio, with its various vessels for pleasure and
commerce. Its gently swelling hills, however, are covered
with wood and forests, which have no equal in Europe; even
the charms of art and refinement are not wanting to complete
the scene, as the elegant white villas of many of the more
opulent inhabitants, already make their appearance in the
most romantic situations in the vicinity.

Every hour spent in this place, every adjacent excursion,
every comparison made between its site, and all others that
I was acquainted with, served more strongly to convince me,
that, for the industrious peasant, artizan, manufacturer, or other
person, with a small income, arising from capital, no situation I
had seen, embraced so many advantages for a place of re¬
sidence^ this rising and prosperous little city; which, spring¬
ing from the wilderness, has attained its present state of
opulence and distinction within a few years, through the com¬
mercial spirit and industry of its inhabitants, aided by the

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK. xix

advantages of its local situation and the introduction of steam
power. To these may be added, its extremely healthy site, and
salubrity of climate (not an instance of fever, or ague, being
there known) ; the richness of its soil, the overflowing plenty,
and unparalleled cheapness of the necessaries, as well as the
luxuries of life; the industry, the kindness and urbanity of its
inhabitants to strangers; the benefits derived from its public
institutions, and the excellent society it affords, from the liberty
and freedom of opinion being enjoyed under its mild govern¬
ment; from the employment given to industry and labour;
and from the interest derived from capital, which is here in¬
creased to treble what it is in Europe, whilst the expense of
living is not one-third of what it is there, and taxes are scarcely
felt. All these advantages considered, I know of no place that
bears comparison with Cincinnati. Impressed by so many in¬
viting circumstances, all conspiring to the favourite object of
my pursuit, I determined to collect my family together, and
make this rising city my permanent abode.

A few days afterwards we were invited to spend a day at
Elmwood, the house of Thomas D. Carneal, Esq., a member
of the Kentucky legislature, whose residence I mentioned,
on our arrival at Cincinnati. The estate, or farm, as it is
here called, consists of about 1000 acres, part of which is
as fine arable land as ever was ploughed, and part rich
pasture land. It commences nearly opposite the town, on
the Kentucky side, stretches about two miles and a half
along the banks of the Ohio, and is about eight miles in cir¬
cumference. It is scarcely possible to find a more beautiful,
fertile, or healthy spot. A ride round its boundaries, em¬
braces every variety of landscape. Its general feature is level,
gently rising from the river into undulatory hill and valley,
resembling the finest part of the county of Devon, excepting,
that the portion farthest from the river is clothed with woods,
to which, from the size of the trees, their beauty, and variety,
nothing in Europe can compare. The prospect from the hill
and house, over this part of the valley of Ohio, the noble river
winding through it, enlivened by the passing steam-boats,
with colours waving, and signal guns echoing from the sur¬
rounding hills; its floating arks, laden with stores for the
settlers on the shores, besides the sailing and fishing boats;
on one side of the river, the beautiful rising city, with domes,
pinnacles, public buildings and manufactories, and on the other
bank, the villages of Newport and Cavington; together form

XX

JOURNEY FROM

such a view, as would require a much abler pen than mine to
do justice to.

Mr. Carneal, who is a considerable landholder, selected
this desirable spot for his abode, and, at considerable expense,
about six years since, erected the elegant mansion he now re¬
sides in. It is considered the completest residence in the
country, and built of stone and brick, after his own designs,
with three handsome fronts. The lofty apartments, which
it contains, in point of beauty or convenience, are surpassed
by few, even in the Atlantic cities, as no expense was spared
for its completion. It is surrounded by every requisite for a
gentleman’s country-house, domestics’ houses, barns, stables,
coach-house, ice-house, dairy, &c. &e.

I have not, since I left England, seen a house so completely
furnished with all the elegancies and refinements of society,
nor a. more hospitable and abundant board, which is wholly
supplied from his own grounds. Better beef and mutton
could not be desired. Game is so plentiful, that it is easily
and abundantly procured within half a mile of the house.
Fish of the finest kinds, in great variety, are taken in the
Ohio, within a still shorter distance, and kept alive in pens
on the banks, and a well-stored kitchen-garden, orchard, and
vineyard, of twenty-five acres, planted with all the best ve¬
getables, and fruit of the United States, contribute to the
general stock; in short, every necessary and luxury of life,
excepting tea and coffee, is produced on the estate. The house
is situated on a gentle acclivity, about 150 yards from the
river, with beautiful pleasure grounds in front, laid out with
taste, and decorated with varieties of magnificent plants, and
flowers, to which we are yet strangers; it commands a full
view of the river, and all that passes on it. A more desirable
spot for a family residence, perhaps, is scarcely to be found.
r lhe great variety of beautiful birds that are found here,
much enliven the scene. The first night I passed in this
elegant retreat, the mocking-bird, with its lucid, ever-varying
notes, continuing until dawn, kept me awake for some time
with its melody; and in the morning, ere sunrise, the red-
bird, or Virginian nightingale, was chanting his morning
hymn, close to my bed-room window. It continued so long,
that I suspected, what proved to be the case, its nest and
young were concealed in the honeysuckle on which he was
singing. Another variety of honeysuckle iii front of the house,
within ten feet of the door, was the constant resort of the ruby-

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK.

XXI

throated humming birds., one of the smallest of that diminutive
family, whose various evolutions, performed with the quick¬
ness of light, the eye finds it difficult to follow. The beautiful
blue jay is so common, as to be troublesome. The orange and
black oriole, that makes the remarkable pendant nest, is here
by no means scarce; its note is charming. Several varieties
of woodpecker are seen close to the house, and wild ducks were
hourly on the horse-pond, whilst the farm-yard abounds with
wild pigeon, as tame as our domestic ones; and the quail,
nearly as large as our partridge, swarmed in the gardens,
orchards, and pleasure grounds. The children of the family
had their pet tame deer; and a pair of the gigantic elk, or
wappetti (nearly the size of horses), ranged through the mea¬
dows, and returned to the house, at milking-hours, with the
cows. A few weeks before, Mr. Carneal had parted with a
pair of American buffaloes, or Bonassus, which he had kept
for some time, for the purpose of improving his breed of draft
cattle.

Shortly after my return from Elmwood, I was informed
that Mr. Carneal was on the point of changing his residence,
and that the whole would be sold. I could not resist the
temptation of knowing the price, and, after a few days’
consideration, I became the purchaser.

I now went to reside as a visitor with Mr. C-, and remained
a fortnight in examining the property, and every day became
more satisfied with my acquisition. I found on it, every re¬
quisite for building; the finest timber, abundance of stone
and lime, with gravel, sand, clay, &c. It appeared to me,
that a finer site for building a small town of retirement, in
the vicinity of a populous manufacturing city, could scarcely
exist. I made a little model of the land, and determined to
have it laid out to the best possible advantage, with profes¬
sional assistance^ on my arrival in England, and prepared to
return home to collect my family, and those of my friends,
whose limited incomes made such a removal as I contem¬
plated convenient, and, on June 2, took my departure in a
stage, that had juSt commenced running on a new road to
Sandusky, on Lake Erie. The distance is 200 miles; but in
consequence of the rain, which had been considerable, the
road naturally bad and new, was worse than usual, and it
took us four days to perform it. This was the only part of
the journey through America (2400 miles) that we travelled
by land. We passed, in many places, through fine cul-

xxii

JOURNEY PROM

tivated lands, with neat little towns and villages; but the
greater part lay through a new country of dense forest,
where the axe had scarcely cleared a sufficient passage for
the coach. At one place, where we were to spend the
night, the establishment was only three weeks old; in that
time, the family, who had come some distance, had erected
three log-houses, and placed their furniture and effects
therein; yet, our entertainment was by no means bad. The
poor hostess, who never had so much company under her
roof, did all in her power to make us comfortable; and our
party, which consisted of eight persons, three of whom were
ladies, were in perfect good humour, notwithstanding their
new situation. When we arrived at the latter end of our
journey, we saw some line lands destitute of woods, but inter¬
spersed with small clumps, resembling those in some of the
parks of our nobility; they were the reserved possessions of the
Indians, when they sold the adjoining country to the commis¬
sioners of the United States. We wished to have entered
some of their houses, which were well built, with sash win¬
dows and shingle roofs, but were told, that in general they
avoided receiving the visits of white strangers. Many of them
were wealthy, as appeared from their fine cultivated fields, and
large herds of cattle and horses. Near one village, we met a
young Indian driving a handsome waggon, drawn by four re¬
markably fine oxen, which would have done credit to any En¬
glish gentleman; the youth was well dressed, and passed our
carriage with a look that sufficiently marked his consequence.
In the course of the day we saw near the road several
wild turkeys, whose splendid plumage, glittering in the sun,
far excelled in appearance those of the domestic ones. We
also conversed with several Indians, some of whom were on
horseback, armed with rifles,* they were civil, and seemed
pleased at the notice we took of them. A squaw, with her son
behind her, accompanied us some miles. Her dress was a loose
blue cloth coat, with scarlet pantaloons, black beaver hat and
feathers, and her face was painted bright red. We arrived at
Sandusky in the evening, and found a steam-boat just starting
for Buffalo; but being told another would arrive, during the
night, we preferred waiting for it, and were disappointed, as
it passed by, without entering the harbour ; and as no other
was expected for some days, we took our passage on the fol¬
lowing evening, in a sailing schooner, which brought us in
three days to Buffalo, a distance we should have performed in

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK.

xxiii

the steamer, in one. Nothing can exceed the pleasure, to those
fond of aquatic excursions, of such a voyage along the shores
of Erie, a fresh water lake, of 330 miles in length, and 70 in
breadth. This lake forms part of the line of separation be¬
tween the United States, and British America, Upper Canada
being the opposite shore. The sides of the lake are covered
to the water-edge, by the same description of woods we had
passed, interspersed, occasionally, by neat villages and light¬
houses.

Buffalo, with its canals, as we entered, reminded us
strongly of certain Dutch towns. It is a place of considerable
size, and, like all we now passed, has risen to its present
opulence in a few years, principally from its commercial
situation at the junction of the Erie canal and lake. It has
one handsome street, with many fine houses, and two good
hotels.

We were early on foot the next morning, to see the town.
This being the day, on which the surviving Indians of the Six
Nations receive their annuity from the United States* Govern¬
ment, for the lands which they ceded to them, numbers of them
were early in town, and made a very respectable appearance.
Most of the men wore fashionable frocks of broad cloth, and
black beaver hats; their Indian boots only distinguishing them
from the “ new people/' The women also were, in general,
decently clad, each having a black hat and feathers ; the upper
part of the hat, decorated with a kind of fringe, composed of
several hundred small pieces of silver, formed a contrast with
the blanket, which some of them wore. We noticed one woman,
with her infant tightly swathed to a board, which was fastened
to her back, and was sorry to observe, the too visible effects of
whiskey on her, and her companions, even at so early an hour.
After breakfast we were provided with a coach to Rockport,
three miles from Buffalo, on the mouth of the Niagara, about
eighteen miles from the celebrated Falls, where we embarked
in a small steam-boat, in which we glided upon the surface
of the water, at the rate of fourteen miles per hour. The
scenery on the banks of this fine river is of a different cha¬
racter from the Ohio, or Mississippi—the trees are small and
low—we seemed almost to fiy past them. We stopped about
two miles from the fall, it being dangerous to approach
nearer, and landed on the Canada side, where coaches were
w aiting to take us to the inn, close to the mighty cataracts,
whose rising clouds of misty spray had been visible for some

XXIV

JOURNEY FROM

time. These wondrous objects of nature are seen to advantage
from the balcony and roof of the inn; they are considered
the finest in the world, and exceed in magnitude any thing
I had ef er seen; nevertheless, having heard, and read so much
of them, my expectation was so raised, that a slight degree
of disappointment was mixed with my' admiration of the
extraordinary scene. After dinner we walked out to examine
these far-famed “ leaping waters/' and every view, served to
heighten our admiration. Their extent and size are amazing;
but the falls on some of the Swedish lakes, and on the river
Dorgo, in Norway, created more surprise in me, from my
beholding them unexpectedly.

The short account of thi3 natural curiosity, in the American
Northern Traveller, seems to me to be the most concise and
correct; I therefore give it in the author's own words:—

“Following a footpath through the pasture behind Forsyth's,
the stranger soon finds himself on the steep brow of the se¬
cond hanky and the mighty cataract of Niagara suddenly opens
beneath him. A path leads away to the left, down the bank,
to the verge of the cataract; and another to the jight, which
oilers a drier walk, and presents a more agreeable and varied
scene.

The surface of the rocks is so perfectly flat near the falls,
and the water descends so considerably over the rapids just
before it reaches the precipice, that it seems a wonder the
place where you stand is not overflown. Probably the water
is restrained only by the direction of the current, as a little
lateral pressure would be sufficient to flood the elevated level
beside it, where, there can be no question, the course of the
river once lay.

Table Rock is a projection a few yards from the cata¬
ract, which commands a fine view of this magnificent scene.
Indeed it is usually considered the # finest point of view. The
height of the fall on this side is 174 feet perpendicular; and
this height the vast sheet of foam preserves unbroken, quite
round the Grand Crescent, a distance, it is estimated, of 700
yards. Goat Island divides the cataract, and just beyond it
stands an isolated rock. The fall on the American side is
neither so high, so wide, nor so unbroken; yet, if compared
with any thing else but the Crescent, would be regarded with
emotions of indescribable sublimity. The breadth is 900 feet,
the height 160, and about two-thirds the distance to the bot-

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK. XXV

tom the sheet is broken by projecting rocks. A bridge built
from the American side connects Goat Island and the main
land, though invisible from this spot; and the inn on the same
side, in Niagara, is seen a little way from the river.

It may be recommended to the traveller to visit this place
as often as he can, and to view it from every neighbouring
point; as every change of light exhibits it under a different
and interesting aspect. The rainbows are to be seen, from this
side, only in the afternoon; but at that time the clouds of
mist, which are continually rising from the gulf below, often
present them in the utmost beauty.

Dr. Dwight gives the following estimates, in his Travels,
of the quantity of water which passes the cataract of Niagara.
The river at the ferry is 7 furlongs wide, and on an average
25 feet deep. The current probably runs 6 miles an hour;
but supposing it to be only 5 miles, the quantity that passes
the falls in an hour, is more than 85 millions of tons Avoir¬
dupois ; if we suppose it to be 6, it will be more than 102
millions; and in a day would be 2400 millions of tons. The
noise is sometimes heard at York, 50 miles.

THE RAPIDS

begin about half a mile above the cataract; and, although the
breadth of the river might at first make them appear of little
importance, a nearer inspection will convince the stranger of
their actual size, and the terrific danger of the passage. The
inhabitants of the neighbourhood regard it as certain death to
get once involved in them ; and that, not merely because all
escape from the cataract would be hopeless, but because the
violent force of the water among the rocks in the channel,
would instantly dash the bones of a man in pieces. Instances
are on record of persons being carried down by the stream;
indeed, there was an instance of two men carried over in
March last; but no one is known to have ever survived. In¬
deed, it is very rare that the bodies are found; as the depth
of the gulf below the cataract, and the tumultuous agitation
of the eddies, whirlpools, and counter currents, render it dif¬
ficult for any thing once sunk to rise again; while the general
course of the water is so rapid, that it is soon hurried far down
the stream. The large logs which are brought down in great
numbers during the spring, bear sufficient testimony to these
remarks. Wild ducks, geese, &c. are frequently precipitated

XXVI

JOURNEY FROM

over the cataract, and generally re-appear either dead, or with
their legs or wings broken. Some say that water-fowl avoid
the place when able to escape, but that the ice on the shores
of the river above often prevents them from obtaining food,
and that they are carried down from mere inability to fly;
while others assert that they are sometimes seen voluntarily
riding among the rapids, and, after descending half way down
the cataract, taking wing, and returning to repeat their dan¬
gerous amusement.

The most sublime scene is presented to the observer when
he views the cataract from below; and there he may have an
opportunity of going under the cataract. This scene is repre¬
sented in one of the plates. To render the descent prac¬
ticable, a spiral staircase has been formed a little way from
Table Rock, supported by a tall mast; and the stranger de¬
scends without fear, because his view is confined. On reach¬
ing the bottom, a rough path among the rocks winds along at
tlm foot of the precipice, although the heaps of loose stones
which have fallen down, keep it at a considerable height above
the water. A large rock lies on the very brink of the river,
about 15 feet long, and 8 feet thick, which you may climb up
by means of a ladder, and enjoy the best central view of the
falls any where to be found. This rock was formerly a part
of the projection above, and fell about seven years ago, with a
tremendous roar. It had been observed by Mr. Forsyth to be
in a very precarious situation the day before, and lie had warned
the strangers at his house not to venture near it. A lady and
gentleman, however, had been so bold as to take their stand
upon it near evening, to view the cataract; and in the night
they heard the noise of its fall, which shook the house like an
earthquake.

In proceeding nearer to the sheet of falling water, the path
leads far under the excavated bank, which in one place forms
a roof that overhangs about 40 feet. The vast column of
water continually pouring over the precipice, produces violent
whirls in the air; and the spray is driven out with such force,
that no one can approach to the edge of the cataract, or even
stand a few moments near it, without being drenched to the
skin. It is also very difficult to breathe there, so that persons
with weak lungs, would act prudently to content themselves
with a distant view, and by no means to attempt to go under
the cataract. Those who are desirous of exploring this tre¬
mendous cavern, should attend very carefully to their steps.

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK. XXVii

and not allow themselves to be agitated by the sight or the
sound of the cataract, or to be blinded by the strong driving
showers in which they will be continually involved; as a few
steps would plunge them into the terrible abyss which receives
the falling river.

THE BURNING SPRING.

About half a mile above the falls, and within a few feet of
the rapids in Niagara River, is a remarkable Burning Spring.
A house has been erected over it, into which admission is ob¬
tained for a shilling. The water which is warm, turbid, and
surcharged with sulphurated hydrogen gas, rises in a barrel
which has been placed in the ground, and is constantly in a
state of ebullition. The barrel is covered, and the gas escapes
only through a copper tube. On bringing a candle within a
little distance of it, the gas takes fire, and continues to burn
with a bright flame until blown out. By leaving the house
closed, and the fire extinguished, the whole atmosphere within
explodes on entering with a candle.”

The next morning a carriage took us to Queenstown, on
the Niagara river, seven miles below the falls, passing on
the way the lofty column lately erected to the memory of
the English General Brock, who fell in an attack made by
the United States’ army in 1812, under General Van Ren-
selaer. Its height is 115 feet, and its base 350 feet above
the river. From the top, an extensive view is obtained over
the vast tract of country, including part of Lake Ontario.
Queenstown is situated at the bottom of the hill, upon which
the monument stands, on the Canadian side of the river, which
we crossed in a small boat. It seemed not to have recovered
from its agitation, since its tremendous leap at the falls, but
a few minutes passed amongst its currents and eddies, landed
us again on the territory of the United States. A coach was
in readiness, and conveyed us to Lewistown, only one mile,
where, at an hotel, opened the day before, we found a breakfast
that would have done credit* to any part of Scotland. We
departed in the stage, after breakfast, forLockport, to meet the
canal boat for Albany. Whilst waiting on the bank of the
Niagara for the carriage, I was asked by an Indian, to purchase
a History of the Six Nations, written by his brother, David
Cusick, who resided at Tuscarora, a few miles further on our
route. We were now at the village, which was entirely In-

b 2

xxviii JOURNEY FROM

dian; one of our passengers was acquainted with Cusick, and
introduced us to his house. He had been confined to his bed
several years by a rheumatic complaint. His house and family
Avere patterns of neatness and order, and himself the most in¬
telligent Indian I had met Avith. He spoke English Avell, and
seemed pleased to see us, and told us, a Dr. Duncan, from Edin¬
burgh, had stopped some time Avith him. He requested me to
do the same, adding, “ you Avill be as welcome and safe here, as
in your OAvn house.” His room Avas decorated Avith coloured
draAvings of his oavii execution, representing several subjects
of the Indian history of his tribe; among the rest, Avas a
draAving of the mammoth, Avliich he informed me Avas so
represented by his fathers, in Avhose traditions, it Avas stated
more to resemble a hog, than any other beast. He presented
me Avith it, and some others, ana made me promise to call on
my return. Near the entrance of the village Ave met an
Indian returning from shooting squirrels, Avith a boy laden
Avith his game; he must have had near a hundred, Avhich
Avere all procured by the bow, a very short and simple one,
AA r hich he carried in his hand. The road to Lockport, like
most of those Ave had travelled, Avas indifferent, and required
a skilful and attentive driver to proceed. Most of it lay
through extensive Avoods. Near a village Ave observed three
large black snakes, about ten feet long, hanging dead across a
fence, Avhich, Avith one of the same kind killed by a boatman
on the bank of the canal, Avere all I saw Avhile in America.
The rattlesnake is uoav nearly as great a curiosity in the
towns of America, as in England. We arrived at Lockport
some hours before the canal boat, Avhich left Buffalo this
morning, and spent some time in examining the stupendous
excavations through the solid rock, Avhich Avere required to
complete the navigation here. This great Avork, extends from
Albany to Buffalo, a distance of 362 miles, Avith 83 locks, and
raises and loAvers the Avater, in all, 688 feet.

The labour, expense, and skill, manifested in the construc¬
tion of this fine canal, is highly creditable to the talents of
the directors; it unites the Atlantic Avith Erie, and the other
northern lakes, and Avill also in a short time, Avhen the
canal from Erie, to Cincinnati is opened, give an uninterrupted
internal navigation through the states, of 2500 miles, extend¬
ing from the Gulf of Mexico, by New Orleans, to NeAV York.
Its advantages are already fully developed, in its Avhole
line, croAvded with boats of considerable size, laden Avith the

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK.

XXIX

various produce of the western and northern states, and re¬
turning with numerous emigrants, moving westward with their
families and effects ; 1500 boats, from 60 to 70 feet long, are
stated to be thus employed. It was really surprising to see
the number of poor emigrants, thus proceeding to their destina¬
tion (many of them were Irish, and on their way to the Ohio),
induced to try their fortune with their countrymen, already
established in that prosperous state, whose representation of
their “good luck” had been the cause of their preferring this
direction. We found the canal boat, though not equally com¬
modious to the steamer, yet comfortable and well regulated,
with every attention to accommodation; a separate cabin for
ladies, who have female attendants, and a good table, at very
moderate expense, a small library, and daily papers. The rate
of travelling, is about 100 miles per day.

The towns, through which the canal passes, exhibit the most
flourishing state of activity and trade, and are crowded with
mechanics and labourers of every description. Handsome
buildings of brick and stone, with neat gardens and orchards,
are already covering the ground, where a dozen years since,
nothing existed, but gloomy forests. To mention the number
of towns and villages through which the canal passes, would
dilate this little account, into the history of a whole rising
country; I shall, therefore, merely mention a few of the most
remarkable.

Rochester, which was only founded in 1812, contains many
substantial, handsome buildings, in regular streets, with fine
shops, several of the fronts of which, like those of other
cities, are of cast iron; it already contains near 6000 inhabit¬
ants. The water-fall close to the town, and another at Car¬
thage, about two miles below, are well worth examination,
as well as the remains of one of the boldest single fabrics, that
art has ever attempted in this country, which now shows a few
of its remains in this place. The two great piles of timber,
which stand opposite each other on the narrow level, where
once the river flowed, are the abutments of a bridge, of a
single arch, thrown over a few years ago. It was 400 feet in
length, and 250 above the water; but stood only a short
time, and then fell with a tremendous crash, by its own
weight. Fortunately no person was crossing at the time—a
lady and gentleman had just before passed, and safely reached
the other side. The Salina, or grand salt works, through
which the canal passes, is also deserviug a visit from all

XXX

JOURNEY FROM

travellers 3 006,463 bushels of salt were manufactured here
in 1800,, and the quantity is greatly increasing. Utica, is an¬
other busy, thriving place, containing some fine churches and
other public buildings, and above 5000 inhabitants. We
left the boat at Schenectady, and proceeded to Albany in the
stage, on account of the circuitous route of the canal between
those places.

Albany is a place of considerable importance, containing
16,000, inhabitants; it is on the river Hudson, 145 miles above
New York, to which city it is navigable for large sloops and
schooners, and presents to the stranger, a scene of commercial
bustle and trade, not often seen at this distance from the sea.
Its canal basin, is an extensive work, and was filled entirely
with craft 5 its public buildings are on a grand scale, some of
them built of white marble, of a very curious texture, with
•shining particles of talc-like appearance on its surface. We
dined here, and proceeded in the evening in a fine steam-boat
for New York.

The passage down the Hudson, is, to a person who can enjoy
the romantic scenery it presents, enough to repay the trouble
of a voyage across the Atlantic. I know of nothing like it in
Europe. The Ohio, from Louisville to Cincinnati, is, perhaps,
equal in beauty, but of a different kind; its banks, and the
opening views on each side, are more varied, and admit of the 1
mountainous and grand features of sublimity of some of the
Norwegian lakes, mixed with the softer scenery of Switzerland;
while the numerous vessels of every description on its waters,
and the flourishing towns, villages, forts, villas, &c. on its
banks, recal to the mind of Europeans, returning from Spanish
Colonies, scenes, which absence endear to their recollection;
there is a charm in the very name of places which we have
been accustomed to from our infancy. The voyage is generally
performed by steam-boats, in thirteen hours, but owing to our
being encumbered, by towing down a disabled one, much
larger than itself, we did not reach New York till the follow¬
ing evening; a circumstance I did not regret, as it procured
me a lengthened enjoyment of a scene, I can never forget.
We landed, and procured apartments in a respectable board¬
ing house at the bottom of Broadway, in which we were more
comfortably accommodated, than in an English first rate inn,
and at considerably less expense. In the evening, we rambled 1
into the city, and were so fortunate, as to meet some old friends,!
after a separation of several years; their attention, and the

NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK.

XXXI

civility we received from some of the inhabitants, to whom
we had letters, rendered our short stay extremely pleasant.

New York is so well known, and has been so ably and often
described, that I forbear saying further of it, than, that it is such
a place as a stranger would expect to find, in one of the prin¬
cipal cities of a young, energetic, flourishing country, like the
United States; its spacious streets of handsome houses, and
public buildings, many of which are of white marble, are
equalled by few in Europe; the same observation may be ap¬
plied to its numerous institutions, markets, and public walks.
In its situation, noble harbour, and adjacent views, it scarcely
admits of a competition. We remained here a week, highly
pleased with our reception, and left it for England on the
24th of June, in the packet ship, John Wells , and landed
safe in Liverpool, after a pleasant passage of twenty-four
days, without any thing remarkable occurring, except, the
passing of several icebergs, of considerable size, off the banks
of Newfoundland. The New York packets are considered in
themselves, and by the manner in which they are fitted out,
as complete ships, as any that sail ; they generally make the
passage in eighteen or nineteen days, so that the journey, from
Cincinnati to England, may be performed in a month.

•> •

Reprinted in London, October, 1S27.

By James Bullock, Lombard Street, Whitefriars.

^MISSOURI

G U G b

of

CINCINNATI

IN

1 8 2 6 .

BY B. DRAKE AND E. D. MANSFIELD.

CINCINNATI:

PRINTED BY MORGAN, LODGE, AND FISHER.

FEBRUARY', 1G27.

CINCINNATI

IN

1 8 2 6 .

BY B. DRAKE AND E. D. 3IANSPIELD.

-i*

CINCINNATI :

PRINTED BY MORGAN, LODGE, AND FISHER.

FEBRUARY", 1027.

DISTRICT OF OHIO, TO WIT :

Be it remembered, that on the tenth day of January, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, and in the fifty-first
year of the American Independence, B. Drake, of said district, deposited
in said office, the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as author
and proprietor, in the words and figures following, to wit:

“ Cincinnati in 1826, By B. Drake and E. D. Mansfield.”

In conformity to the Act of Congress of the United States, entitled “An
Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps,
charts, and books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during
the times therein mentionedand also of the Act, entitled “ An Act
supplementary to an Act, entitled an Act for the encouragement of learn¬
ing, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books to the authors and
proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and ex¬
tending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and
etching historical and other prints.”

WM. KEY BOND,

Clerk of the District of Ohio .

PREFACE.

The almost unexampled rapidity with which the late
humble village of Cincinnati has advanced to the rank
and opulence of a city, has excited a wide-spread and
increasing interest throughout the country in relation
both to its actual condition and its future prospects.
The authors of the following pamphlet have recently
undertaken the task of gratifying this general curiosity
(in which they could not fail to participate), and, ac¬
cordingly, their friends and the public are here presented
with the result of a series of diligent inquiries and re¬
searches, during the last two months, into the History
and Statistics of Cincinnati.

Deriving their knowledge from personal, and, for the
most part, laborious investigation, they have some reason
to feel confidence in the general accuracy of their state¬
ments; although, from the great haste with which the
materials have been collected and arranged, and from
the occasional interference of professional business, they
are not without apprehensions that a few errors and
omissions may be discovered, for which they must throw
themselves upon the indulgence of their readers. For
the introductory pages, devoted to the more interesting

VI

PREFACE.

statistics of the State at large, they feel confident that no
apology will be necessary ; and they have, therefore, in
conclusion, only to express their thanks to those gentle¬
men who have so promptly rendered them assistance, in
collecting the numerous and important facts which are
here so imperfectly embodied.

Cincinnati,

February 20, IS27,

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

State of Ohio;—Statistics . . . . 1

CHAPTER II.

Ohio River:—Hamilton county

. 15

CHAPTER III.
Cincinnati:—Description

• 17

CHAPTER IV.
Religious Societies and Public Charities

. 25

CHAPTER V.

Literary and Scientific Institutions

. 32

CHAPTER VI.

Municipal Government:—Courts of Judicature

. 40

CHAPTER VII.
Population ....

•

. 49

CHAPTER VIII.
Manufactures ....

•

. 51

CHAPTER IX.

Capacity of Cincinnati for Manufactures

. 59

viii CONTEXTS.

CHAPTER X.

Commerce

.

. 63.

Public Offices .

CHAPTER XI.

- 71

CHAPTER XII.
Value of Real Estate and Money

,

74

Roads

CHAPTER XIII.

.

75

CHAPTER XIV.
Summer’s Residence in Cincinnati

»

• 73

Fine Arts

CHAPTER XV.

. 80

State of Society

CHAPTER XVI.

. ib.

Miscellany

CHAPTER XVII.

. 83

CINCINNATI IN 1826

CHAPTER I.

STATE OF OHIO.

STATISTICS.

SITUATION, ASPECT, AND PRODUCTIONS.

Phe State of Ohio, situated between 38°, 30', and 42° north
atitude, and between 3°, 30', and 7°> 50' west longitude
Tom Washington, is bounded on the east by Pennsylvania
tnd Virginia; south by Virginia and Kentucky ; west by
Indiana; north by Lake Erie and the Michigan territory.
From east to west, its greatest extent may be estimated at
220 miles; from north to south 200. Its area is about
10,000 square miles, which will give in round numbers
25,000,000 of acres. There is but a small portion of this
mmense tract of land that is not susceptible of cultivation,
dthough one-fifth of it may be characterized as abounding
n hills and marshes, the latter of which are not alluvial
valleys, but wet table lands, which may be rendered dry by
clearing and cultivation. There are many large tracts of
evel and exceedingly fertile land; and upon the head waters
)f the Muskingum, Scioto, and the two Miamies, there are
extensive, rich, and beautiful,prairies. Among the forest
:,rees, may be enumerated the black walnut, white flowering
locust, white, black, lowland, chesnut, and bur oaks, wild
dierry, yellow poplar, blue and white ash, mulberry,
loney locust, shell bark hickory, coffee nut, beech, sweet
nickeye, sassafras, sugar tree, red maple, linden, and box
dder. The timber of Ohio is supposed to be less durable

B

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

2

than that of the eastern states, which, if true, may be refer- ,
able to its more rapid growth in a fertile soil. Wheat, maize, j
barley, beans, rye, oats, hemp, flax, and tobacco,* grow j
luxuriantly* and constitute the principal agricultural pro¬
ducts of the state. All the fruits, culinary vegetables,
grasses, and flowers of the middle states, are produced in
abundance. It has been proved, that the soil and climate
are well adapted to the vine, and that a pleasant wine may
be made from its fruit. The mulberry tree grows luxuriantly,
and there can be no doubt that the silk worm will be intro¬
duced at no distant day.

RIVERS.

The principal rivers which empty into the Ohio, are Big
Beaver, Muskingum, Hockhocking, Scioto, and the Little
and Great Miamies. Those that are tributary to Lake Erie,
are Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Black, Huron, Sandusky, Portage,
and Maumee. The navigable water communication of the
state, on the completion of the canals now in progress, will
exceed 1700 miles ; upon which her products may be em¬
barked at certain periods of the year in boats for foreign
markets. Of this extent of navigable water, the Ohio river
affords 420 miles ; Lake Erie, 200; Big and Little Miamies,
95; Scioto, 100; Hockhocking, 50; Muskingum, and its
tributaries, Whitewoman, Killbuck, Mohican, and Wills’
creeks, 205 ; Sandusky bay and river, 36 ; Maumee, and its
tributaries, 260; Ohio and Miami canals, 385. Che principal
harbours on the southern shore of Lake Erie, within the
limits of Ohio, are at Maumee bay, Sandusky city, Grand
river, Cleaveland, and Ashtabula creek. And at the mouth
of Grand river, and at the entrance of Sandusky bay, there
are light-houses.

CLIMATE.

The climate is closely assimilated to that of Pennsylvania,
perhaps rather warmer and more on extremes. The pre¬
vailing winds are from the south-west. The north-west
is short lived—the forerunner of storms in summer, and

* The peculiar adaptation of the soil of Ohio to the growth of tobacco,
its superior quality, its ready sale at high prices, together with the present
and prospective facilities for transporting it to market, afford the strongest
evidences that its culture will hereafter greatly increase'the wealth and
resources of the state.

STATISTICS OF OHIO. 3

txie cause of cold in winter. The east and north-east winds
have less moisture and more elasticity than similar winds to
the east of the mountains.

MINERALS.

Salt. —Salt springs are found in many parts of the state.
I he water is strongly saturated, and the'salt produced is of
a good quality, ihe salt works in Muskingum county
yieid annually about 300,000 bushels; in Morgan, 75,000 •

Lt kSO ^ 10,0fi0; in Gallia ' 10 > 00 °; on Yellow creek,
00,000. The entire annual product of this indispensable
article, within the state, may be estimated at 500,000 bushels,
being about one-fifth of the quantity annually produced and
consumed in the valley of the Mississippi.

Iron. The principal known localities of iron ore in Ohio,
are in the counties of Adams, Muskingum, Licking, Geauga,
and Columbiana, where there appear to be inexhaustible
quantities. In Muskingum county alone, there are annually
produced about 1300 tons of metal, and 200 tons of bar iron,
liie ore is rich and of a good quality. All the iron of the
state is obtained from argillaceous or bog ores.

Coal— Bituminous coal of a good quality, and in large
quantities, abounds in those parts of the state, watered by
' e 1 lock hocking, Muskingum, and Beaver rivers, and their
tranches; and upon the Ohio river, above the mouth of the
scioto. The nearest localities to Cincinnati, of this im¬
portant mineral, are where the western line of the great
pastern coal region crosses the Ohio, above the mouth of the
Scioto, and where it also cuts the Sandy and Lickin 0- rivers
n Kentucky.* °

Gypsum. This valuable mineral abounds on Sandusky
lay, and is supposed to extend quite across the peninsula
i ormed by the lake and the bay. It is of a superior quality,
md may be easily obtained.

The bituminous coal of the United States appears to lie in two
mmense beds, divided by a slip of. country, about one hundred and
lxty miles wide. This slip commences in Michigan, includes the section
f the country watered by the Scioto and Miamies, the fertile parts
f Kentucky and West Tennessee. The great eastern field of coal
xtends south to A abama, and as far east as the Susquehanna and Poto-
iac. It is about 800 miles long by 400 wide. The western stretches to
f S ? ° f Missouri and Arkansas, and is 800 by 500 miles in

xtent. Ihe coal lies in horizontal strata, generally over limestone, or
etween it and sandstone: sometimes it attenuates with the limestone

B 2

4

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

Decomposable Pyrites. —The greatest western locality
of this mineral is near Steubenville, in Jefferson county,
where there is a hill composed of it, from which large quan¬
tities of excellent copperas are annually made: but other
deposites are found near Paint creek, a western branch of
the Scioto.

Strontian. —Fine chrystals of this mineral have been
found on Sandusky bay.

Limestone. —This is the prevailing rock of the northern
and western parts of the state. It is in horizontal strata,
more or less buried up with clay and other alluvial matters.
It is either blue or gray, of various shades. Being all se¬
condary, it abounds in petrifactions. The blue limestone is
excellent for building. The gray is more disposed to crumble
when exposed to the air, but makes the whitest lime. It
affords some beds, which receive a fine polish, and constitute
a good secondary marble. Some of the sub-varieties yield
lime, which hardens under water, and is therefore adapted to
the construction of canals.

Sandstone.— Sand or freestone of various shades of gray,
constitutes the prevailing rock of the south-eastern part of
the state. It abounds in salt, iron, coal, and pyrites, which
compensate, in some degree, for the comparative sterility of
the soil which it supports. The stone itself is readily cut
into blocks of various sizes and shapes, and is sent to different
parts of the state thus prepared.

ROADS.

Three per centum of the proceeds of the sale of public
lands within the limits of Ohio, are paid by the general
government into the treasury of the state, for the improve¬
ment of the roads. This sum, however, being distributed
throughout the state—each county being entitled to its pro-
portion—has been heretofore productive of but little per¬
manent advantage. Several turnpike companies have been
incorporated, but only one turnpike road has been completed.
This extends from the mouth of Ashtabula creek, on Lake
Erie, to Warren, in Trumbull county. Another is construct¬
ing between Cleaveland and Wooster, running through Me¬
dina ; and another from Cleaveland, through Ravenna and
New Lisbon, to the Ohio river. The great national road,
which is intended to pass through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois,
to Missouri, has been surveyed as far westward as Indian-"

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

O

opolis. Thirty miles of the distance, beginning at Wheeling,
are already completed, and twenty-eight more under contract.
During summer and autumn, the roads are good : in winter,
tolerable: in early spring, from the flat and argillaceous
character of the surface of the state, nearly impassable.

EDUCATION.

One-thirty-sixth part of the lands owned, or which might
be thereafter purchased from the Indians, by the general
government, within the limits of Ohio, were granted by
Congress, in the year 1803, for the use of common schools,
besides three townships (equal to 69,000 acres), for the use
of the Miami* and Ohio Universities—the former at Oxford,
the latter at Athens. In addition to these two universities,
there are four colleges: the Western Reserve College, at
Hudson; Kenyon College and Theological Seminary, near
Mount Vernon; the Cincinnati College, and the Medical
College of Ohio, of which a part only are in operation.
There are about twelve incorporated academies. By a
recent law of the state, establishing a general system of
common schools, one-twentieth of one per cent., or half a mill
on each dollar of the grand levy of taxable property through¬
out the state, is to be annually assessed and collected for
their support.

CANALS.

It is several years since a canal communication between
the^ waters of Lake Erie and those of the Ohio, was first
projected, t What was then, however, considered merely

* This institution, possessing* a productive endowment, and being under
the care of an intelligent board of trustees, seems now to be firmly es¬
tablished, and promises to become an ornament to the state. The
President is the Rev. R. A. Bishop. During 1826, the institution con¬
tained in all the different classes one hundred and twelve students. The
commencement for conferring degrees, is held in September of each year.
The village of Oxford is healthy, and the expenses of boarding and tuition
as low as any college in the United States.

f In the picture of Cincinnati, published in 1815 by Professor Drake,
the several routes afterwards surveyed by authority of the legislature, and
the particular course of the Miami canal between this place and Hamilton,
are .marked out with prophetic accuracy and singular intelligence. The
late Mn William Steele, in the years 1819 and 1820, with his cha¬
racteristic enterprise, laboured to call public attention to this subject. He
caused some surveys to be made at his own expense, visited the New York
canals, and upon his return published a pamphlet upon the subject of
canals in Ohio.

6

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

speculative, is now auspiciously commenced, and in rapid
progress towards accomplishment.

This subject was first officially noticed by Governor Brown,
who recommended it to legislative attention in the year
1819. This recommendation he continued with zealous
perseverance during the successive years of his continuance
in office. It was first acted upon by the legislature in
January, 1822. At that time, Mr. M. T. Williams, from the
“committee, to whom wa»referred so much of the governor's
message as relates to canals/' made an able and interesting
Report, representing their great utility to the state, and
its capacity to make them. Immediately after, a bill was
passed, appropriating six thousand dollars to meet the ex¬
penses of surveys, and a Board of Commissioners was ap¬
pointed to examine into the practicability of the project,
estimate the cost, and suggest the means of accomplishing it.
This board employed engineers to survey routes, connecting
the lake by the valleys of the Maumee, Sandusky, Black,
Cuyahoga, and Grand rivers, with the Ohio, by those of the
Miami, Scioto, Muskingum, and Mahoning. In the course
of the years 1822, 1823, and 1824, these surveys and es¬
timates were made, under the direction of the commissioners,
and their respective results communicated to the legislature
in several interesting and detailed Reports. In February,
1825, the legislature, with a full knowledge of the ex¬
penditures required, and the benefits anticipated, adopted
what is now denominated the canal policy. They, at that
time, authorized the construction of two distinct works, the
Ohio and Miami canals.

OHIO CANAL.

This was located on the Scioto and Muskingum route 3 its
northern termination was subsequently fixed by the com¬
missioners to be at the mouth of the Cuyahoga. The work
was commenced in July, 1825, and is now in successful
progress. Its dimensions are the same with those of the
Erie canal of New York, excepting the bottom, which is 26
feet broad. Its length, including feeders, is about 320 miles.
In this distance, there are 1185 feet of lockage,* a large re¬
servoir, several aqueducts, and numerous smaller works es-

* The lockage on the Ohio canal is nearly double what it is on the
grand canal of New York.

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

7

sential to the convenience and utility of so extended a chain
of artificial navigation. In its course from the lake to the
river, it traverses the central, and, in many respects, the
most productive parts of the state. Commencing at the
beautiful village of Cleaveland, it keeps the valley of the
Cuyahoga to Portage, which gives its name to the summit
level between the Cuyahoga and the Tuscarawas; here it
passes over to the latter stream, and descends with it by the
villages of Kendall, Dover, and Coshocton, to the mouth of
Wakatomaka creek, where it leaves Zanesville a few miles
to the south, and, passing the high lands into Licking river,
ascends that stream to the summit level; from this point it
enters the Scioto valley by Walnut creek, and passing Cir-
cleville, Chillicothe and Piketon, joins the Ohio at or near
Portsmouth. A navigable feeder of 10 miles in length
connects Columbus with the main canal. In addition to this,
a company has been incorporated, and the stock taken, to
connect Lancaster with it by a lateral cut. Improvements
of the same nature will, doubtless, be made in relation to
many other places, when a little more experience has placed
the utility of these works beyond the cavils of scepticism
It will be seen from the locality of this work, that beside?
the flourishing districts bordering on the Cuyahoga and Tus¬
carawas, the whole of the immense and fertile country watered
by the Scioto and its tributaries, is, in a measure, dependent
on this canal for its connexion with the markets of the
north and south. It is from the products of this rich
valley, that most deductions have been drawn with regard
to the usefulness of the work. It abounds in all those
staple commodities, from which a large portion of the western
country derives the means of easy subsistence, and substantial
wealth.

The actual progress of the Ohio canal may be seen from
the following statement:

Contracts have been made.

From Portage to Lake Erie . . 37 ♦ miles—to be finished in June, 1827

.south to Massillon 26J.1st July, 1827

On Licking summit . . . . 10J.1st June, 1827

Feeder from S. fork of Licking 6|- ...... . 15th Dec. 1826

Massillon to Goshen . . . . 35.1st July, 1828

Licking summit to the Narrows 12|.

Deep cut.3£.1st Oct. 1828

The entire distance is * . . 131 ^ miles.

8

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

Of this, 80 miles are to be finished on the 1st of July next-
Sixty-four miles of continuous navigation from Cleaveland
to Massillon will then be open to public use. In addition to
the regular line of canal and its feeders, a large reservoir
has been constructed on Licking summit, to supply in the
driest seasons the deficiency of water. This is a very inter¬
esting portion of the work; a natural marsh, flooded during
freshets by the neighbouring streams, is, by embanking a part
of one side, converted into a large lake for the uses of arti¬
ficial navigation. Its length is between six and seven miles,
and its breadth about half a mile. This reservoir is now
completed, and also the feeder from the south fork of
Licking, and nine-tenths of the labour on the line from Port¬
age to the lake, and that on the Licking summit. This
work has, so far, advanced with greater rapidity, and been
less expensive, than was originally anticipated.*

On the part of the .northern division put under contract,
there will be, after deducting a sum deemed sufficient for su¬
perintendence and contingencies, a saving of 100,000 dollars
from the estimates.

On the contracts made on the middle division, there will
be a similar saving of about 60,000 dollars.

MIAMI CANAL.

This work connects Cincinnati with the heart of the po¬
pulous and exuberant region bordering on the two Miamies.
It commences at Dayton, near the mouth of Mad river, and
descending the valley of the Miami, passes by the villages of
Miamisburgh, Franklin, Middletown, and Hamilton; at the
latter place it leaves the Miami, and follows the course of
Mill creek to the upper level of Cincinnati. It is intended
to connect this level with the river Ohio, by a series of de¬
scending locks, and such additional works as may best serve
the purposes of commerce and manufactures.

The length of this canal, as now located, is about 67 miles,
and its dimensions the same with those of the Ohio canal.
The work was commenced in July, 1825, and has since ad¬
vanced with uncommon rapidity. That part of the line now
under contract, extends from Enoch's mill-dam, above Mid¬
dletown, to Main-street, Cincinnati, and will be ready for

* A beautiful and accurate topographical map of Ohio, compiled by
A. Kelley, Esq. is now in publication by H. Howard, of Delaware. It will
exhibit particularly the course, profile, and lockage of the canals.

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

9

navigation in July next. The entire distance is near 44
miles, and includes a dam over the Miami, a drain from
the pond at the head of Mill creek, 5 aqueducts, 12 locks,
20 stone culverts, and some heavy embankments. Of this
distance, 31 miles, together with most of the masonry, are
completed, and the remainder in a state of rapid progres¬
sion. The rest of the line, between Middletown and Dayton,
will be put under contract next spring, and completed in the
year 1828. Amount of lockage, 300 feet.

The estimated cost of the whole line is 616,837 dollars.
The country bordering on the Miami canal is eminently dis¬
tinguished for the abundance of its natural productions, and
the rapid advances of its population. It includes the counties
of Hamilton, Warren, Butler, Preble, Montgomery, Green,
Clark, Champaign, Dark, and Miami. It is in these counties
that the immense quantities of flour, pork, whiskey, &c. an¬
nually exported from Cincinnati, are produced. Their con¬
tiguity to the canal is such, that most of their products must,
of necessity, be conveyed upon it. They are now transported
in waggons—a mode of conveyance ever attended with
comparative loss and difficulty in a country where the soil,
so abundant and various in its natural gifts, is, however, less
favourable to the construction of good roads, than to that of
canals.

Besides the ordinary benefits of canal communication, much
is anticipated from the water power gained in the descent
from the upper plain of Cincinnati to the level of the river.
The quantity of water which may safely be admitted, in ad¬
dition to what is required for the use of navigation, without
creating too strong a current,* is estimated by engineers at
3000 cubic feet per minute. In descending to high water¬
mark (about 50 feet), this will be sufficient to turn 60 pair
of mill-stones. Additional water power, equivalent to about
one-third of this in value, may be obtained between high and
low water-marks. At the locks near Reading, and at other
places between that and Dayton, water sufficient for exten¬
sive hydraulic works may be furnished. Of the accuracy of
these estimates there is no reason to doubt; they were made

* The discharge of 3000 cubic feet of water from a channel of the
dimensions of the Miami canal, will create a current of about 400 yards
an hour, in addition to the ordinary current of the canal; this will be
too small an obstacle to the passage of the boats to create any serious
obstruction.

B 5

10

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

by persons skilled in their profession, from minute examina¬
tion of the obstacles to be encountered, and the means of
overcoming them.

In estimating the revenue to be derived from the Miami
canal, it may be observed, that the quantity of produce raised
within such a distance as renders it a convenient means of
transportation, is greater than it was originally supposed ; and
that this quantity is continually increasing with the growth
and improvement of the country.

The value of water rents is also much greater than it was
originally estimated by the commissioners.*

The practicability of extending the Miami canal to the
rapids of the Maumee has been ascertained by experienced
engineers,! and the line actually located. When the com¬
pletion of the works already undertaken shall have increased
the public confidence and resources, this northern section of
the Miami canal will doubtless be commenced. An active
and numerous population is rapidly spreading over that
quarter of the state through which it will pass, and substi¬
tuting the energies of civilization for the dulness of the forest.
The length of the entire line from Cincinnati to the rapids
of the Maumee, including the feeders, is 290 miles, and the
estimated cost 2,929,000 dollars.

The funds for the prosecution of these improvements have
heretofore been obtained without difficulty, and none is now
anticipated. In the year 1825 the sum of 400,000 dollars
was borrowed at less than 6 per cent, per annum. In 1820
1 ,000,000 dollars was obtained on terms nearly as favourable.
The existing laws authorize a loan of 1,200,000 dollars for
each of the years 1827 and 1828, which, with those already
made, will amount to 3,800,000 dollars; a sum exceeding
the entire estimated cost of both canals. In regard to the
time required for the completion of these works, it appears
from what has already been stated, that the Miami canal will
be completed in 1828. Thirty-one miles being already finished,

* Water poiver, sufficient to carry a pair Of mill-stones, was estimated
by the commissioners to be worth 250 dollars per annum: steam power
adequate to the same object, it has been satisfactorily ascertained, will
cost more than 500 dollars per annum.

t A part of these examinations were made by Mr. Geddes; the re¬
mainder by Mr. Samuel Forrer, of this city, who made the location of the
line, and is now the superintending engineer of the Miami canal. His
practical skill and active usefulness cannot be too highly appreciated.

STATISTICS OF OHIO. 11

and thirteen more under contract, to be completed on the first
day of July next.

More than two-fifths of the entire line of the Ohio canal
are now under contract, and if no uncommon obstacles inter¬
vene, the whole will be completed in the summer of 1830,
or five years from the day on which the ground was first
broken.

POPULATION.

The people of Ohio are industrious, temperate, intelligent,
and enterprising. In 1790 the population amounted only to
3000 ; in 1800, to 42,156; in 1810, to 230,760; and in 1820,
to 581,434. At this time (December, 1826,) it may safely
be estimated, in round numbers, at 800,000. From the census
of 1820 it appears that there were 24,642 more males than
females; the number of white males over 18 was 130,460;
the number of persons engaged in agriculture was 141,000,
in manufactures 19,000, and in commercial pursuits 1500;
the black population was 4,723. This increase in a single
state, from 42,156 to 800,000, in 26 years, is perhaps without
a parallel in the history of this or any other country.

MILITIA.

From the returns made to the Adjutant-General’s office,
for the year 1826, it appears that the militia of Ohio amounts
to 110,176.

CAPITAL.

Columbus, the seat of government, is pleasantly situated
near the centre of the state, on the east side of the Scioto,
just below the mouth of Whetstone river, and about 45 miles
north of Chillicothe. It contains 200 houses, and about 1400
inhabitants. Its public edifices consist of a State House,
with adjoining buildings for public offices; a Court House
for the federal courts of the Ohio district, and a Penitentiary.
The first commitment to this establishment took place in
1815, since which time there have been imprisoned in it 584
convicts. Of this number 225 have been pardoned—25
have died—a few escaped, and about 130 have served out'
their term of commitment; 15 have been committed a second
time. They are engaged in different mechanical occupations
of the ru4er kind, but the products of their labour do not
support the establishment, and some alteration of the system
is obviously necessary.

12

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.

The chief towns are Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Zanesville,
Steubenville, Marietta, Dayton, Columbus, Athens, Lan¬
caster, Lebanon, Cleaveland, St. Clairsville, Springfield, and
Urbanna.

RELIGION.

The denominations of Christians are, Presbyterians, Me¬
thodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Friends, Roman Catholics,
Covenanters, Seceders, Swedenborgians, Lutherans, Shakers,
&c. The Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists are the
most numerous. The Episcopalians are not numerous, but
extensively scattered over the state, which has recently been
erected into a diocese.

CIVIL DIVISIONS.

The state is divided into 73 counties, which, under the
present apportionment, send 72 representatives, and 36 sena¬
tors to the legislature. These counties are combined into
fourteen districts, from each of which there is elected a
Member of Congress—and again, into nine, each of which
constitutes a judicial circuit of the courts of Common Pleas.
Each county is subdivided into a number of townships, in
which trustees, overseers of the poor, with other local officers*
are annually elected.

GOVERNMENT.

The general Assembly of Ohio consists of a Senate and
House of Representatives. The senators are chosen for two
years, and must never exceed one-half, nor be less than one-
third, of the number of representatives. The representatives
are chosen annually, and in number must not exceed 72 , nor
fall short of 36,

The governor, who performs the executive functions, is
chosen biennially. His powers are limited, having no veto
upon legislative acts, and does not nominate candidates to the
senate, but appoints to office when vacancies occur during
the recess of the legislature. His salary is 1000 dollars per
annum. In Ohio there is an unrestricted and universal elec¬
tive franchise.

JUDICIARY.

The judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, composed
of four judges, and in the courts of Common Pleas, consisting
of nine presiding, and 27 associate judges, and in justices of

STATISTICS OP OHIO*

13

the peace. The judges of the two former courts are elected
by a joint ballot of the legislature, and hold their offices
for seven years; justices of the peace are elected by the
. people, and for the term of three years. Their number is
regulated by the courts of Common Pleas. The judges of
the Supreme Court receive 1200 dollars each per annum; the
president judges of the Common Pleas 1000 dollars each.

REVENUE, AND. AGGREGATE VALUE OF PRO¬
PERTY IN THE STATE.

For the purpose of carrying into operation the ad valorem
system of taxation, a general assessment of ail the taxable
property of the state was made in 1825, which gives, as cor¬
rected by the Board of Equalization, the following results:—
Land liable to taxation, 15,143,309 acres, valued at 37,714,225
dollars. Houses of more than 200 dollars value, 1,549,889.
Town property, 7,321,034 dollars. Horses (138,074 in num¬
ber), 5,517,810 dollars. Cattle (274,698), 2,201,093 dollars.
Mercantile capital, 5,202,400 dollars. Carriages, 20,885 dol¬
lars. Total valuation of taxable property, 59,527,336 dollars.
This valuation includes no other improvements on the land
than dwelling houses of more than 200 dollars value. Manu¬
facturing establishments are exempted from taxation.

MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE.

The principal manufactures are flour, distilled spirits,
woollen and cotton goods, paper, copperas, linseed and castor
oils,* salt, castings, iron, steam-engines, and a great variety
of articles in wood, and the metals adapted to agriculture
and the comforts of domestic life. The principal exports are
flour, pork, lard, butter, cheese, poultry, tobacco, spirits, corn,
oats, linseed oil, bees' wax, feathers, ginseng, horses, neat-cattle,
and hogs.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

By the treaty of 1763, the French possessions between
the Alleghanies and the Mississippi passed to Great Britain,
and by the treaty of peace in 1783, between that power and

* Castor, peppermint, and wormseed oils, have been manufactured
to a considerable extent in different parts of the state. The soil is found
to be congenial to the growth of the plants from which they are produced.
During this year one individual has manufactured and exported from this
state fifteen hundred pounds of excellent peppermint oil.

14

STATISTICS OF OHIO.

our own government, the sovereignty of the north-western
territory was vested in the government of the United States.
In 1787 the first settlement was made within the limits of
the State of Ohio, and in this year Congress began to exercise
its jurisdiction over the north-western territory, by the es¬
tablishment of a provincial government, consisting of a go¬
vernor, secretary, and three judges, in whom were united
executive, judicial, and a partial legislative power. These
officers administered the government until 1799* at which
period the north-western territory entered into the second
gradation of territorial government, and became entitled to
a legislative body, composed of representatives chosen by
the people, and a council appointed by Congress, from nomi¬
nations made by the House of Representatives. The country
composing the state of Ohio was soon afterwards separated
from the north-western territory, and formed into a distinct
jurisdiction. In 1802 Congress authorized the people to form
a constitution and a state government, under which law our
present constitution was adopted, and in 1803, Ohio was ad¬
mitted into the union, and became a sovereign state.

PROGRESSIVE and FUTURE DEVELOPEMENTS.

The progress of Ohio in wealth and numbers, since her
admission as a member of the confederacy, has been alto¬
gether unprecedented. Less than a quarter of a century
ago, the boundaries, which now include the fourth state in
the union, marked the limits of an infant, remote territory,
with a scattered population on its bosom of but 40,000 ad¬
venturers. Her moral powers have advanced in a corre¬
sponding ratio with her physical resources. As a state, her
course of policy has been uniformly wise and consistent;
equally calculated for the promotion of her own substantial
advancement, and the glory of the nation. Her. citizens,
justly perceiving the true interests of the state, with a de¬
gree of enterprise, only surpassed by its great exemplar. New
York, have successfully embarked in a system of internal im¬
provements, which, for boldness, utility, and magnificence,
would do honour to any age or nation.

With a climate highly salubrious; an extent of territory
including 25,000,000 of acres of fertile land, abounding in
iron, salt, coal, and gypsum; with 1700 miles of navigable
water communication; with Lake Erie washing its northern,
and the Ohio river its southern boundaries, and these con-

OHIO RIVER.

15

nected at different points by permanent canals; with the
great national turnpike road passing from its eastern to its
western limits; with the means of transporting by water her
varied productions, both to the great northern and southern
emporiums; secured from the enervating influence of
slavery; possessing free and firm moral and political institu¬
tions ; with a present population of near a million of enlight¬
ened, virtuous, and enterprising citizens, the state of Ohfo is
destined, at no distant day, to attain a degree of power and
prosperity, surpassing the sober calculations of reason, and
giving her a pre-eminent rank in the American Confederacy.

CHAPTER II.

OHIO RIVER .

The Ohio, which is formed by the union of the Monorma-
hela and Alleghany rivers at Pittsburgh, is 959 miles°in
length. In its passage to the Mississippi it touches the states
of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illi¬
nois. It contains about one hundred islands. Its current,
when very low, does not exceed two miles per hour; when
at a mean height, it may be estimated at three miles. Its
mean width at Cincinnati is about 530 yards. The extreme
range from high to low water-mark, at the same place, is 58
feet. Low water-mark on the Ohio, at the mouth of Mahon¬
ing or Big Beaver, is 127 feet above Lake Erie, or 692 feet
above tide water at Albany. At the mouth of the Scioto,
the Ohio river at low water-mark is 101 feet below Lake
Erie, or 464 feet above tide water; at Cincinnati, at low
water-mark, the Ohio is 133 feet below Lake Erie, or 432 feet
above tidewater at Albany. The descent from the mouth
of Mahoning to the mouth of the Scioto, in the Ohio river,
a distance of 322 miles, has an average of 0-71 of a foot
per mile. From_ the mouth of the Scioto to Cincinnati,
a distance of 105 miles, the average is 0.30 of a foot per
mile; and deducting the falls at Louisville (25.86 feet),
from Cincinnati to the Balize, at the mouth of the Missis¬
sippi, a distance of 1562 miles, there is an average descent

16

HAMILTON COUNTY.

of 0.259 of a foot per mile. If the tide water at Albany
be on a level with the tide water of the Gulf of Mexico-, the
entire descent from the mouth of the Mahoning river, to the
mouth of the Mississippi, is 692 feet, and from Cincinnati to
the same point, 432 feet.

The Ohio meanders in a south-west direction, and empties
into the Mississippi 3° 26' south of Pittsburgh. The naviga¬
tion of this beautiful stream is generally suspended for six
or eight weeks of each winter by the ice. Its only considerable
falls are at Louisville.

HAMILTON COUNTY.

This county, of which Cincinnati is the seat of justice, lies
in the south-west corner of the Miami country. It contains
about 400 square miles, or 256,000 acres of land. It is di¬
vided into thirteen townships; and, in addition to Cincinnati,
contains the villages of Columbia, Montgomery, Reading,
New-Town, Sharon, Carthage, Springfield, Miami-Town,
Cleves, and Harrison. Some parts of the county are hilly,
and the soil second rate—others level, and very fertile.
In 1820, its population was 31,764. If the existing popula¬
tion of that portion of the county, not included in Cincinnati,
bears the same relation to the population of the city, that
the marriages of the former, for the last year, do to those
of the latter; or if the ratio of increase in the former has
been but half that of the city, the present number of inha¬
bitants in the county of Hamilton may be safely estimated at
44,000.

The^ value of taxable property in this county, as assessed
under the ad valorem system, in 1825, amounts to 6,848,433
dollars; being something more than one-eighth of the entire
valuation of the state, while the population of the county
composes not more than one-eighteenth part of the number
of inhabitants in Ohio.

CINCINNATI.

17

CHAPTER III.

X

CINCINNATI .

SITUATION AND ASPECT.

The valley on which the city of Cincinnati, and the vil¬
lages of Newport and Covington are built, is perhaps the
most extensive and beautiful bordering on the Ohio river.
The circumference of this plain is about 12 miles 3 and the
hills, by which it is environed, intersect each other in such a
manner as to form an imperfect square; through the north¬
east and south-west angles of which the Ohio river enters
and passes out.* The northern half of the valley is bounded
on the west by Mill creek; on the north by the river hills ;
east by Deer creek; and south by the Ohio. The southern
half is bisected by Licking river, which, uniting its waters
with those of the Ohio at right angles, separates the villages
of Newport and Covington, leaving the former on the east,
and the latter on the west side of its channel. “ The area of
that part of the-valley on which Cincinnati be

estimated at four square miles. It is unequally elevated,
and the upper and lower tables have received the names of
hill and bottom. The latter, gradually widening, stretches
westwardly from the mouth of Deer creek, where it is but
200 feet broad, to the interval lands of Mill creek. Its me¬
dium breadth is about 800 feet. The hill rises about 50
feet above the bottom. The ascent, which is at first steep,
soon becomes gradual, and continues for the distance of nearly
1000 feet, when the surface gently declines to the base of the
neighbouring highlands.”+

The hills which surround this extensive valley, present to
the eye of the beholder one continued ridge, irregularly ele¬
vated, and of diversified configurations. They exhibit, un¬
der no circumstances, an aspect of grandeur 3 but are always
beautiful and picturesque. Their average elevation above
the plain, is about three hundred feet: and, instead of the
bold and rocky declivities, which characterize the freestone
regions of the Ohio, they present gentle and varying slopes,
which are mostly covered with native forest trees. The

* Dr. Drake’s picture of Cincinnati.

f Ibid,

18

CINCINNATI.

aspect of the valley from the surrounding hills is highly
beautiful. It is various in its character, as it is seen at
different seasons, and from different points.* In approaching
Cincinnati by water, whether ascending or descending the
river, the view is neither extensive nor commanding.

Cincinnati is in latitude 39°, 6', 30" north, and in longi¬
tude /°, 24, 45 west from Washington city. Following
the meanderings of the stream, it is distant from the union
of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, 455 miles; and
from the junction of the Ohio with the Mississippi, 504 miles.
Over land, it is distant from the capital of the state, 110; from
Sandusky city, 200; from Indianopolis (the capital of In¬
diana), 120 ; from Frankfort (the capital of Kentucky), 85;
from Natchez, 680; from Nashville, 270; from New Or¬
leans, 860; from St. Louis, 350; from Pittsburgh, 300; from
Louisville, 105; from Baltimore, 518; from Philadelphia,
617; and from New York, by the way of Lake Erie and the
Erie canal, 850; from Washington city, 500. The upper
plain of Cincinnati is 540 feet above tide water at Albany,
and 2o feet below the level of Lake Erie. Low water-mark
on the Ohio, at this city, is 432 feet above tide water at
Aimnj, or Hi zeer oetow j^rit?.-

PROPRIETORS.

Cincinnati stands upon section 18, and fractional sections
17 and 12, in the fourth township, and first fractional range*
The original patentee, John Cleves Symmes, sold a part of
his interest in this ground, to Mathias Denman, who trans¬
ferred an undivided two-thirds of his interest to Robert
Patterson and John Filson. Upon Filson’s death his part
reverted to Denman, who subsequently sold it to Israel
Ludlow. In January, 1789, this gentleman surveyed that

* One of the views most worthy, perhaps, of attention, may be had at an
early hour on one of the foggy mornings of August or September. A
spectator, under such circumstances, placed upon one of these hills, will
find himself elevated quite above the dense vapours of the river: he will
behold the sun rising free from all obscurity, while the plain below him is
lost in one unbroken sheet of fog, presenting the appearance of an unruffled
lake. As soon, however, as the rays of the sun fall less obliquely upon this
expanse of vapour, it becomes rarified, and, assuming the appearance of
fleecy clouds, passes away to rarer regions, gradually disclosing the city,
the river, the villages, the numerous steam-boats, and all the countless ob¬
jects of the valley.

CINCINNATI.

19

part lying between Broadway and Western-row. The pur¬
chasers of lots received their deeds directly from J. C. Symmes.
In 1790, lots on the fractional section (No. 12) were laid out
by the patentee; and on the 2d of March, 1808, the reserva¬
tion around Fort Washington, was sold in lots, under the
direction of the secretary of the treasury.

PLAN.

There are seven streets, 66 feet wide, 396 feet apart, and
running from the river north, 16° west, between Broadway
and Western-row. The cross streets, which are of the same
width, intersect these at right angles, and lie the same dis¬
tance asunder, except Water and Front, and Second and
Third streets. Each square was originally divided into eight
lots, 99 by 198 feet, except those lying between the streets
last enumerated. The streets in that part of the city east
of Broadway, which intersect the river, run north, 44° west,
are but 60 feet in width, and lie at the same distance from
each other as those in the part of the town first laid out; but
the cross streets -which run parallel to the river are something
nearer each other. The donations by the proprietors are a frac¬
tion of a square designed for a public cor.VmOii, south or Front-
street, and between Main and Broadway; and an entire
square on the west side of Main, between Fourth and Fifth
streets, one half of which was conveyed to the First Presby¬
terian Church, and the other to the county commissioners.

MATERIALS FOR BUILDING.

Materials for building, in Cincinnati, are cheap, abundant,
and of a good quality. The clay on that part of the valley
bordering upon Mill creek makes excellent brick; the beds of
Licking and the Ohio rivers, and the surrounding hills, fur¬
nish inexhaustible quantities of the common limestone: se¬
condary marble can be brought by water from the cliffs of
the Kentucky river; and fine gray freestone from near the
junction of the Big Sandy and Scioto rivers with the Ohio.
The siliceous limestone pebbles which abound in the alluvial
grounds produce fine white lime. Large quantities of pine
boards, shingles, laths, and logs, are annually furnished by the
Alleghany mountains, and boated down the Ohio. The neigh¬
bouring uplands afford oak, ash, poplar, walnut, and cherry
trees, which are brought by land and water to the city, either
in the form of squared logs, boards, joice, or scantling.

2a

CINCINNATI.

BUILDINGS.

b

im

o

cc

CO

o

a

r jj

o

C fj

u

3

O

o

Q

S3

3

fa

H

H

o

Stone, .

. . 0

0

10

8

18

Brick, .

. . 17

142

741

36

936

Frame,

. . 0

4

931

606

1541

Total, 17

146

1682

650

2495

lildings

erected in

1826.

Brick,

128

Frame,

• •

• *

• •

52

Total,

180

In the above enumeration of the buildings of the city,
kitchens, smoke-houses, and stables are excluded.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
r.nijRT. house.

The Court House stands in the north-eastern part of the
city. It is 56 by 60 feet, and measures to the top of the
dome 120 feet. It has a spacious court, several jury rooms,
and contains offices for the clerk, recorder, sheriff, county
commissioners, and auditor. It presents neither in its internal
economy, nor external architecture, a model of convenience
or elegance. Its remoteness from the centre of the city is
justly a cause of complaint.

JAIL.

The Jail is in the vicinity of the Court House. It is a brick
building, containing about fourteen rooms, and has attached
to it a yard for the use of the prisoners, enclosed by a high
brick wall.

MARKET HOUSES.

There are in this city three large Market Houses. The
Lower Market House is situated in the bottom , and extends
nearly from Sycamore to Broadway. It is 300 feet in length,
and supported by three rows of brick pillars. Market days,
Wednesdays and Saturdays.

CINCINNATI*

21

The Market House on Fifth-street, is between Main and
Walnut. It is 200 feet in length, and has two rows of brick
pillars. Market days, Tuesdays and Fridays.

The Western Market House is on Sixth-street, between
Plum and Western-row. It is about 150 feet in length, and
has two rows of brick pillars. Market days, Mondays and
Thursdays.

U. S. BANKING HOUSE.

The Banking House of the Branch Bank in this city, stands
on the east side of Main, between Third and Fourth streets.
The front is built of freestone , and is forty feet exclusive of the
wings, which are of the same materials, and 10 feet each in
width. The remainder of the building is of brick. It is two
Istories in height, and ornamented with a handsome cornice.
The front of the building presents one of the chastest spe¬
cimens of architecture within the city.

MEDICAL COLLEGE EDIFICE.

The edifice for the Medical College of Ohio, is situated on
Sixth-street, between Vine and Race. It is 54 by 36 feet, and
two stories in height, besides the basement. When finished it
will be divided into thirteen rooms, the two largest of which
'are designed for the public lectures, and are calculated to hold
j450 pupils each. The seats in these two are arranged in the
form of a semi-decagon, and rise in such a manner as to afford
a distinct view from the most distant parts of the rooms.—
The anatomical lecture room is well lighted by windows in
the sides, and by a large octagonal sky light. The other
rooms will be appropriated for the use of the medical socie¬
ties, the general meetings of the class, the private anatomical
pursuits of the professors and students, and the janitor.
The building will be finished in the course of the ensuing
summer.

HOSPITAL.

The edifice of the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asy¬
lum of Ohio, is a large brick building, three stories besides
the basement in height; 53 feet in front by 43 in depth.—The
wing is two stories in height, and is 28 by 44 feet. The
building contains 13 rooms, and 34 lunatic cells. It stands
upon a lot in the north-west part of the city, containing four
acres, which belongs to the establishment.

22

CINCINNATI.

CINCINNATI COLLEGE EDIFICE.

The edifice belonging to the Cincinnati College (formerly
constituting the Cincinnati Lancaster Seminary) stands near
the corner of Walnut and Fourth streets* in the rear of the
First Presbyterian Church. It is a capacious two story brick
edifice* consisting of two oblong wings* extending from Wal¬
nut* parallel to Fourth-street* 88 feet in depth* and con¬
nected by apartments for staircases* 18 by 30 feet. This
intermediate portion supports a handsome dome* originally
designed for an observatory. The upper story of each wing
is divided into three rooms. The entire building is capable
of receiving about 1000 pupils.

THE CINCINNATI THEATRE.

This edifice* which is situated on the south side of Colum-
bia-street* between Main rnd Sycamore* was commenced by
a company of 30 or 40 persons in 1819: but being erected
on ground leased at a high rate, the debts of the establishment,
for several years* accumulated faster than the receipts; and
in 1825* it passed* by a public sale* into the hands of tivo in¬
dividuals.

Since our citizens have recovered from their various em¬
barrassments the theatre lias been more liberally attended:
—and the managers will doubtless soon be able to count
upon sufficient patronage to justify them in frequently allur¬
ing to the ivest the most distinguished actors of the sea¬
board.

The lot* which is covered by the edifice and eastern wing*
is 50 by 100 feet in size* arid is bounded by an alley* over
which a west wing is to be added* for a saloon. The central
portion is about 40 by 100 feet* including a wing projecting
10 feet in the rear, and an Ionic portico of 12 by 40 feet in
front. The interior* which is tastefully finished* is equally
divided betiveen the performers and the audience; having*
for the accommodation of the latter* a pit* two tiers of boxes*
and a spacious gallery* with commodious lobbies* punch room*
&c. The vffiole* when improved and completed* according
to the plan of the present owners* will be capable of contain-,
ing about 800 persons.

CINCINNATI WATER W r ORKS.

The city is supplied with ivater from the Ohio river. The
water is raised by a steam-engine* of about forty horse power*
into a reservoir on the adjacent hill* at an elevation of 158

CINCINNATI. 23

feet above low water-mark, and above 30 feet above the
upper plain of the city. Two lines'of wooden pipes con¬
duct the water from this reservoir into the city, and from
these, smaller pipes, amounting to about 40,000 feet, are laid
along the principal streets, supplying at this time about 500
families, besides many manufacturing establishments. A
new and enlarged reservoir has just been commenced, capable
of containing upwards of 300,000 gallons, and during the
ensuing summer iron pipes,, of 8 and 10 inches in diameter,
" ill be laid from the engine-house, which stands just above
Deer-creek Bridge, to the reservoir, and from thence into the
city. The distributing pipes will be extended as fast as they
are needed.

In 1817, the Town Council granted, by ordinance, to the
Cincinnati Manufacturing Company,” the exclusive privi¬
lege of supplying the city with water, for the term of 99
years, upon the condition of their paying annually to the
corporation the sum of 100 dollars, and furnishing, in all
cases of fire, the necessary supplies of water. To accom¬
plish this, they were bound to place a fire plug at each block
along which the water should be introduced ; and to fill all
such cisterns or reservoirs, free of expense, as might be con¬
structed in future by the corporation • the water from which
to be used only in cases of fire. The Cincinnati Manufac¬
turing Company, in 1820, transferred to Samuel W. Davies
tnis privilege—he refunding to the company its expenses
incurred in the commencement of the work. On the first
day of July, cf the same year, the water was introduced on
the upper and lower plains of the city, as required by the
ordinance. Subsequent to this, the proprietor made repeated,
but fruitless efforts to engage the citizens in the under¬
taking ; and, with scarcely a hope of being enabled to com¬
plete the necessary works, he offered the whole establishment
to the Council at a price stated to be below the actual
cost. The proposition was submitted to the voters of the
city, who decided against the purchase of a privilege, which
ought never to have been granted away, and which sound
policy required should be regained by the corporation at the
earliest opportunity. As a last resort, the proprietor ob¬
tained, during the winter of 1825-6, an act, incorporating
the <c Cincinnati Water Company.” Stock was immediately
:aken by a few individuals of the city, to an extent sufficient
:o make all the improvements and additions necessary for

24

CINCINNATI.

completing the establishment. It is to be regretted, that the
corporation should have bartered away, for a small annuity,
a privilege, which, if properly managed, would in time have
almost exempted the city from taxation: and that such an
exclusive grant should have been made, without any restric¬
tions, as to the charges thereafter to be imposed by the com¬
pany, for the use of the water, is perhaps not less surprising
than that the citizens should have decided against the pur¬
chase of the works, when recently offered.

PRESERVATION FROM FIRE.

There are in the city four fire engines, each having a
company of 25 men, under the command of a captain: one
Hose Company of 25 members, and having under their charge
about 1800 feet of substantial hose: one Hook and Ladder
Company of 30 men, properly equipped with hooks, ladders,
and ropes: a Company for the preservation of the fire
buckets, and a Protection Society composed of about 50
members. There are a chief, and one assistant engineer;
16 fire wardens, and about 150 firemen, who keep their
engines in excellent order, and in cases of fire are prompt,
active, and persevering.

The City Council have recently erected, in different parts
of the city, five substantial brick cisterns, each of sufficient
capacity to contain upwards of 5,000 gallons of water.—
These are kept constantly filled, and being connected with
the pipes which conduct the water along the streets, may, in
cases of fire, be replenished as fast as the water is drawn
from them by the engines. These cisterns, affording, par¬
ticularly in the season when fires are most frequent, the chief
and only certain supplies of water, should speedily be in¬
creased to treble their present number.

FUEL.

Wood is the chief article of fuel; which is boated down
the Ohio and Licking rivers, or brought in waggons from the
adjacent country. Coal, from the mines above, is brought to
the city in considerable quantities, but is not yet extensively
used, except in the manufacturing establishments.

MARKETS.

Cincinnati has six market days in each week. On four
of these, the market houses exhibit in great abundance, beef,
veal, pork, and mutton of an excellent quality: fine turkeys,

CINCINNATI.

25

geese, chickens, ducks, and quails: pike, perch, eels, cat
and sword fish; to which may be added the soft-shelled turtle.
\ enison and bear meat are not unfrequently offered. The
vegetable market is extensive and excellent, abounding in all
the roots and herbs common to the middle states—embracing
the different varieties of the potatoe, cabbage, peas, beans,
carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, radishes, celery, onions,
cucumbers, pumpkins, egg plants, &c. &c. Among the
domestic fruits, may be enumerated fine flavoured apples,
peaches, pears, cherries, plums, quinces, raspberries, straw¬
berries, currants, gooseberries, black-berries, cranberries, crab
apples, pawpaws, fall, winter, and fox grapes, mulberries,
and the nuts of the hickory, walnut, hazel, and chesnut trees :
melons of the various kinds, and finely flavoured, are both
cheap and abundant. By our steam-boats, we are supplied
with oranges, figs, pine-apples, and other fruits of the south :
also raisins, almonds, prunes, dried currants, filberts. Sec. Sec.
From November until April, oysters may be had, imported
in kegs and canisters, hermetically closed. They are oc¬
casionally brought from New Orleans in the shell. Salted
salmon, mackerel, shad, codfish, and herrings are common,

CHAPTER IV.

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES , AND PUBLIC
CHARITIES.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY.

'Phis society was established in this city in 1791, and in¬
corporated in 1807- The pastor is the Rev. Joshua L.
Wilson. The church belonging to this society is situated on
the west side of Main-street, between Fourth and Fifth. It
is a brick building, 68 by 85 feet, and has two cupolas, one
at each corner of the front. In the rear it has an octagonal
projection for a vestry. The basements of the turrets contain
the staircases. It has 112 pews, 5 aisles, a large gallery,
and a bell. The plan of the building is not however in good
taste.

c

26-'

CINCINNATI.

SECOND PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY.

The Second Presbyterian Society, was organized in 1817-
The Rev. David Root is pastor, 'its place of worship is a
frame building on the east side of Walnut, between Fifth and
Sixth streets.

EPISCOPAL SOCIETY.

This church is under the care of the Rev. Samuel Johnson,
and was formed in the year 1817- Their place of worship
is a convenient brick building, 40 by 55 feet, two stories in
height, neatly finished, and situated on Sixth-street, between
Walnut and Vine.

METHODIST SOCIETY.

The Methodist Society was established in 1804, and incor¬
porated in 1811. They occupy two churches; one a capa¬
cious stone building with brick wings, situated on 1 ifth-street,
between Sycamore and Broadway. The other a brick building,
two stories in height, standing at the corner of 1 ourth and
Plum streets.

ENON BAPTIST SOCIETY.

The Enon Baptist Church was formed in 1820. The Rev.
James Challen is pastor. Their place of worship is a brick
building on Walnut, between Third and Fourth streets,
capable of seating about 700 persons. The congregation con¬
sists of about 250 members.

NEW JERUSALEM SOCIETY.

The New Jerusalem Church was organized in 1811. It is
under the care of Rev. A. Hurdus. Its place of worship is
on Centre, between Fifth and Sixth streets.

THE WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH.

This society was incorporated in 1817, and is under the
care of the Rev. William Burke. Its place of worship is a
frame building on Vine-street, between Fourth and Fifth. .

FRIENDS’ SOCIETY.

The Society of Friends was formed in 1813. Their Meet¬
ing-house stands near the western part of the city, between
Fourth and Fifth streets.

CINCINNATI.

27

GERMAN LUTHERAN and REFORMED CHURCH.

This church was instituted in 1814, and is at present
under the care of the Rev. L. H. Myer. Its place of worship
is a neat brick building on Third, between Broadway and
.Ludlow streets. J

FIRST BAPTIST SOCIETY.

This church was constituted in December, 1813. Its place
ot worship is on the corner of Vine and Sixth streets.

AFRICAN CHURCH.

This society holds its meetings in a frame building, erected
tor the purpose, standing east of Broadway and north of Sixth-
street.

ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIETY.

This society was organized in this city in 1818. In 1823
the Rev. Doctor Fenwick was appointed Catholic Bishop of
Cincinnati, and in the course of a few months afterwards a
frame church was erected on Sycamore, above Sixth-street.
In 1826 an additional building of brick was added. The
stated number of the clergy is a bishop and four priests. It
is in the contemplation of this society to establish, within a
short period, a theological seminary, and a college for the
education of youth. ^ Several intelligent ladies belonging to
the religious order of the Poor Clares have recently arrived
from Europe, and connected themselves with this congregation.
1 heir object, in part, is to keep free schools for the instruction
P^? r c ^^ ren * They have already opened one with a class
of 60 pupils. Arrangements are making by the society to
procure suitable buildings for the accommodation of these
sisters, when they will be prepared to receive young ladies as
boarders, and instruct them in all the higher branches of edu¬
cation.

. The cathedral belonging to this congregation is a neat spe-
omen of Gothic architecture, the plan of which, with some
slight alterations, was furnished by Mr. Michael Scott, of this
city. The building is 110 feet in length ; 50 in breadth; 30
from the base to the cornice: and has five handsome windows
m each side, 15 feet in height. There are 88 pews on the
first floor. . The gallery is large, and has the orchestra in the
centre, which is shortly to receive a splendid organ. The

c 2

CINCINNATI.

altar is arranged in good taste, and ornamented with a large
and beautiful painting by Verschoot, representing the investi¬
ture of a religious . There are several other valuable paintings
hung around the walls. The interior of the church is hand¬
somely finished, and presents a spacious and elegant room,
capable of seating about 800 persons.

The edifice for the Literary College is to correspond in its
exterior with the cathedral, and be connected with it in the
rear by the frame church originally occupied by the society :
the whole will then form three sides of a square, and when
properly ornamented with a steeple, will present a magnificent
appearance.

JEWISH CONGREGATION.

This society was established in this city in 3822. It has a
number of members, and is increasing. A frame building,
west of Main-street, and Iietween Third and Fourth, is at
present used by the society as a synagogue.

UNIVERSALISTS.

A society of Universalians is about to be organized in this
city. It is in contemplation by the members to build a church
in the course of the year 1827.

REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

This society was organized a short time since, and is under
the care of the Rev. C. B. M’Kee. It has yet no place of
public worship, but the society has it in contemplation to erect
one during the ensuing summer.

HUMANE SOCIETY.

This society, whose object is the resuscitation of drowned
persons, consists of about 300 members, and was formed in
1819. It has procured a fine set of apparatus, consisting of
three boats, with four sets of drags for each ; a moveable bed,
with a stove for heating it, and a pair of bellows, witli different
sized nozles. The apparatus is deposited in houses at suitable
places on the river bank. The officers are a president, three
vice-presidents, secretary, treasurer, and seven directors.

The Miami Bible Society was formed in 1814, for the
purpose of distributing Bibles among the poor.

The Female Auxiliary Bible Society was formed iu
181(3.

CINCINNATI.

29

The Female Association, for the benefit of Africans
was instituted in 181 7 . J

The Western Navigation Bible and Tract Society
was formed in 1818.

. f” E Union Sabbath School Society was established
in 1817-

COLONIZATION SOCIETY.

A society, with the above title, has recently been formed
in this city. It is intended to be auxiliary to the American
Colonization Society; but its funds are to be appropriated
to the expenses of forwarding to Africa the free blacks of
Cincinnati, who may be found willing to be sent to that
country. The number of members is already about one
hundred.

MASONIC INSTITUTIONS.

Cincinnati Royal Arch Chapter, No. 2, was insti¬
tuted in 1817 . William Greene, High Priest.

The I'm. C. Harmony Lodge, No. 2 , was instituted in this
city in 1791. Arva Wilson, W. Master.

. The Miami Lodge, No. 46, was formed in 1818. Wil¬
liam Greene, W. Master.

Lafayette Lodge, No. 81, was formed in 1825. William
Rossell Foster, W. Master. Morgan Neville, Past Master.

Lafayette, Honorary Member. General Lafayette,
after whom this lodge is named, and whose anticipated
reception in this city, was one cause of its being organized at
the particular time it went into operation, was made an
honorary member 011 the evening of the 11th of May, A. L.
5825, and in person signed the bye-laws of the society on the
19th of May, A. L. 5825.

COMMERCIAL HOSPITAL AND LUNATIC
ASYLUM.

This public charity had its origin in the year 1821. In
the preceding December, Governor Brown recommended to the
legislature the establishment of a Commercial Hospital. At
the same time. Dr. Drake, then labouring to lix permanently
the foundations of our Medical School, suggested to the
trustees, who superintended the paupers of the city, the
advantage of uniting with the state, and establishing an In-

CINCINNATI.

30

firmary, for the common benefit of the poor confided to their
care, and the diseased boatmen of Ohio, and other states of
the west, who might at any time grant to her citizens, en¬
gaged in commerce, similar relief. The trustees adopted the
su"festion, and its author was made the bearer of then;
petition. To this, he added another from the faculty of
the Medical College, and a third from himself, proposing the
addition of a Lunatic Asylum. To the honour of the state, the
project completely succeeded. 3 he General Assembly ap¬
propriated ten thousand dollars, in various kinds of depreci¬
ated bank paper; and gave, for the permanent support of the
establishment, half the auction duties of the city. 3 he
trustees supplied an eligible site, and an edifice was erected,
which, for three years, has been uevoted to its proper and
praiseworthy objects.

A signal reduction of taxes for the support of the poor, has
resulted to us, from the execution of this benevolent and
comprehensive plan ; the paupers of the city, when ill, have
been rendered more comfortable; many citizens of Ohio,
when engaged in commerce, and strangers, without pecuniary
means, have enjoyed the benefits of the charity; while the^
unhappy victims of insanity, for whom it is the duty of
society to provide, have received suitable accommodations and
assistance.

THE KIDD FUND.

The late Mr. John Kidd, of this city, bequeathed, at his
decease, in the year 1818, one thousand dollars per annum,
for ever, for the “education of poor children and youth of
Cincinnati.” This fund arises from the rents of a piece of
around situated at the south-west corner of Main and Front
streets. By his will, the Rev. Joshua L. Wilson and the
Rev. O. M. Spencer were made the trustees, with power
to transfer the same to the trustees of any literary incorpo¬
ration. Such transfer was made in the year 1811) to the
trustees of the Cincinnati College. The first receipts from
this liberal bequest were in October, 1819; and between
that period and October, 1825, the sum of 6000 dollars was
received. During the first half of these five years, from 75
to 100 children constantly received instruction upon the
Lancasterian plan; and for the two and a half succeeding
years, owing to the great reduction in the price of tuition, 37>>
pupils weve°constantly enjoying the munificence of this charity.

CINCINNATI.

31

In 1825 an adverse claim to the fee-simple of the ground.,
thus bequeathed by Mr. Kidd, was asserted, and the lessee of
the premises was enjoined from paying over the accruing
rents to the trustees, until the final adjudication upon the
title. When this will take place, and what may be its result,
are uncertain. Should the decision be adverse to the title of
the donor, it is much to be hoped that a charity, which pro¬
mises such lasting and substantial benefits, may be continued
by the successful party, according to the wishes and directions
of Mr. Kidd.

THE WOODWARD FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

Mr. William Woodward, of this city, with a liberality
which entitles him to the gratitude of his fellow citizens, has
recently conveyed in trust, for the support of a free grammar
school, for the education of the poor children of the city, a
valuable tract of land, containing six acres, lying a little north
of the line of the canal, and between Broadway and Main-
street. So soon as the canal is completed, it is the intention
of the trustees to divide this tract into suitable building lots,
and to lease them, subject to a revaluation every fifteen years.
It is computed that the rents in 1828 will be sufficient to
authorize the opening of a school with at least 60 pupils. T?
deed of trust is made to Samuel Lewis and Osmond Cogsu cju,
and provides for the annual election, by the voters of the
city, of a third trustee. On the decease or resignation of
the trustees named in the will, their successors are to be ap¬
pointed by the mayor and aldermen, and in case the City
Court should be abolished, the same power is given perpe¬
tually to the judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Hamil¬
ton county. Mr. Woodward owns, in common with the
county of Hamilton, another tract of land adjoining the one
already described, worth about 9000 dollars. He proposes,
in case the commissioners of the county will do so likewise,
to make a similar conveyance of this tract for the education
of the poor children of the‘whole county. This liberal and
praiseworthy proposition should certainly be met by the com¬
missioners in a corresponding spirit. In that case permanent
provision for extending the rudiments of an English edu¬
cation to the poor children of the city and county, will be
secured for an unlimited period, to an extent calculated to
confer the most substantial benefits upon that interesting
class of our population.

32

CINCINNATI.

A charter, incorporating the trustees of this public charity
by the name of “ The Woodward Free Grammar School of
Cincinnati,” has just been passed by the legislature, as well
as a law, authorizing the commissioners of the county to
convey the tract above referred to, according to the proposi¬
tion of Mr. Woodward.

|

CHAPTER V.

LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS .

MEDICAL COLLEGE OF OHIO.

Early in 1819 Dr. Daniel Drake made to the legislature
a personal application for authority to establish a Medical
School in Cincinnati. The bill submitted by him was enacted
on the 19th of January, and has since been several times
amended.

The institution opened in the autumn of 1820. when it had
a class of 30 pupils. After two prosperous sessions, there
succeeded an interregnum of two years, during wnich the
founder of the institution was induced a second time to enter
the school of Kentucky, then rapidly rising into a distinction
which does honour to the western states.

A new organization of the Ohio College was effected in
1825, and the respectable number of the present class (82)
confirms the judgment of its projector as to the superior na¬
tural and social advantages afforded by our city for such an
institution. Among these are, the facility of reaching it by
water from the most distant parts; the great cheapness of
living, from its being an emporium of agricultural products;
its latitude being more favourable to anatomical pursuits than
southern climates; its numerous and mixed population fur¬
nishing ample means for demonstrations in anatomy and sur¬
gery; and, finally, its general hospital, contributing to the
same important object, and affording to professors and pupils
various opportunities for studying, practically, the nature of
diseases. Of this establishment the professors of the col-

CINCINNATI,

33

lege are, ex officio, the gratuitous medical and surgical attend-
ants, with the privilege of introducing and instructing their
pupils.

In the session of 1825-0 the General Assembly gave half
the auction duties of the city, for four years, to the Medical
College Corporation, out of which an appropriate edifice, suf¬
ficient for all the professors, has been erected. The residue
of the fund, as it accrues, will be at the disposal of the trus¬
tees for the benefit of the institution.

The present professors are Doctors John Moorhead, Jede-
diah Cobb, Josiah Whitman, and the Rev. Elijah Slack.

CINCINNATI COLLEGE

This institution was chartered in the winter of 1818-10,
by an act of the General Assembly of Ohio. A faculty was
shortly afterwards organized, and the Rev. Elijah Slack
elected president. The government of the college is vested
in a Board of Trustees, chosen annually from among the
stockholders.

The only endowment which the institution possesses arises
from private munificence. A large portion of the property
derived in this way, having been appropriated to the payment
of debts, and the remainder being unproductive, the trustees
have deemed it expedient to suspend the college exercises for
the present, and to appropriate the accruing rents to the dis¬
charge of the remaining debts. They have accordingly leased
the rooms in the college edifice, and from the proceeds are
enabled, not only to pay the interest on the debts, but also to
discharge annually several hundred dollars of the principal.
The trustees expect at no distant time to organize another
faculty, and again to open the college under more favour¬
able auspices than attended its original commencement. I n
the meantime all the rooms of the edifice are occupied by
schools, except the one permanently appropriated for the
Lancasterian department, the exercises of which, although
recently suspended, will soon be re-opened, under the super¬
intendence of a competent teacher.

Of the success of the Cincinnati College there can be little
doubt, whenever the Board of Trustees shall be enabled to
procure a gentleman of talents, and extensive literary repu¬
tation, to preside over the institution. Until that period shall
arrive it is gratifying that our citizens, who have sons to
educate, can avail themselves of the advantages of the Miami

34

CINCINNATI.

University, which is located in the vicinity of our city, and is*
now rising into respectability.

CINCINNATI FEMALE ACADEMY.

This institution, of which John Locke, M. D. is the prin¬
cipal, is located in a new and commodious brick-house on
Walnut-street, between Third and Fourth. In addition to
the principal, there are teachers of the French language, of
music, of penmanship, of needlework, and an assistant in the
preparatory department. There is also a Board of Visitors,
consisting of twelve gentlemen, appointed for the purpose of
examining the pupils, and superintending the interests of the
academy. The price of tuition, exclusive of music and the
French language, is from four to ten dollars a quarter. In
August of each year there is a public examination, at which
medals, and the honorary degrees of the academy, are awarded.
The vacation following the annual examination comprises
four weeks. The academy possesses a competent apparatus
for illustrations in chemistry, natural philosophy, astronomy,
and for teaching the simple elements of the different branches
to the younger pupils.

The plan of the institution embraces an extended circle of
female education. The principal has adopted the demon -
sirative method of teaching, by which a knowledge of things
instead of words alone is imparted. The exercises, in relation
to things of quantity , are such that the eye measures, the hand
delineates, the reason compares, and the tongue describes at
the same moment. As the pupils advance, they learn to
operate mentally, without diagrams, and finally to calculate
in the usual way in arithmetic and geometry, but with a
more perfect understanding of their principles. This method
of instruction is on the plan of Pesfalozzi, and judging from
personal observations made in Doctor Locke's academy, is
admirably calculated to advance children in their elementary
studies. The idea entertained by some persons that the
system of Pestalozzi tends to infidelity, would seem to be un¬
founded ; abstractedly, it appears to have no immediate con¬
nexion with the doctrines of the Bible.

About four years are required to pass through the pre¬
scribed course of studies in order to obtain the honorary degree
of the academy.

It is a fact not less remarkable than it is illustrative of the
health of Cincinnati, that of the several hundred pupils who

CINCINNATI.

35

have beeii members of this academy, since its establishment,
not one has died, and but few, during the period of their
membership, have been seriously afflicted with disease.

FEMALE BOARDING-SCHOOL.

The boarding-school, under the superintendence of the
Misses Bailey, is kept on Broadway, between Market and
Columbia streets, and is the oldest one in the city. These
ladies, who are well qualified, both by their attainments and
high respectability, for the duties which they have under¬
taken, are now assisted in their school by Mr. F. Eckstein,
who has devoted many years to the instruction of youth, and
whose testimonials of merit have already been laid before the
public. All the elementary, as well as higher branches of
female education, including the French language, music,
painting, and drawing, are taught in this institution. Young
ladies, who may wish to board in the family of the super¬
intendents, can be furnished with suitable accommodations.

CINCINNATI FEMALE SCHOOL.

This institution, for the instruction of young ladies exclu¬
sively, is now in operation, under the superintendence of
Messrs. Albert and John W. Picket, late of New York, who
have long been advantageously known as instructors, and the
authors of some elementary works, denominated the “Ameri¬
can School Class Books.”" In their mode of teaching they
follow the analytic or inductive system. Their course o i
study embraces the ordinary branches taught in female aca¬
demies, including the Latin, Greek, and French languages,
music, drawing, &c. They occupy a suite of rooms in the
south wing of the Cincinnati College edifice.

The location of these gentlemen in Cincinnati has been con¬
sidered by many of our citizens as a matter of public interest.
That they will receive the patronage due to their laudable
efforts in the line of their profession there can be no doubt.

The Rev. C. B. M'Kee's classical academy is kept on
Third-street, near the post-office. The Rev. Mr. Slack s
school, which has a valuable apparatus, and in which lectures
on various subjects are delivered, is taught in the north wing
of the college edifice. There are in all about fifty schools
within the city ; and in addition to those already enumerated,
may be particularly mentioned those under the care of Mr.
Cathcart, Mr. Williams, Mr. Kinmont, Mr. Talbert, Mr.
Winright, Mr. Chute, Mr. Wing, and Mr. Morecraft.

CINCINNATI.

36

CINCINNATI READING ROOM.

This valuable establishment, owned by Mr. E. P. Langdou,
is situated on Third-street, in the rear of the post-oflice. It
is furnished with many of the most valuable newspapers arid
literary journals of the United States; among which may be
enumerated the North American Review, the Museum, the
United States Literary Gazette, the Port Folio, and also the
Edinburgh Review.

It is creditable to the public spirit of the proprietor, that
lie admits strangers, who remain but a short time in the city,
to all the privileges of the establishment free of expense.
This liberality entitles Mr. Langdon to a generous support
from our citizens. Ilis establishment is deserving of much
more patronage than it has yet received. Were the pro¬
prietor properly encouraged, he would be enabled to engraft
upon it, at no distant day, a respectable Athenaeum—an in¬
stitution which, at this time, forms so great a desideratum in
our city.

WESTERN MUSEUM.

This interesting establishment, one of the greatest orna¬
ments of our city, reflects credit on all who have contri¬
buted to its origin and advancement. Its projector was the
late Mr. William Steele, justly distinguished for his liberal
and patriotic views. In the summer of 1818 he proposed
to Dr. Drake to unite with him and two other gentlemen in
the establishment of a public museum. Dr. Drake pre¬
ferred a more extended association, and a meeting was ac¬
cordingly held, where a constitution was adopted. The
museum was first opened for general exhibition on the 10th
of June, 1820, when a public discourse, on the objects and
advantages of the establishment, was delivered by one of
the founders. For several years it was under the manage¬
ment of a board of directors, during which its principal cura¬
tor was Dr. Robert Best, who lias left in the museum
numerous evidences of his taste and talents. In 1823 the
society placed it in the keeping of Mr. Joseph Dorfeuille,
the present proprietor, reserving only to the members their
original privilege of visiting it with their families. The
exertions of Mr. Dorfeuille, to render it worthy of the society
by which it was founded, and of the encouraging patronage
which it has received, have been zealous, directed by good
taste, and successful.

CINCINNATI. 37

A multitude of persons have contributed to the collection.,
by sale, donation, and deposite.

1* Dr. Drake turned over to the society his cabinet of
minerals, organic remains, fossil bones, and western anti¬
quities.

2. The managers caused new explorations to be made at
Big Bone Lick, in Kentucky, so famous for the remains of the
mammoth and arctic elephant, and obtained many specimens
of both kinds.

3. Mr. James Griffiths, Mr. John J. Audubon, and espe¬
cially Dr. Best, successively employed as artists and curators
of the museum, made an interesting collection of the quad¬
rupeds, birds, reptiles, and fishes of the west, most of which
are in a state of excellent preservation.

4. Our Consul General, Condy Raguet, Esq., at Rio de
Janeiro, together with a number of his public sjiirited coun¬
trymen, while in that country, collected and forwarded to
the managers of the Western Museum, several hundred beau¬
tiful specimens in natural history.

5. Mr. Dorfeuille united with the previous collection of the
society, his own extensive cabinet of Egyptian antiquities,
foreign and domestic birds, and western amphibia.

0. The same gentleman has lately purchased the inter¬
esting collections of the late lamented Mr. John- D. Clifford,
of Lexington, consisting of many hundred choice specimens of
American antiquities, extraneous fossils, and minerals.

Derived from these different sources, the museum now
contains, 100 mammoth and arctic elephant bones; 50 bones
of the megalonix: 33 quadrupeds; 500 birds; 200 fishes;
5000 invertebral animals; 1000 fossils; 3500 minerals;*
325 botanical specimens; 3125 medals, coins, and tokens;
150 specimens of Egyptian antiquities; 215 American anti¬
quities ; 112 coloured microscopic designs; cosmoramic,

optic, and prismorama views of American scenery and build¬
ings; the tattooed head of a New Zealand chief; together
with about 500 specimens of* miscellaneous curiosities. The
museum also contains several specimens of the fine arts.
Among them, a fine transparency, representing the Battle of
New Orleans, executed by a lady of this city. It has also

* These are arranged according to Cleaveland's System. Each speci¬
men is labelled, and supplied wit!) its appropriate description, cut from the
pages of that distinguished Mineralogist.

38

CINCINNATI.

an elegant organ; the whole neatly and scientifically ar¬
ranged^ in an extensive suite of rooms,, on the corner of Main
and Second streets.

One of the original objects of the society, was to establish
courses of lectures, illustrative of the various articles in the
museum. Such lectures have already been delivered by
several gentlemen, and the practice is every way worthy of
being continued.

LETTON’S MUSEUM.

This establishment, owned by Mr. Ralph Letton, is kept
in two spacious halls in the second and third stories of the
brick building, at the corner of Main and Fourth streets.
It was commenced in this city by Messrs. Letton and Willet,
in the year 1818. The upper hall is principally occupied
by wax figures. The museum contains about 200 birds, 40
animals, 2000 minerals, 50 mammoth bones, 23 wax figures,
besides a variety of Indian antiquities, marine shells, and
miscellaneous articles. The number of yearly subscribers is
about 300. A course of lectures on Ancient and Modern
History, lias recently been delivered in this institution.

CINCINNATI LIBRARY.

In 1812 a law was passed by the legislature, incorporating
the ee Circulating Library Society of Cincinnati,” and m 1814
the institution was opened. The capital of the company
was raised by subscription. The shares are 10 dollars
each, subject to an annual tax of 1 dollar, 50 cents; and trans¬
ferable by assignment. The library contains at this time
about 1300 well selected volumes, in the various departments
of science and literature. It is kept in one of the lower
rooms of the college edifice, where access may be had to it
every Saturday afternoon. Its affairs are managed by seven
directors, annually elected by the shareholders, one of whom
is designated as president. Strangers, and other non-share-
holders, can have the use of the books, either by the single
volume, or by a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription.
Valuable books (not already on the shelves) are at all times
received by the directors in payment for shares.

The Cincinnati Library having thus far sustained itself,
through a series of embarrassments, which have been com¬
mon to all, and fatal to many of our public institutions; and
a period having arrived, when the number and ability of

CINCINNATI.

39

our citizens to support it can no longer be doubtful, it is con¬
fidently hoped, that the urgent appeals of its guardians to
those who have the interests of literature, and the honour of
the city at heart, will no longer prove unavailing.

APPRENTICES’ LIBRARY.

This important institution was founded iii 1821, by the
liberality of the citizens of Cincinnati. It contains about
1200 volumes. All young persons engaged in the mecha¬
nical, or any other laborious employments, are entitled to the
use of the books, upon the single condition of a guarantee for
their safe return to the librarian. The contributors an¬
nually elect live directors for the management of the affairs
of this praiseworthy institution.

NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS.

There are nine newspapers published in this city. The
Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, the National Repub¬
lican and Ohio Political Register, the Cincinnati Advertiser,
the National Crisis and Cincinnati Emporium, are each pub¬
lished semi-weekly: The Parthenon, the Western Tiller,
and the Saturday Evening Chronicle, weekly: The Cincin¬
nati Commercial Register, daily: There is also one in the
German language, entitled the Ohio Chronicle, published
weekly.

The Ohio Medical Repository, edited by Guy W . Wright,
31. D., is published semi-monthly. It is shortly to be en¬
larged, and will then make its appearance in monthly
numbers.

The Rev. Timothy Flint, a gentleman of literary taste
and attainments, is about to establish a monthly journal in
this city, to be called the ff Western Magazine and Review/*
to be devoted to the cause of literature and science. The
value of such a work to the city must be sufficiently obvious;
and it is gratifying to us to be enabled to state, that a re¬
spectable number of subscribers has been obtained.

ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS.

Mr. F. Eckstein, an intelligent and highly ingenious artist
of this city, is about to commence the formation of an
Academy of the Fine Arts, on a plan well calculated to
ensure success. His skill in sculpture and taking plaster casts ,
his taste in painting, and his enterprising industry, will, even

40

CINCINNATI.

with a moderate amount of patronage, ensure the perma¬
nence and respectability of the institution. Mr. Eckstein has
already a number of busts, and other specimens of art,
which will be arranged as the nucleus of his establishment,
so soon as suitable apartments can be procured. A part of
the plan embraces the delivery of lectures in the institution,
illustrative of the departments of the arts which properly
belong to an academy of this kind. For the honour of the
city, it is hoped that an institution so well calculated to im¬
part solid advantage, blended with intellectual pleasure, will
be liberally supported by the citizens.

CHAPTER VI.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT .

COURTS OF JUDICATURE.

There are three courts, besides those of the mayor and
justices of the peace, held in Cincinnati; these are the Su¬
preme Court, the Court of Common Pleas, and the City
Court.

1. The Supreme Court of Ohio is held annually . It has,
bv law, exclusive jurisdiction in all cases of divorce and
alimony; original jurisdiction (concurrent with that of the
Common Pleas) in all civil cases, both at law and equity, in
which the cause of action exceeds one thousand dollars; and
appellate jurisdiction from the decisions of the Common
Pleas, in all cases in which that court has original jurisdic¬
tion. It can also issue all writs necessary to enforce its juris¬
diction, or the due administration of justice. In criminal
cases, this court has jurisdiction of capital offences.

2. The Court of Common Pleas holds its session three
times in the course of the year. This court has original
jurisdiction in all civil cases, both at law and equity, where
the matter in dispute is beyond the jurisdiction of a justice,
and appellate jurisdiction from the decisions of justices in
their respective counties. This court has also cognizance of

CINCINNATI.

41

all crimes, offences, and misdemeanors, the punishment of
which is not capital.* It has sole jurisdiction of all matters of
a probate and testamentary nature. It appoints guardians,
and issues all writs, except those of error and mandamus.
It is, likewise, vested with a species of executive power. It
appoints its clerk, public prosecutor, commissioner of insol¬
vents, commissioner in Chancery, county surveyor, county
inspectors. It licenses ministers to solemnize marriages; also,
auctioneers, ferries, and taverns. The associate judges ap¬
point the recorder, and also a county commissioner in case of
death, removal, or resignation.

3. City Court. —This court is, by the law of January
1827, held on the first Mondays of March, June, September,
and December in each year. It is a court of record, and
composed of the mayor and aldermen, any three of whom
constitute a quorum. It is vested with original jurisdiction
(concurrent with that of the Common Pleas) of all crimes,
misdemeanors, and offences, committed within the limits of
the city, the punishment of which is not capital, nor confine¬
ment in the penitentiary of the state; concurrent jurisdiction
with the Common Pleas, in all civil cases, where the parties
are residents of the city; and appellate jurisdiction from the
judgments of the mayor in all cases arising under the ordi¬
nances of the city. It appoints its clerk and city pro¬
secutor.

4. Mayor’s Court.— The mayor, in his judicial capacity,
has exclusive cognizance of all causes for the violation of
city ordinances, and the same civil and criminal jurisdiction
and powers that are vested in a justice of the peace.

5. Justices of the Peace.— Of these there are three
within the city. They are conservators of the peace, and
can examine bail, or commit all persons charged with a
breach of the laws. Their jurisdiction in criminal cases
extends throughout the county ; in civil cases it is limited to
the township , and does not exceed one hundred dollars in
amount, except in voluntary confessions of judgment, in which
it extends to two hundred dollars, and is cc-extensive with
the county.

* No crime is, by the laws of Ohio, punished capitally, except that of
murder in the first degree. In that case the prisoner can elect to be tried
by the .Court of Common Pleas.

42

CINCINNATI.

PUBLIC OFFICES.

1. The Supreme and County Courts are held in the Court¬
house at the intersection of Main and Court streets.

2. The office of the clerk of the Supreme and County
Courts, is on the first floor of the Court-house.

3. The Sheriff’s office is in the same building, and on the
same floor.

4. The Recorder’s office is in the second story.

5. The County Auditor and Commissioners have their
office in a room opposite to the recorder’s.

6. The City Court-room, and Mayor’s office, are in a brick
building on the north side of Third-street, between Main and
Sycamore.

CITY GOVERNMENT AND POLICE.

Cincinnati was first incorporated in the year 1802; since
which time its charter has been repeatedly modified, and is
now entirely superseded by a new one, which is to take
effect from the 1st of March next. This instrument vests the
municipal power of the city in a City Council, which is to
consist of three trustees, annually chosen, by the qualified
voters, from each ward of the city. The qualified voters
are those who have the qualifications of an elector for
members of the General Assembly, and have resided one year
in the city. The qualifications for a trustee are three years’
residence in the city, one year in the ward from which he
is elected, and the possession of a freehold. The Council have
power to hold property—to levy taxes (not exceeding two
mills on the grand levy) ; to borrow money (not exceeding
five thousand dollars per annum, without the consent of the
people) to erect a city prison; establish a Board of Health,
with proper officers and regulations; and to enact all ordi¬
nances necessary to the safety, morals, and good government
of the city ; for these and other jmrposes it can create inferior
offices, open streets, establish markets, grant licenses, and im¬
pose penalties.

Council for 1826.

Lewis Howell, Pres . W. Stephenson, E. Hulse,

S. Hazen, S. Newell, H. Gassaway,

J. M'Intyre, O. Lovell, S. Burrows,

W. Noble, C. Tatem, J. Whetstone.

CINCINNATI.

43

Mayor. Isaac G. Burnet.

This officer is, hereafter, to be chosen biennially by the
people, and, besides his judicial duties, is the general super¬
intending and executive magistrate of the city.

ALDERMAN.

The duty of an alderman is that of an associate judge of
the City Court. They are to be biennially elected by the
people.

CITY OFFICERS.

The marshal is the ministerial officer of the city, and City
Court: he is invested with all the powers of a sheriff and
constable within the limits of the corporation, but can serve
process throughout the county. This officer, and the trea¬
surer of the city, are elective biennially. The recorder is
appointed by the Council, has charge of the laws and ordi¬
nances, and presides in the absence of the president of the
council. The clerk of the Council is appointed by them, and
keeps a journal of their proceedings. Besides these/ the
council have power to appoint assessors, collectors, sur¬
veyors, street commissioners, health officers, clerks and
constables of the markets, supervisors of highways, mea T
surers of wood and coal, wharf masters, and such other
officers as may be found necessary to the general convenience
and good government of the city.

Besides the sheriff and marshal, with their deputies,
there are three constables, who are the ministerial officers
of the Justices’ Courts: these have, hitherto, been found
sufficient to preserve peace and good order in a city whose
population, though heterogeneous in character and pur¬
suits, is yet remarkable for its good morals and regular
conduct.

CITY WATCH.

Heretofore there have been no other police officers in
Cincinnati than the regular* ministers of law; but the coun¬
cil, in compliance with the wishes of a respectable portion of
the community, have recently established a City Watch, con¬
sisting of two captains and eighteen men, at an expense of
about 3000 dollars per annum. A watch, in a city of the mag¬
nitude of Cincinnati, is obviously of great importance; but it
may be seriously doubted, whether the erection of a few
lamps should not have preceded its establishment; for, in pro¬
portion to the increase of light, the facilities for the couimis-

44

CINCINNATI.

sion of crimes are lessened, and, of consequence, the means
of detection rendered more numerous. A couple of lamps
at each intersection of the streets, in those parts of the city
thickly populated, would add greatly to the comfort of the
citizens, and the safety of their property. This measure
seems, indeed, to be essentially important, at a time when
the constant erection of new buildings necessarily fills the
streets with lumber, and other obstructions, which at nwht
often prove highly dangerous.

CLEANLINESS.

It is the duty of the health officers to examine the streets
alleys, and buildings of the city, and remove all nuisances
and objects injurious to health. This duty is generally
well performed. It may be remarked, however, that there
is not tnat attention paid to the cleanliness of those streets
which are paved that comfort and health would require. In
Upper and Lower Market streets the filth collected on market
mornings is suffered to remain for one, and sometimes for two
days, before it is removed. The practice, too, of suffering
the upper parts of the Quay to he occupied as a stand for
horses and waggons, is objectionable. Whenever this public-
work, so useful, as well as ornamental, to the city, shall cease
to be used as a waggon-yard, and shall have been adorned
with one or two rows of shade trees, running parallel to
1' ront-street, it will become a promenade not less pleasant
than beautiful.

PUBLIC HEALTH.

The general health of Cincinnati is good. For a city in
the latitude of 39°, situate on the banks of a large river, it i$
remarkably good. We testify to this fact, after much observ¬
ation^ and inquiry. r Ihe desolating epidemics which have
occasionally invaded most of the towns of the Mississippi
and Ohio, from New Orleans to Marietta, have never, from
t e concurrent testimony of our senior physicians, and oldest
inhabitants, visited this place. Every summer and autumn,
however, Cincinnati, in common with all the towns of the
middle and southern states, is, to a certain extent, affected
with cholera and bilious fever. The former, especially, at¬
tacks children, and not unfrequently proves fatal. Its remn
is co-existent with the period of intense heat. Its fatal
e ects, we have observed, may be in a great degree obviated
by a temporary retreat to the country. Bilious fevers occur

CINCINNATI.

45

chiefly in early autumn; but are by no means a scourge to
the city, and do not, as far as we have seen, affect emigrants
more than native or acclimated citizens. Of chronic diseases,
indigestion or dyspepsia, merits a special designation. Con¬
sumption undoubtedly prevails to a much less degree than in
the north and north-east, but it is not an uncommon disease
among us.

The topographical circumstances of Cincinnati are by no
means unfavourable to public health. The river beach for
three miles is rocky and narrow. The plain on which the
city is built is elevated and sandy, and at a distance from the
river is not depressed into basins, giving rise to ponds and
marshes, as is frequently the case in other places. The
mouth of Mill creek, nearly two miles to the north-west of
the centre of the city, presents the only drowned lands in its
vicinity. These, in general, are inundated but once or twice
in the course of the year; no ponds are left behind, and the
direction in which they lie causes the exhalation to be, in a
great degree, wafted past the city on the north.

The city plat is not without its nuisances, notwithstanding
the possession by the corporation of ample powers. These
nuisances are created chiefly by the opening of new streets
from the upper to the lower plain, which dam up the waters
and filth, which otherwise would flow off. r l his period of
transition is, however, obviously a short one; and when the
intervening squares are filled up and built upon, Cincinnati
may challenge any other town on the western waters to a
comparison of public causes of disease.

CITY PRISON.

The County Jail is at present the only place used for the
confinement of prisoners within the city. It is the common
Receptacle of offenders of all descriptions, whether confined
upon mesne or final process. This arrangement is incon¬
venient in practice, and dangerous to morals. There is a
gradation in crime which ought to be imitated in its punish¬
ment : it is also contagious, and those who have not acquired
inveterate habits should not be exposed to its influence. In
all large places a Bridewell or House of Correction should
be provided to punish those whose offences are of inferior
magnitude, and reform those who are young. The council
have now the power to erect such a prison; and it is hoped
that it will soon be exercised, both for the general conve-

46

CINCINNATI.

nience of the city, and the improvement of the morals of the
unfortunate victims of crime and folly.

The following statement exhibits the number and character
of the convictions, within the county of Hamilton, during
1826: * °

Murder in the first degree 1

Rape.1

Perjury.1

Assault, with intent to com¬
mit murder . 1

Assault, with intent to com¬
mit mayham .... 2

Stabbing, -with intent to kill 1

Burglary.2

Uttering counterfeit money 3
Horse stealing .... 3
Grand larceny .... 4
Petit larceny.4

Total, 23

Of these offences, all are punishable by imprisonment in
the Penitentiary, except murder, which is capital, and petit
larceny, which is confinement in the County Jail.

FINANCES.

Since, the commencement of the Ohio canals, a new mode
of taxation has been adopted, in order to equalize the burdens
of government, and facilitate the progress of improvements.
Every species of property,* not exempted by policy, has been
valued by assessors, and that valuation, corrected by a Board
of Equalization, was placed on what is called the Grand Levy.
On this amount a certain per centage is annually levied for
each of the various objects of the revenue. The entire
valuation of the city of Cincinnati, under this system, was—
3,157,392 dollars. On this sum, there was levied in 1826.
9^ mills, or 29,995 dollars, 22 cents. Of the whole direct
tax less than one-third was appropriated to the use of the
corporation. Ihe residue was applied to four different ob¬
jects, in the following proportion :

1. State tax, 2 mills

2. County, 3 mills .

3. Township, 1 mill

4. School, i mill

Dollars.

6314 78 4
9472 17 6
3157 39 2
1578 69 6

In all, 6^ mills

20,523 04 8

* Besides these, there is a road tax, or commutation in money, assessed
upon all persons between 15 and 60, who have been three months resi¬
dents in the state.

CINCINNATI;

47

The state tax is assessed by the legislature, and amounts
to little more than one-fifth of the whole; a great portion of
which is applied to the ordinary purposes of government, and
not, as may be supposed, to the use of the canals.

The county tax is assessed by the commissioners, and placed
at their disposal.

The township tax is levied by the trustees, and by them
applied to the support of the poor.

The school tax is levied for the support of common
schools.

The revenue of the corporation is derived,

1. From a direct tax assessed on the Grand Levy. 2.
From licences to taverns, porter-houses, coffee-houses,
plays, exhibitions, &c. &c. 3. Wharfage. 4. Rent of

Market-stalls, 5. Tax on animals. 6. Fines and other
miscellaneous items. The amount obtained from each of
these sources will be very nearly exhibited in the following
statement :

Dollars.

Direct tax, 3 mills on the Grand Levy . 9472 17 6

Licences to taverns, coffee-houses, and por¬
ter-houses ...... 4445 00 0

Wharfage (about) ..... 2200 00 0

Rent of market-stalls .... 1400 00 0

Tax on animals ..... 975 05 9

Licences for plays, exhibitions, &c. (about) 500 00 0
Fines and miscellaneous items (about) . 300 00 0

19,792 23 5

Balance in the treasury at the close of last

year ...... . 948 58 0

Borrowed of the O. Insurance Company . 3000 00 0

Total revenue of the city in 1826 . . 23,742 81 5

From this statement it appears that not one half of the
direct revenue of the city is derived from taxation; the re¬
mainder is drawn from rents of property, the public quay,
and from sources which both good morals and sound policy
approve.

The principal items of expenditure are, 1. Public improve¬
ments. 2. Expenses of the City Court and Government. 3.
Salaries of various officers. 4. Fire department. 5. Health

48

CINCINNATI.

department. The exact amount of each of the above classes
of expenditure cannot be ascertained till the close of the
financial year in March next. The largest portion of the
city funds has, however, been appropriated to the construction
of quays and wharfs, the paving of streets, and the construe-
tion of other works of public utility. During the past year
theie have been 4800 feet of street paved, at an expense to
the city of 5800 dollars. Besides this, a considerable quan¬
tity of work has been done in grading, paving gutters, and
setting curb-stones. In the lire department 1000 dollars
have been wisely expended in the construction of five public

In the health department, 1200 dollars were expended
for vaccinating, at the public expense, 2300 persons, in con¬
sequence of an alarm occasioned by the appearance of a few
cases of the small pox in the city, and its prevalence on the
river below.

The expense of the City Court and Government, together
with the salaries of its officers, will not vary from 450?) dol¬
lars per annum. Ihe watch will subject the city to the
expenditure of about 3000 dollars per annum.

The whole debt of the city at this time is about 13,000
dollars, of which 6000 dollars is in corporation scrip; of the
ability of the city to pay this sum, even without further
taxation, within a short period, there can be no doubt. Fur¬
ther sums must doubtless be borrowed hereafter for the pur¬
pose of improving the city, and increasing its convenience.
To an increase of the public debt, or any further expenditure,
some persons may perhaps object; but what can be accom¬
plished without it ? If the beauty, comfort, and health of
the city be objects worthy of public concern, they should be
secured at a time when they are least expensive, and least
difficult of attainment. It is a part of the experience of all
municipal bodies, that what is expended in works of public
convenience and utility reads, with powerful influence, upon
the value of property, and the prosperity of the present at
well as future generations.

CINCINNATI.

49

CHAPTER VII.

POPULATION IN DECEMBER, 1826.

*6

TZ

S

*2

”2

c£

'

#

£

03

£

>

k*

AZ

c

c

■g

w

u

o

O

Cv

E

H

Males

fOver 21,
\under 21,

970

1591

739

833

41331

7990

983

1634

535

705

3857 J

Females

fOver 18,

935

1636

613

761

39451

7550

(.Under 18,

855

1583

501

666

3605 J

Blacks,

341

55

117

177

690

Total,

4084

6499

2505

3142 16,230*

The average number of persons to a building is six and a
half. The actual density of habitation is much greater,, from
the fact, that a large portion of the buildings are occupied as
stores, warehouses, &c. &c.

There are within the city, at this time, about 28 clergy¬
men, 34 attorneys and counsellors at law, and 35 physicians.
It is estimated that 800 persons are employed in trade and
mercantile pursuits, 500 in navigation, and about 3000 in
manufactures.

COMPARATIVE POPULATION.

The following table is submitted, that the progressive
increase of Cincinnati may be fairly exhibited, and the
means furnished for comparing its advancement and pros-

* r f^ le number of inhabitants, as here stated, may appear to those who
have not attentively marked the progress of Cincinnati as too great. The
authors, with a view to accuracy on this important topic, made the enu¬
meration in person. They feel confident, therefore, that the actual number
in this city exceeds that given in the above table.

I

D

50

CINCINNATI.

pects with those of the most flourishing towns in the United

^The first settlement of Cincinnati was in 1788. The
population did not increase, however, with any rapidity until
1805, when it had scarcely attained the importance or a large
village. A considerable number of emigrants then came out
from*Baltimore, and other eastern places ; and from that time
to the present its growth and consequent prosperity have been
remarkable, even in this astonishing age and country.

In 1810 the population was 2320

In 1813 . 4000

In 1819.10,283

In 1824 12 > 01G

In 1826 . 16,230

From this it appears that the ratio of increase, from
to 1813, was 560 per annum, or 24 per cent .; irova Mid to
1819, 1043 per annum, or 26 per cent. ; from 1819 to
346 per annum, or 3^ per cent.; from 1824 to 1826, 210;
per annum, or 17 per cent. The ratio of increase decreases
every where, as it respects population, with the actual in¬
crease; hence, though a new village may double in a sing e
year, a large city, in its highest state of prosperity, scarcely
attains an addition of 5 per cent. The operation of this
principle being considered, the growth of this place, during
the last two years, has been greater than that of any former

* The relative population of several towns nearest in size to
Cincinnati may be seen from the following table:

Providence.

In 1800, 7614

1810, 10,071
1820, 11,767

1825, 16,000

Albanv.

In 1791, ‘ 6021
1810, 9356

1820, 12,650

1825, 15,500

Louisville.

In 1820, 4012

1826, 7200

Richmond.

In 1800, 5537

1810, 9755

1820, 12,046

Pittsburgh and Liberties.
In 1810, 4768

1820, 7243

1826, 11,226

New Orleans.
In 1802, 10,000
1810, 17,242

1820, 27,176

CINCINNATI.

51

From the foregoing table it appears that the population of
no town in the United States, of the rank with Cincinnati,
has, for the last sixteen years, increased in a corresponding
ratio with this city. ®

CHAPTER VIII.
MANUFACTURES.

Ihe artisans and manufacturers of Cincinnati, who may be
said to constitute the bone and sinew of the community, and
upon whom the permanent prosperity of our city so mate¬
rially depends, considered as a body, may be characterized as
frugal, ingenious, and enterprising.

Ihe number of our manufacturing establishments has
greatly increased within the last two years, and the amount
of productive industry for 1826, as will appear from the fol¬
lowing statements, although not so great as could be wished,
is by no means inconsiderable. The general prosperity of
these establishments is beginning to attract the attention of
capitalists, and is likely to augment their number. Indeed
the mechanics and manufacturers of Cincinnati are decidedly
the most prosperous class of citizens; and were the enterprise
and capital of some of our merchants embarked in similar
pursuits, they would profit by the exchange. In this depart¬
ment there is no danger, as in commercial pursuits, of run¬
ning into excess. The region of country, which extended and
successful manufacturing establishments will make tributary
to our city, like the amount of manufactured goods required
by its wants, is almost unbounded. Our steam-boats may
already be found upon all the navigable streams of the Mis¬
sissippi valley; and our steam-engines, castings, cabinet
furniture, chairs, hats, &c. &c. are sent to Kentucky, Ala¬
bama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Illinois, and Indiana, where
they are sought after and admired, not less for their beauty,
than their more substantial qualities. The inducements and

CINCINNATI.

peculiar facilities for our becoming a manufacturing people
in this city will be more fully discussed in a subsequent
chapter of this book.

The following items, in regard to the manufactures of
Cincinnati for 1826, have been collected with no small degree
of labour, and with an earnest desire of having them as con¬
formable to correctness as the nature of the case will permit.
The following brief notices of some of the more prominent
manufacturing establishments will, it is hoped, not be deemed
unimportant.

The Cincinnati Steam Mill, stands on Front between
Ludlow-street and Broadway. It is a substantial stone
building, based upon the limestone rocks of the river, 62 by
87 feet, eight stories high, on the end next to the river, and
measuring 110 feet from the base to the top of the roof. It
has 24 doors and 90 windows. It required in its construction
6620 perches of stone; 90,000 bricks; 14,000 bushels of
lime ; and 81,200 cubic feet of timber. With the exception
of the walls, this immense building was entirely consumed
by fire in 1823. It has since been rebuilt, and is now in
operation. It contains a manufactory of flour, a distillery,
fulling-mill, &c. The machinery is driven by a steam-engine
of 70 horse power. The establishment is capable of manu¬
facturing 20,000 barrels of flour, 500 barrels of whiskey, and
of fulling 1000 pieces of cloth annually.

Steam Mill for Sawing Stone.— This establishment
has just been made in the western part of the city, between
Front and Colombia streets, and is owned by Mr. Alvin
Washburn. The main building is 32 by 50 feet, three stories
high, with one wing 20 by 40 feet, and is built of wood. It
has a steam-engine of 18 horse power. The first story is
occupied with the machinery for sawing freestone . From
the experiments already made, the proprietor feels confident
of being enabled to saw 120,000 feet of stone per annum, and
upon such terms as to make a signal reduction in the price of
that important and beautiful material for building.

The second story contains machinery, driven by the same
power, ingeniously contrived for the manufacture of tubs,
buckets, and kegs, out of solid logs. About 30,000 of these
will be produced annually.

In the third story the manufacture of shoe-trees is carried
on; the machinery for which is also propelled by the same

CINCINNATI.

53

power. About 50 lasts per day can be made, requiring the
labour of but four hands.

The Phoenix Foundry, owned and carried on by C.
latem and Sons, is situated west of Walnut-street, between
Third and Fourth. It gives employment to 18 hands; and
about 175 tons of pig iron are annually manufactured into
various kinds of machinery, such as steam-engines, mill
castings, &c. &c. The establishment consumes annually
about 7000 bushels of stone coal.

The Franklin Foundry is situated at the corner of
Fifth-street and Broadway. It employs 10 hands, and
manufactures annually, into the various kinds of castings,
about 100 tons of pig iron. It is owned by the Messrs.
McCormicks.

The Eagle Foundry, owned by Josiah Hawkins, is
situated on the south side of Fourth-street, between Main
and Walnut. It employs 14 hands, and uses 150 tons of pig
iron per annum, besides about five tons of bar iron, a con¬
siderable portion of which is manufactured into ploughs.
The establishment consumes annually about 4000 bushels of
stone coal.

Tift’s Steam-engine and Finishing Establish¬
ment, employs between 30 and 40 hands. The business is
carried on in a new frame building of large dimensions,
situated on Columbia-street, east of Broadway. The upper
apartments of the building are intended for the reception of
an extensive cotton spinning establishment, which Mr. Tift,
with his characteristic enterprise, is now forming.

R. C. Green’s Steam-engine Establishment, which
is similar to that of Mr. Tift’s, is situated on Front-street,
just below Deer-creek Bridge.

Goodloe and Harkness’ Copper Foundry, Cotton
Spinning, and Steam-engine Factory, stands at the
corner of Broadway and Congress-street. It employs about
50 hands. The cotton spinning department contains about
336 spindles, which produce about GOOlbs. of cotton yarn per
week, or 31,000 lbs. per annum.

The Etna Foundry, owned by Street and White, is
situated on Front-street, below Deer-creek Bridge. It em¬
ploys about 12 hands, and manufactures 220 tons of castings
per annum.

Kirk’s Steam-engine and Finishing Establishment

1

54 CINCINNATI.

is situated on Columbia-street, east of Broadway. It employs
about 15 hands.

Shields’Engine Finishing Establishment is situated
in a stone building on Sycamore, between Front and Colum¬
bia streets. It employs about 30 hands.

Allan and Co.’s Chemical Laboratory, which has re¬
cently been commenced, is situated just above Deer-creek
Bridge. It embraces the manufacture of alum, blue vitriol,
copperas, nitric and sulphuric acid, and other chemical pre¬
parations. It 'will make from one to two tons of alum per
week. The alum-earth is obtained from the hills of the Ohio
river, near the mouth of the Sciota, where there are vast beds
of it.

Powder Mill. —An extensive and well-planned esta¬
blishment for the manufacture of powder has been made
within the present year, by some gentlemen of this city, im¬
mediately below the mouth of Mill creek. The machinery
is driven by a steam-engine, so arranged as to prevent any
danger from fire. This is the only establishment of the kind
within the state, and from the facilities of obtaining at this
place the raw materials used in the manufacture of powder,
it will no doubt be found a profitable business.

The Pihenix Paper Mill. —During the past summer a
fine establishment for the manufacture of paper was erected,
under the superintendence of the Messrs. Grahams, on the
river bank, in the western part of the city. When about to
go into operation, in the month of December, it was entirely
consumed by fire. The owners of it are now erecting upon
its ruins another, to be called the Phoenix Paper Mill, which
is 132 by 36 feet, exclusive of the wings. Its machinery
will be worked by a substantial steam-engine, and probably
go into operation by the first of June.

The Cincinnati Steam Paper Mill, owned by Messrs.
Phillips and Spear, is on the bank of the river, in the
western part of the city. The building is 140 by 34 feet.
The machinery is driven by a steam-engine. The establish¬
ment employs about 40 hands, and produces annually a large
quantity of excellent paper.

The Woollen Factory, erected several years since, by
the Cincinnati Manufacturing Company, stands on the river
bank, above the mouth of Deer creek. The main building
is 150 feet long, and between 20 and 37 feet wide. It is cal¬
culated for the manufacture of woollen goods, white and red

CINCINNATI.

55

lead, linseed oil, &c. The operations of this establishment
are, for the present, suspended.

The Sugar Refinery, is a large brick building erected
for the purpose, situated north of Third, and between Lud<-
low-street and Broadway. When in full operation, it is ca¬
pable of refining about 180,000 pounds per annum. There
has been but a small amount of sugar refined in it during the
present year.

The White Lead Factory, owned by T. Clayland and
Co. and the only one in the city, is situated at the east end of
Fifth-street. It employs three hands, and will hereafter
manufacture about 1500 kegs of white lead per annum.
The principal supply, however, of this article is drawn from
Pittsburgh—a fact worth the attention of capitalists. The
metal from which this article is produced, is carried past
our city, and against the current of the stream, 460 miles to
Pittsburgh; and over land 84 miles to Lexington : at these
places it is converted into white lead, and returned to Cin¬
cinnati. In either case, the necessary expenses of trans¬
portation, would be a handsome profit for the manufacturer
in this city.

The Messrs. Wells* Type Foundry and Printers*
Warehouse, is situated on Walnut-street, between Third
and Fourth, where they manufacture, in a superior manner,
all kinds of type, presses, chases, composing-sticks, proof
gallies, brass-rule, &c. &c., at the eastern prices. They em¬
ploy about 23 hands. This valuable establishment has entirely
superseded the importation of type and other printing ma¬
terials from the eastern states.

There are in the city three permanent Boat Yards for
the construction of steam-boats, besides one or two others
in which they are occasionally built. The regular establish¬
ments are owned by Gordon, Parsons, and the Messrs. Weeks.
During 1826 there were about 200 hands employed in this
business. The reputation of these yards is superior to that of
any on the western waters..

The manufacture of Hats in this city is carried on to
a very considerable extent, many of which are exported.
Our hatters not only select the best furs that are offered in
the west, but also make importations from the eastern states.
Some of the most substantial and elegantly finished hats that
we have ever seen, were from the Messrs. J. Coombs’ and A.
W. Patterson’s establishments in this city.

56

CINCINNATI.

The Cabinet Furniture and Chairs manufactured in
Cincinnati, are of the most beautiful kind, and will compare
with those produced in any part of the Union. Considerable
quantities of these articles are exported to the states west and
south of Cincinnati.

There are nine Printing Establishments in this city,
which print about 7200 newspapers per week, or 175,000 per
annum. There have been printed at these offices within the
year 1826:—

61,000

55,000

30,000

3000

3000

3000

3000

500

500

3000

1000

14,000

5000

2000

1500

14,200

Almanacks,

Spelling Books,

Primers,

Bible News,

American Preceptors,

American Readers,

Introduction to the English Reader,
Hammond’s Ohio Reports,

Symmes’ Theory,

Kirkham’s Grammar,

Vine-Dressers’ Guide,

Pamphlets,

Table Arithmetics,

Murray's Grammar,

Family Physician,

Testaments, Hymn, and Music Books.

There is no umbrella factory in this city. Of the success
of an establishment of this kind there can be no doubt.

The value of manufactured articles, or, in other words, the
productiveindustryof the artizans and mechanicsof Cincinnati,
for the year 1826, will appear from the following table:—

Five Steam Engine and Finishing Establishments,

employing 120 hands; value of manufac- Dollars,
tured articles ..... 134,000

Four Iron Foundries, 54 hands . . . 59,400

Eleven Soap and Candle Factories, 48 hands;

(451,000 pounds of soap, and 332,000 pounds
of candles) ...... 51,500

Ten Tanneries and Currying Shops, 66 hands . 76,500

Thirteen Cabinet Furniture Shops, 104 hands, . 67,950

Four Rope Walks, 31 hands .... 23,000

CINCINNATI. 57

Dollars.

Two Breweries, 18 hands ..... 20,900

Seven Hatters’ Shops, 95 hands .... 123,200

Twenty-nine Boot and Shoe Shops, 257 hands . 88,550

Two Wall Paper Factories, 9 hands . . . 8400

Ten Saddlers and Trunk Makers, 06 hands . 41,900

Three Tobacco and Snuff Factories, 28 hands . 21,200
One Brass and Bell Foundry, 4 hands . . 3500

Nine Tin and Coppersmiths’ Shops, 39 hands . 48,800

One Oil Mill, 7 hands.11,700

Two Wooicarding and Fulling Mills, 11 hands . 6500

Six Chair Factories, 38 hands . . . . 21,973

Three Turners in Wood, 9 hands . . . 2925

Eleven Coopers’ Shops, 48 hands . . . 29,700

One Type Foundry, 23 hands .... 20,000

One Clock Factory, 18 hands .... 20,000

Three Plough Factories, 11 hands . . . 10,475

Eight Carriage and Waggon Factories, 37 hands . 26,280

Two Potteries, 8 hands ..... 4500

Two Woollen and Cotton Factories, 6 hands . 4100

Two Boot and Shoe Tree Factories, 5 hands . 1100

Two Plane, Stock, Bit, and Screw Factories, 7 hands 11,145
Two Comb Factories, 6 hands . . . . 1600

One Looking-glass and Picture Frame Factory, 7

hands . . . . . . • • 2000

One Sieve Factory, 3 hands .... 3400

One Chemical Laboratory ..... 2400

Six Book Binderies, 14 hands .... 11,97!

Seven Silversmiths’ Shops, 17 hands . . • 8600

Ten Bakeries, 28 hands ..... 29,400

One Paper Mill, 40 hands . . . . • 22,000

Twenty-one Smiths’ Shops, 92 hands . • • 48,000

Five hundred Carpenters. 165,000

Thirty Painters ...... 13,900

Thirty-five Tailors’ and Clothiers’ Shops, employ¬
ing 132 men, 467 women • • • 172,815

Fourteen Brick Yards, 210 hands (10,000,000 of

Bricks) 25,000

One Cotton Spinning and Brass Foundry, 21

hands . . 22,000

One Mattrass Factory, 3 hands .... 1600

One White Lead Factory, 3 hands . • • 36/2

Four Stone Cutting Factories, 18 hands . - 11,100

d 5

58

CINCINNATI.

Three Steam-boat Yards, 200 hands . . . 105,000

Nine Printing Establishments, 58 hands . , 52,000

One hundred and ten Bricklayers, Stonemasons,

and Plasterers ..... 37,650

One Distillery, 2 hands.4,300

1,682,000

From the following establishments and artisans no
returns have been received; 1 Sugar Re¬
finery; 3 Copper-plate Engravers; 3 Por¬
trait and 1 Miniature Painters; 1 Cotton
and Wool Card Factory; 1 Steam Saw¬
mill; 4 Carpet and Stocking Weavers; 2
Steam Flour Mills; 1 Powder Factory; 2
Crockery and Stone-ware Factories; 1
Carver in Wood; 40 Milliners’ Shops; 2
Brush Makers; 1 Wheat Fan Factory : 1
Pump and Block Maker; 1 Saddle-tree
Maker; 4 Chemical Laboratories; 1 Sash
Maker ; 2 Blacksmiths; 2 Piano Factories;

1 Organ Builder; 5 Shoe-makers; 2 Tai¬
lors; 1 Distillery; 2 Upholsterers; 1 Cutler :

9 Confectionaries; 2 Gun-smiths; 3 Lime¬
kilns ; 2 Bakeries.

From the best data which can be obtained, the value
of the articles produced in these factories and
shops is not less than .... 100,000

In addition to the above may be added Pugh and
Teater’s Glass Works, at Moscow; Duval’s
Paper-mills, at Mill Grove; and 3 Cotton
Spinning Factories, all of which are owned
by citizens of Cincinnati, and the manufac¬
tured articles from which are sold in this city.

The value of the products from these esta¬
blishments may be safely estimated at . 68,000

1,850,000

CINCINNATI.

59

CHAPTER IX.

CAPACITY OF CINCINNATI FOR
MANUFACTURES.

For the following article we are indebted to the politeness of a gentleman,
whose general intelligence and accurate knowledge in regard to manu¬
factures, entitle his opinions to the confidence of the community.

The first thing that strikes an observer in Cincinnati, after
having become acquainted with its relative locality, is the
comparatively little attention which has been paid to the
erection of manufactures. Commanding the trade of a dis¬
trict of country, which extends at least one hundred miles
in every direction, and much farther in some, it would seem to
be destined to occupy a prominent stand amongst the manu¬
facturing cities of the Union: and yet, for years past, this
fact has been as little noticed as if “ the queen of the west”
had been located in a desert, and held no intercourse with the
rest of mankind. It is not very difficult, however, to account
for this singular state of things, and those who lived here
before the halcyon days that immediately succeeded the late
war with England, are probably the best able to explain it.
If their wealth and enterprise had not been alike destroyed,
by the dreadful revolution in the affairs of the west, that
was produced by the too great anxiety on the part of the
Bank of the United States to encourage large loans, there
was a class of men in Cincinnati, who would long since have
given a different turn to the business of this country. Their
experience and acquaintance with the capacity and wants of
the west, gave them full power to appreciate the importance
of manufacturing institutions, and they had made important
preparations to embark in this interesting operation, when
the storm burst that involved them in one general ruin, and
made room for a new race of men, equally enterprising,
equally valuable, but who were not sufficiently acquainted
with facts, to induce them to enter upon an untried theatre of
operations. The new population was composed of men of
commercial habits, and, flattered by the immediate prospects
of realizing immense profits in their business, which required

60

CINCINNATI.

no preparation, and involved no loss of time, they devoted
themselves at once to mercantile pursuits. Their success
has answered their most sanguine expectations; but this
success was based on a state of things that could not last: it
was, in short, owing to that kind of monopoly which the un¬
dertakers of every new business must necessarily enjoy.
Merchandise, in consequence of the general destruction of
the old men of business in Cincinnati, afforded a complete
monopoly to those who entered on business here, during the
last seven or eight years. But success created competition,
and competition has been attended with the usual result.
Exclusive profits are no longer to be derived from this spe¬
cies of business, and even the steam-boat speculations, which
may fairly be viewed as the concomitant of the mercantile
monopoly, no longer present the brilliant perspective which
they did two or three years ago. Competition has been
equally busy here, with similar results. This latter business,
however, has been attended with much more advantage to
this district of country, than the other; it has employed a
great amount of foreign capital in this city, corrected much
of the exhaustion produced by the mercantile mania , and
given employment to a vast quantity of labour, the only legi¬
timate use to which wealth can be applied.

The error, however, which has been committed in the
employment of capital, has been felt; there is, at particular
seasons, a general complaint among the business men, that
business is dull. Now, it is impossible that this can be true,
or that it is not increasing every day. The facts presented
in this book, afford abundant proof of the unexampled in¬
crease of the business facilities of this section of country.
The solution is to be found in the great multiplication of
commercial houses, and the consequent division of the trade
of the place. A remedy is to be sought, and luckily, it is
simple and plain; it will be found in the establishment of
that kind of manufactures in which this district is so pecu¬
liarly calculated to succeed; and for which, as yet, no other
portion of the west has established an exclusive reputation.
Iron and glass may, with propriety, be left to Pittsburgh; in
those articles that city must ever remain unrivalled. But in
cotton and woollens, if these are to succeed in America, Cin¬
cinnati must, at no very distant day, stand pre-eminent, and
lucky will it be for those whose capital is first embarked
in them.

CINCINNATI.

61

The report of the secretary of the treasury, Mr. Rush;
contains the interesting fact, that one-fourth of the cotton
.raised in the United States, is manufactured at home! The
greatest portion of this has been done in the eastern states.
We have no data before us for the last year, but for 1824 we
have; the whole amount exported during that year was
142,369,663 pounds; it cannot .then be very wide of the
mark, to place the amount manufactured by the United
States at upwards of 45,000,000 of pounds. This is more
than the whole amount exported during any one year previous
to the period of 1810, and is nearly equal to one-half exported
to Great Britain and Ireland for the year 1824. Now, to
engage so very extensively in business, proves at once that it
must be a most prosperous one. Our astute and judicious
countrymen to the east of the Hudson, were the first to dis¬
cover the importance of this fabric, and for several years they
have been reaping a rich harvest of monopoly. At one time,
about the year 1818, it was calculated that the west alone
owed them upwards of 500,000 dollars for domestic cottons,
besides the amount which had been paid for! "What cause
has existed, or does still exist, for suffering this monopoly of
a most lucrative business ? It is time that our citizens should
awake to the importance of this subject. Cincinnati is
situated just far enough above the line of demarcation,
between the cotton and grain growing regions, to ensure a
healthy location ; the raw material is brought to her wharfs
much cheaper than to any other manufacturing portion of the
United States; she has the largest and most fertile district
in America, immediately dependent on her for supplies—a
district, too, increasing in population more rapidly than
any other part of the Union ; the Ohio river is ever ready to
carry to the east, to the south, and to the wide spreading
population of the Upper Mississippi and Missouri, the manu¬
factured article, at a regular and encouraging profit. The
canals will shortly afford additional facilities for spreading the
article through the state of Ohio; and Kentucky will never
buy from the east, when her own produce will command what
they want in the west.

The only objection that has with any plausibility been
urged against the erection of cotton or woollen manufactures
in this vicinity, is the want of water power, or if steam be
resorted to, the high price of fuel, compared with the Pitts¬
burgh prices. To this, it can fairly be answered, that certain

62

CINCINNATI.

calculations are made upon the canal which is to go through
this place, affording, in a few months, ample water power for
the purposes of manufacturing. But allowing this to fail,
and steam to be resorted to, even in this event, the ad¬
vantages are greatly in favour of the west. Fuel, at treble
the Pittsburgh prices, would still be more economical than
any water power to the east, taking into consideration the
first cost, repairs, &c.; now, when the coal trade is made a
regular and certain business, as it is fast becoming, it will
be afforded at little more than double the Pittsburgh rates.
This item, then, giving to it its utmost influence, would
amount to little more than one of those contingent differences,
which a thousand trifling circumstances produce between the
operations of different countries, and are much more than
counterbalanced by the other facilities connected with such
establishments in this district of our country.

The imports to this city, for its own consumption, and
that of the towns dependent on it for supplies, may be fairly
estimated at 2,500,000 dollars. It is difficult to arrive at the
exact amount of exports that go to pay for this large item of
import; but we cannot place the amount of produce taken
from this port alone, at quite 1,200,000 dollars. Now, to
place the exportations of a manufacturing district in fair
relief, let us contrast this statement with one derived from a
neighbouring city, devoted to manufactures. We have no
guide by which to form an estimate of the imports into the
city of Pittsburgh, but they cannot amount to near a million.
The amount of manufactured articles produced in that place,
during the year 1825, is estimated at 2,600,000 dollars,
leaving a balance at least beyond 1,000,000 dollars in favour
of the industry of that flourishing town. What is the result!
There is no complaint about the dull times—money is plenty,
and the cheerful sound of industry is heard from every quarter.

One or two hundred thousand dollars, vested in the manu¬
facture of wool and cotton, would produce a wonderful
change, not only in the prosperity of Cincinnati, but in the
speculations of our citizens. By this means, two or three
hundred thousand dollars would annually be brought back to,
(or what is the same thing,) retained in, this country, in
addition to what is already made by the ordinary employment
of the population. The operations of the country would
become certain and fixed; a consumption would be created
for the products of the soil, and agriculture, thus encouraged,

CINCINNATI.

63

would rise into respectability. Such a state of things is
“devoutly to be wished for;” and from the spirit which is
fast gaining strength among us, it is but fair to assert, that
before another year passes by, the spindle and the loom will
be important items in the business of Cincinnati.

CHAPTER X.

COMMERCE.

The commerce of Cincinnati is coextensive with steam-boat
navigation on the western waters, and its trade with the
interior is expanded and ramified over an extended tract of
country on both sides of the Ohio. It is the immediate place
of shipment for the produce of nearly the whole Miami
country, and a small district of Indiana. It is also the point
of importation and distribution for most of the goods which
supply that part of Ohio west of the Muskingum, nearly the
whole of Indiana, large portions of Kentucky and Missouri,
and even still more distant regions. Goods are frequently
sent from this place to Zanesville, Urbanna, Indianopolis,
Kaskaskia, St. Genevieve, and Florence, besides numerous
places which are less remote. This mercantile intercourse
has been greatly increased within a few years, and Cincinnati
promises to become the depot of supply to nearly all the
west. To meet the demand for importation from an immense
interior, and to command the profits of the carrying trade,
nearly all of its disposable capital has, heretofore, been in¬
vested in commercial pursuits. Large mercantile firms have
been established, which have 'transacted business on an ex¬
tended scale: two of these import directly from Europe.
To facilitate such importations, an effort is now making in
Congress to render Cincinnati a port of entry. At the
distance of nearly seventeen hundred miles from the coast,
to speak of the arrangements of a sea-port, seems idle
speculation; but if ever the ocean is successfully navigated
by steam-boats, this measure may be both necessary and
convenient.

64

CINCINNATI.

The navigation of the Ohio was, until 8 or 10 years since,
carried on almost entirely in barges, keel, and flat boats.
The two former are now almost superseded by steam-boats,
the smaller class of which have lately been so constructed, as
to continue running at the driest seasons of the year.

STEAM-BOATS.

The first steam-boat, launched upon the waters of the *
west, was built at Pittsburgh, in 1811. The first one built
at Cincinnati, was the Vesta, launched in 1816. It was not,
however, till 1817 , that steam-boat building was actively
and extensively pursued in the west. Since that time, they
have come into general use, and have employed much of the
labour, skill, and capital of the chief towns above the mouth
of the Ohio. In this business, Cincinnati has been conspicu¬
ously engaged, and in number of boats, has exceeded any
other place in the west: indeed, it is doubtful whether any
one place in the world has built more. The history of
western boat building shows that, like every other species of
business, it has undergone great and sudden fluctuations.
Within the last two years, a very large number have been
built here and elsewhere, and it is rational to conclude,
that, in succeeding years, money and enterprise will, for a
time, be diverted into new channels. It must, nevertheless,
always afford profit and employment. The extended and
remote connexions of the immense water courses which
traverse the valley of the Mississippi, and the increasing
quantities of goods and produce borne upon their bosoms, will
render steam navigation for ever an object of industry and a
source of wealth, yince its introduction here, it has wrought
a change in the appearance and nature of commercial trans¬
actions, which the most active fancy could, a few years since,
have scarcely conceived ; and this change is progressing with
every addition to population and capital.

The steam-boats built at Cincinnati afford, it may be confi¬
dently asserted, as fine models as those of any other place.
In the wood f work, a superiority is generally confessed, by
those who are conversant with the business 3 and in regard to
the engines, no superiority is either claimed or admitted in
favour of other places, except that which may arise from a
greater contiguity to the coal and iron of the upper country.
This, however, regards cheapness alone, and is an advantage
more than counterbalanced by the superior quality and

CINCINNATI.

65

kind of our timber, necessary in their construction. The
black locust-, which is here so abundant and excellent., is not
found in the neighbourhood of Pittsburgh, and cannot be taken
there, except at an enormous expense. The durability of the
boats built upon the Ohio, lias, in some instances, even sur¬
passed that of boats constructed in the east, from the Jersey
oak, which is there in high repute for ship building. In speed,
the'western boats generally excel those of the eastern states 3
and those built at Cincinnati, are unsurpassed, in that parti¬
cular, by any boats upon the waters of the Mississippi. If,
in the decoration of our boats, there is less brass, marble , and
tinsel work, than in those of the Atlantic states, it still cannot
be conceded, that our finish is not equally conformable to good
taste and elegance ;* while, in regard to their construction
and substantial conveniencies, the palm of superiority, from
the concurrent testimony of our own observations, and those
of many intelligent gentlemen, must, in general, be awarded
to the boats built upon the Ohio. Taking the cost of those
boats which were built in the east, and" sent round upon the
western waters, as examples, the fact is conclusively estab¬
lished, that steam-boats can be built at less expense upon the
Ohio than in any of the eastern cities.

The whole number of steam-boats, which have navigated
the western waters, since their first introduction, is 233. A
very small number of these were built at New York and
Philadelphia;—the rest were launched upon the waters of
the Ohio.

The following table will show the number built in each suc-

eessive year,

from the construction of the first:—

In 1811 .

... 1

In 1820 . . .

. 10

1814 .

... 1

1821 . . .

. 5

1816 .

... 2

1822 . . .

. 13

1816 .

... 3

1823 . . .

. 15

1817 •

... 7

1824 . . .

. 16

1818 .

. . . 25

1825 . . .

• 27

1819 .

... 34

1826 . . .

. 56

Of the whole number of steam-boats built in the west, 90
have been lost or destroyed in the following manner, viz:—
28 struck on snags ; 6 were burnt; 1 stove by the ice; 1 sunk

* The figure heads, and other sculptured ornaments, with which our
steam-boats are decorated, and which are so justly admired, are made by
Messrs. Sims and Shepherd, of this city.

66

CINCINNATI

by another boat; and the remainder worn out. There are
now 143 steam-boats, carrying about 24,000 tons, running
upon the western waters: of these, 48 were built at Cincinnati;
35 at Pittsburgh; 10 at New Albany; 7 at Marietta; 5 at
Louisville; 4 at New York, and the residue at various points
on the Ohio, the engines for which have nearly all been fur¬
nished by Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

The folloiving is a list of all the steam-boats which have
been built at Cincinnati, with their tonnage, engine, and age,
as nearly as could be ascertained by the most accurate inquiries.

Name.

Year.

Tons.

Vesta

1816

100

Comet .

181/

154

Cincinnati

Eagle

1818

120

Gen. Pike

180

Hecla .

120

Henderson

124

Peseverance .

50

Vulcan .

1819

258

Tennessee

416

Gen. Greene .

1820

306

Osage .

144

Paragon

1819

350

Eliza

1821

65

Nashville

1822

200

Miami .

50

Andrew Jackson

1823

270

Belle Creole .

122

Magnet .

160

Rob Roy

240

American

1824

50

Caledonia

350

Highland Laddie

80

Lawrence

122

Mexico .

125

Velocipede

109

Atalanta

1825

148

Ariel

80

Cavalier

180

Columbia

200

Caravan

220

Gen. Marion .

75

Dewitt Clinton

132

Geo. Washington

360

Helen M‘Gregor

340

Ohio

80

Patriot .

258

Pioneer .

200

Remarks.

Worn out 1821.

Struck a snag in 1823.
Struck a snag.

Struck a snag and lost, 1826'.
Destroyed in 1823.

Worn out in 1823.

Worn out in 1825.

Burnt in the Ohio in 1820.
Worn out in 1824.

Struck a snag in 1823.
Struck a snag in 1823.
Struck a snag in 1824.

Low.

High.

High. Struck a snag in 1826.
High.

High.

Low.

Low.

High.

High.

Low.

High.

High.

Low.

Low.

Low.

High.

Low.

Low.

High.

Low.

High.

High.

High.

High.

High.

CINCINNATI.

Remarks,

67

Name.

Year.

Tons.

Phoebus

. 1825

80

High.

Rotary .

30

High.

Courtland

! 1826

212

High.

Cincinnati

100

High.

Gen. Carrol .

272

Hercules, tow-boat

275

High.

Planter .

130

Low.

Philadelphia .

325

High.

Opelousas

133

High.

Robert Burns

125

High.

Red River Packet ;

120

High.

Tecumseh

212

High.

Tuscumbia

210

High.

Virginia

122

Low.

Amazon

300

Low. J

Albion .

50

Gen. Hamilton

158

Ben. Franklin

165

Mongrel.

Florida .

230

Do.

Grampus, tow-boat

* 1827

290

High.—100

Beaver .

148

Mongrel. 1

Brandywine .

140

Do.

Just finished.

Now finishing.

Total. 60 boats, 11,225 Tons.*

The amount of capital belonging to the citizens of Cincin¬
nati, now invested in steam-boats, is about five hundred
thousand dollars.

We shall leave this subject by simply subjoining the follow¬
ing list of steam-boats, with the amount of their tonnage,,
which arrived at , and departed from , the port of Cincinnati*
between the 5th and 12th of February, 1827 :

George Washington .

. 360

Columbus .

. 350

Liberator .

. 300

Fame

. 350

Patriot

♦ 258

Caledonia .

. 350

Philadelphia

. 325

Commerce

. 250

Lady Washington

. 150

Atalanta .

. 150

Mexico

. 125

Belle Creole

. 120

Gen. Pike .

. 120

Franklin .

. 165

Phoebus

. 80

Tell ....

. 100

Marion

. 75

Velocipede.

. 109

Crusader .

. 170

Bolivar

. 150

Josephine .

. 60

Total Number, 21.

Total Tonnage, 4117.

Comment upon the above statement is wholly unnecessary.
It speaks volumes in regard to the trade and commercial pros¬
perity of Cincinnati, and the surrounding country.

* For much of the information contained in the above list, we are in¬
debted to the politeness of Mr. Ephraim Robins, of the Protection In¬
surance Office.

68

CINCINNATI.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

Upon this subject, it is impossible to obtain either full or
minute information, but what is here offered may be con¬
sidered as substantially correct, as far as it extends, and may
serve as the basis of estimates for the immense trade of the city.

Of the imports into Cincinnati, most of the dry goods and
lighter articles are brought from New York, Philadelphia,
and Baltimore, over the mountings to Wheeling, or Pitts¬
burgh, and thence down the river. The groceries, queen’s ware,
and other heavy articles, are brought up from New Orleans.
The iron, of which large quantities are consumed here, and
sold to the surrounding country, is principally brought from
Pittsburgh; Sandy and Licking rivers, in Kentucky; and
from Paint and Brush creeks, in Ohio. The bar iron of
Sandy is esteemed, by those who use it, equal to any other;
that of Licking also sustains a high reputation.

The castings come principally from Brush creek, and those
of that place bear a higher price in market than any others.
Nails come from Pittsburgh and Boston—many from the
latter place—a strong comment upon the deficiency of our
manufactures.

Lead is brought from Missouri; salt from the Conemaugh
works, in Pennsylvania, and those upon the Kenhawa, "in
Virginia.

The pine timber and boards used here, are floated down in
rafts, from near the sources of the Alleghany river—chiefly
from the immense forests of pine around Orlean Point, in New
\ork. No pine of any consequence is found on the Ohio,
though locust, oak, black walnut, and other valuable kinds of
timber are in the greatest abundance.

Of our exports, the principal part are carried to the West
Indies and South America. Pork and whiskey find a market
in the Atlantic cities. Lard is consumed in Cuba and South
America as a substitute for butter. A portion of all these
articles, with many others, constitute the supplies, furnished
by contract, for many posts for the United States’ army. No
inconsiderable quantity is consumed by the districts bordering
on the Lower Mississippi.

Imports for 1826 .

Iron, bar, sheet, and spike 1450 tons

* Castings . . . 350 tons

- p ig • . • • 768 tons

Dollars.

. 181,250

21,000
23,040

CINCINNATI. 69

Dollars-

Nails .

7000 kegs

63,000

Lead and Shot.

550,000 lbs.

37,500

Copper, Tin, Plate, and Glassware ....

80,000

Queens’ ware .

2200 crates

88,000

Cotton .

1100 bales

. 37,000

Salt.

46,000 barrels .

82,800

Coal .

200,000 bushels .

20,000

Lumber, Boards

5,000,000 feet . .A

- Shingles

3,500,000 (

64,000

- Joice & Scantling .

400,000 ('

-Timber

122,000 cubic feet . j

Indigo ....

Coffee . .

1,100,000 lbs.

. 198,000

Tea ....

220,000 lbs.

. 208,000

Sugar ....

• . . « •

80,000

Fish ....

3000 barrels .

20,000

Liquors, Spices, and other articles ....

. 200,000

Dry Goods

Total, 2,528,590

Exports in 1826.

Dollar?.

Flour

. . 55,000 barrels .

« < •

165,000

Whiskey .

14,500 barrels .

101,500

Pork

. . 17,000 barrels .

102,000

Lard

. 1,280,000 lbs.

64,000

Hams and Bacon

. 1,425,000 lbs.

57,000

Feathers .

. 302,000 lbs.

78,520

Bees’ wax

. . 78,825 lbs.

21,091

Cheese . ‘

75,000 lbs.

5329

Butter

5000 kegs

17,500

Ginseng .

95,500 lbs.

16,235

Beans

1000 barrels .

3000

Tobacco .

1500 kegs

18,225

Linseed Oil

1200 barrels .

20,400

Bristles .

2000 lbs.

760

Hats

......

75,000

Cabinet Furniture

. .....

47,000

Candles and Soap

. . . .

30,000

Type and Printing

Materials ....

19,000

Beer and Porter .

•

7000

Clocks, See.

15,000

Clothing.. • • •

Hay, Oats, Corn, Corn-meal, Apples, Cider, Dried Fruit,
Castings, Coopers’ Ware, Window Glass, Tin Ware, Ploughs,

50,000

Waggons, Stills, Horses, Poultry, Cigars, See. &c.

Total,

150,000

1,063,560

70

CINCINNATI.

In the exports above enumerated, no portion of that which
descends the Great and Little Miamies is included. This,
however, properly belongs to them; for the produce of which
we have been speaking is chiefly the growth of the Miami
country, and all which it exports is applied to the payment of
what is brought into it. It has been satisfactorily ascertained,
that about 100 boats descend the Great Miami, during the
high water, in each season, and that 30 descend the Little
Miami. These boats will average 250 barrels each ; making
for the whole number 33,500 barrels. If then we suppose
that they are equivalent to an equal quantity of flour, their
value will be about 100,000 dollars.

To the exports must also be added the value of the steam¬
boats built here, and paid for by foreign capitalists.

Of the importations, a re-exportation is constantly made to
the most distant places with which Cincinnati has any com- i
mereial intercourse. This business has been greatly extended
within three or four years, and is now greater than is
generally supposed, and would be conducted on a still larger
scale, if our merchants possessed capital, equal to their enter¬
prise. Cincinnati, in this manner, derives a profit, like the
cities on the sea-board, from goods ■which are merely in transitu.
A large amount, probably more than one-third of all imported
here, is ultimately carried to places, for whose produce this is
not the shipping port, hence, the nominal imports and exports
do not exhibit the true balance of trade. If we could deduct
from the imports the exact amount of what is not consumed
in the region watered by the Miamies and White-water, we
should probably find the exports to equal the imports.

The pork business of this city, is equal, if not of greater
magnitude than that of Baltimore; and is, perhaps, not ex¬
ceeded by that of any place in the world. This will appear
from a reference to the foregoing table of exports, and from
the fact, that between the 15th of November, 1826, and the
15th of February, 1827, a period of three months, forty thou¬
sand hogs have been packed in Cincinnati.-—Thirty thousand
pf which were slaughtered within the limits of the corpora¬
tion, and ten thousand brought in waggons from the country
around.

Among the exports from this place, beef forms a smaller
portion than would at first be supposed. The great faci¬
lities for raising cattle, and the high price of beef in other ,

CINCINNATI.

71

places, are such that it may be easily rendered a large and
profitable article of exportation. It is hoped that the farmers
of the Miami country will soon make a proper estimate
of the importance of adding this to the list of their exports.

The manufacture of pot and pearl ashes is likewise neglected
in this district, although the material for making them exists
in such great abundance.

Hemp, barley, tobacco, and many other articles, have
hitherto been too much overlooked, in the undivided attention
which our agriculturists have paid to the raising of wheat and
corn.

The present system of agriculture between the Miamies
requires, indeed, some important changes, which, when
properly made, will result in individual profit, and general
prosperity to the country.

In the exhibition of exports from the Miami country, we
have already an animating picture of its exuberant soil and
productive industry. In it we see the source and principle
of the rapid growth and flourishing condition of its commercial
metropolis, and the evidence of its continued prosperity in
wealth, population, and importance.

CHAPTER XI.

PUBLIC OFFICES.

POST-OFFICE.

During the year 1826, 8162 dollars were received for
postage of letters at this office. Within the same period,
3750 free letters were delivered, and throughout the year,
20 mails per week were sent out of, and received in, the city
—ten of which were carried in stages, to wit: three eastward,
on the Chillicothe, three ditto on the Lebanon, three ditto on
the Dayton and Columbus, and one southern, on the George¬
town and Kentucky routes. The remaining ten were trans¬
ported on horseback.

The Rev. William Burke is post-master, and Mr. Elam
P. Langdon, assistant post-master.

CINCINNATI.

s "

UNITED STATES’ LAND-OFFICE.

The offices for the sale of public lands, in the Cincinnati
district, are kept in the eastern part of the city • that of the
Register (Peyton S. Symmes), near the corner of Lawrence
and Congress streets; and that of the Receiver (Andrew M.
Bailey), north of Congress-street, on Broadway.

UNITED STATES’ BRANCH BANK.

_ The Bank of the United States established an office of
discount and deposite in this city, in April, 1817, which was
withdrawn in October, 1820, and re-established in May, 1825.
J. Reynolds, President. P. Benson, Cashier.

This at present is the only banking establishment in Cin¬
cinnati.

INSURANCE OFFICES.

Until recently, little attention has been paid to this subject
in the west. If we except foreign agencies, the Louisville
Company for a long time held a monopoly of this business.

In a few years it accumulated enormous profits, and raised
the value of its stock many fold. A company was established
here several years since, but it did little business, and became
extinct in the subsequent commercial derangements.

Of late two companies have been incorporated here, and
are now in successful operation.

OHIO INSURANCE COMPANY.

T. Goodman, President. Morgan Neville, Secretary.

This company was incorporated in January, 1826, with a
capital of 250,000 dollars, which may be increased to
500,000; 2010 shares, at 50 dollars each, were immediately |
subscribed, and the amount paid in, or secured by notes and
mortgages. Its concerns are managed by a president, secre¬
tary, and eighteen directors. It has been about a year in
operation, and, possessing the confidence of the community, its
business is increasing, and the stock promises to become highly
valuable.

CINCINNATI EQUITABLE INSURANCE
COMPANY.

This company was incorporated in January, 1827. It is
constituted upon the principles of mutual insurance, and has
a certain amount deposited to meet the contingent loss of any
member. Ezekiel Hall, Chairman. John Jolly, Secretary.

CINCINNATI.

73

PROTECTION INSURANCE OFFICE,
HARTFORD, CONN.

Agent — Ephraim Robins.

This company was recently incorporated in Hartford, and
has. established an agency here,, for the purpose of insuring
against Fire and Marine risks. To determine and adjust all
osseSj a Board of Counsellors have been appointed by the
company to assist the agent, whose award is binding upon the
company; should the party dissent, arbiters may be called,
whose decision is also final, as it respects the office. This
ofhce has issued, since its establishment here, a considerable
number of policies, and enjoys the confidence of the com¬
munity.

The JEtna Fire Insurance Company, of Hartford,
Connecticut, was established here in 1825. William Good¬
man, Agent .

The Traders’ Inland Navigation Insurance Com¬
pany, of New York, have an office here, with Thomas
r* ewell. Agent .

The United States’Insurance Company, of New York,
have an office here, with William Hartshorne, Agent.

INTELLIGENCE OFFICE.

An office of general agency and intelligence has been es¬
tablished by Mr. N. Holley, which may be rendered very
useful by making known the various wants of individuals.

AUCTIONS.

In Cincinnati, there are ten licensed auctioneers, who, in
the year 1828, sold goods to the amount of 233,800 dollars.
A duty of 3 per cent., or 7014 dollars, was paid by them to
the county treasurer : one half, of this is applied, by law, to
the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum, and the other
to the Medical College of Ohio.

E

74

CINCINNATI.

CHAPTER XII.

VALUE OF REAL ESTATE AND MONEY.

Real property has been advancing in value with the pro¬
gress of population. The price of lots varies so much,
according to their location and commercial advantages, that
satisfactory information cannot here be given in regard to it.
Within the last two years, the value of real estate has ad¬
vanced more rapidly than for several years previous. With
those, however, who are acquainted with the prospects of the
city, the prices are not considered to be above, if even at their
real value. From the constant tide of emigration there is a
greater demand for houses than can be readily supplied, which
renders rents proportionally high.

It is this, with the regular and certain increase of value,
which makes investments of money in real estate both safe
and profitable. Capital to a large amount may be so invested
in real estate, that it will immediately produce from 10 to 12
per cent, per annum. Many investments have been made that
yield at this time from 12 to 18 per cent. Nothing can be
hazarded in stating, that capital, judiciously expended in the
purchase of real estate in this city, at present prices, will yield
permanently from 10 to 12 per cent, per annum.

Cincinnati for several years has been deficient in the amount
of its disposable capital: a nominal superfluity of it existed
during the prosperity of the local banks: after their destruc¬
tion, paper currency was almost withdrawn from circulation,
and much of the metalic currency applied to the payment of
the debts due the U. S. Bank, and the eastern merchants.
From this condition of affairs the city has been gradually
recovering, but its citizens are not yet large capitalists.
Although engaged in profitable business, most of them have l
not the means of extending it to a scale proportioned to
their enterprise, and the resources of the place. Money
is consequently in great demand, and a high price is j
willingly paid for its use. For small sums 36 per cent, per
annum is frequently given, and for large ones from 10 to 20
per cent, is common. Indeed the market value of money
may be safely estimated at from 10 to 15 per cent.; for
there are but few investments in which it will not yield that

CINCINNATI.

75

amount. In Ohio there are no penalties imposed upon usurv
and the contract for any rate of interest is valid Th s
policy has been adopted to supply the deficiency of capital W

encouraging loans and investments by foreigners. P ’ 7

lP9fi 6 f 7 mS m ? 10randa of the aver age retail prices for
18-6, of a few articles in our market, are added for the in
formation of distant readers.

Flour, 3 dollars per barrel.
Whiskey, 25 cents per gallon.
Beef, 2 to 3 dollars per cwt.
Pork, 2 dollars ditto.

Butter 10 to 124 cents per lb.
Cheese, 6 to 7 ditto.

Lard, 4 to 6 ditto.

Feathers, 25 ditto.

Turkeys, 25 to 37 cents each.
Geese, 18 to 25 ditto.

Ducks, 8 to 12 ditto.
Chickens, 6£ ditto.

Soap, 44 cents per lb.

Candles, 10 ditto.

Corn, 12 cents per bushel.

Oats, 12 to 18 ditto.

Potatoes, Irish, 25 to 50 ditto.

Do Sweet, 37 to 62 ditto,
o cents per dozen.

Bacon, 3 to 5 cents per lb.

Hams, 4 to 6 ditto.

Veal, 3 to 4 ditto.

Mutton, 2 to 4 ditto.

Honey, 12 ditto.

Apples, 25 to 37 cents per bushel.
Peaches, 25 to 37 ditto.

Dried Fruit, 7 5 ditto

CHAPTER XIII.

HOADS.

The position of Cincinnati, with respect to roads and water-
courses, is such, that those who travel through the interior '
from the south and west towards the north, or from the
latter to the former, can scarcely avoid it, without inconve¬
nience to themselves. In former days, a voyage up the Mis
sissippi was the labour of months, and the southern merchants
and planters encountered the perils of the ocean to escape
this delay of time and risk of health. A great change has
taken place—the trip from New Orleans to this place fs now
accomplished m from 12 to 14 days, and the Ohio and Mis¬
sissippi have become the great highway, upon which nearly
all who live upon their borders seek the business or the
pleasures of the north. Upon their arrival at Cincinnati, it
becomes a new point of departure—they may either continue
their voyage up the river to Wheeling or Pittsburgh, and
from those points pass over the mountains to Baltimore • or
they may go through the interior of Ohio to the same points;

e 2

CINCINNATI.

76

or take the stage for Portland, on the lake; view the rich
holds of the Miami country ; visit the falls of Niagara :
examine the magnificent improvements of New York, and
descend the Hudson. This will probably become the most
fashionable journey made by western or southern people. It
affords most of the interesting, the beautiful, and the grand,
which our country contains.

The following are the principal routes and distances, pro¬
ceeding from this place:

From Cincinnati to Sandusky city, by Dayton and Colum¬
bus, the route, heretofore travelled, is about 250 miles. The
villages and towns passed through are interesting, and the
accommodations, as to stages and houses, are good.

From Cincinnati to the same point, by Xenia, Urbanna,
Marysville, and Bucyrus, the distance is but 200 miles. On
this route a new line of stages will be established in the
spring, which is intended to go through in three days, and
meet a steam-boat at Lower Sandusky. The whole distance
to New York, by this route, will be about 850 miles, and the
journey can be easily accomplished in 10 days.

From Cincinnati to Wheeling, by land, is about 242 miles.
On this route there is a daily line of stages, which is a con¬
tinuation of that on the Cumberland road. By this way the
traveller passes through the central parts of Ohio, and arrives
in Baltimore in eight or nine days. The roads in Ohio are
generally good from May till November.

From Cincinnati to Lexington is about 80 miles, and a
stage generally runs between the places during the summer
and fall seasons.

FROM CINCINNATI TO SANDUSKY CITY.

From Cincinnati

Miles.

to Read-

Springfield

Miles.

. 9 72

in g

. 10

Urbanna

. 14 86

To Sharon

. . 5

15

Milford

. 18 104

To Lebanon

. 15

30

Marysville

6 110

To Waynesvilie

. 10

40

Scioto River

. 20 130

Little Miami .

. 6

40

Marion

. 6 136

Xenia

. 8

54

Bucyrus

• 17 153

Yellow Springs

. 9

63

Sandusky city

. 47 200

FROM CINCINNATI TO SANDUSKY CITY, BY THE

WAY OF

To Springfield

DAYTON
. 15

AND

COLUMBUS.

Columbus

. 13 130

Hamilton

. 10

25

Blendon

. 11 141

Middleton

. 14

39

Mount Vernon

,

. 33 174

Franklin

. 6

45

Bellville

.

. 20 194

CINCINNATI.

77

Miles.

Miamiesburgh

. 6

51

Dayton

. 12

63

Fairfield .

. 11

74

Springfield

. 14

88

Deer creek

. 18

106

Little Darby .

. 9

115

Big Darby

. 2

117

Mansfield

Miles.

. 9 203

New 7 Haven

. 22 225

Peru

. 10 235

Norwalk

. 7 242

Milan

. 5 247

Sandusky city

.11 258

To Huron
Black River
Cleaveland
Fairport
Ashtabula

FROM SANDUSKY CITY TO BUFFALO.

. 10

Ohio State Line

. 15

. 20

Erie

. 25

. 25

Portland

. 35

. 30

Dunkirk

. 15

. 30

Buffalo

. 45 250

FROM CINCINNATI TO PITTSBURGH.

Lebanon

. 30

Zanesville

Vanmetre’s

. 30

St. Clairsville

Greenfield

. 17

Wheeling

Chiliicothe

. 21 98

Washington, Pa.

Tarleton

. 18

Pittsburgh

Lancaster

. 16 132

36* 16S
75 243
10 253
32 285
25 310

FROM CINCINNATI TO PITTSBURGH, BY WATER.

To Marysville

t

: . 63

Marietta

. 2784

Scioto River

.

. 105

Wheeling

. 3634

Big Sandy .

.

. 143^

Steubenville

. 3854

G. Kenhawa

•

. 194

Pittsburgh .

. 4554

FROM CINCINNATI TO WHEELING.

Columbia

. 6

Tarleton .

. 8

Newtown

. 5

Clear creek

. 6

Batavia

. 10

Lancaster

. 10 126

Williainsburgh

. 7

Rushville

. 10

White Oak

. 11

Somerset

. 8

Newmarket

. 11

Union town

. 9

Bainbridge

. 24

Zanesville

. 9 162

Chiliicothe

. 18 92

Wheeling

. 80 242

Kingston

. 10

*

FROM CINCINNATI TO COLUMBUS.

To Reading

. 10

Massie’s creek

. 7 61

Sharonville

. 5 15

Charleston

. 11 72

Lebanon

. 15 30

Deer creek

. 14 86

Waynes ville

. 10 40

Little Darby .

9 95

Little Miami .

. 6 46

Darby creek .

. 2 97

Xenia r

. 8 54

Columbus

. 13 110

FROM CINCINNATI

TO LOUISVILLE.

Big Bone

. 20

Middletown .

. 26

Sander’s Mill

. 23

Louisville

12

Simpson’s Ferry

.

. 10

—

Henry Court-house

. 12

103

78

CINCINNATI.

FROM

CINCINNATI TO VINCENNES.

Miles.

Miles.

Burlington .

. 15

French Lick

. 34

Rising Sun .

. 10

E. F. Whiteriver .

. 17

Judge Cotton’s

. 20

N. F. Whiteriver .

. 19

Madison

New Lexington

. 20
. 17

Vincennes

. 15

Salem

32

200

FROM

CINCINNATI TO LEXINGTON.

Gaines’

. 18

Georgetown .

. 14

Theob aid’s

. 15

Lexington

. 12

Gouge’s

. 11

—

Eagle creek .

. 12

82

FR03I CINCINNATI

TO NEW ORLEANS.

Kentucky river

. 78 \

Tennessee

. 456

Louisville

. 131i

Mouth of Ohio

. 504

Wabash

. 3764

Natchez

. 1165

Skawneetown
Cumberland river .

. 386J New Orleans
. 444i

CHAPTER XIV.

. 1462

SUMMERS RESIDENCE IN CINCINNATI .

Cincinnati may be considered the nearest point at which
such of the inhabitants of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louis¬
iana, as are induced to leave their homes during the summer,
can find the advantages of a city residence and a healthy
climate united. Indeed, each succeeding summer, for the
last few years, has brought with it an increased number of
those who are flying from southern heat and disease 5 and it
may be anticipated that each succeeding year will aflord its
accumulated numbers. The facilities with which the city
can be reached from the south by water; its inviting aspect
to strangers; its salubrious situation ; the affability of its in¬
habitants, as well as its being the point of debarkation from
the steam-boats, for those who wish to view the interior of
Ohio, or pass to the eastern states by the way of the lakes
and the Erie canal—all contribute to render Cincinnati at
once the centre of attraction to those travelling for health and
pleasure, and the great thoroughfare between the south-

CINCINNATI.

79

western and north-eastern states. Those families of the
south who may not wish to make an annual visit to the east,
will find this no undesirable residence for the summer and
fall seasons.

They can here have the advantage of excellent schools for
their children, and find, in the bosom of a cultivated society,
many rational sources of amusement for themselves. They
may pass without inconvenience either by land or upon the
canal through the pleasant villages of the Miami country;
spend a few weeks at the Yellow Springs, in whose vicinity
are to be seen the beautiful and romantic falls of the Little
Miami, or partake of the medicinal waters in the valley of
Big Bone, where lie imbedded the relics of the mammoth,
alike so long celebrated for its size and extinction.

It may be supposed, that the period is not remote when
many of the wealthy planters and professional gentlemen of
the south will have their summer villas within the environs
of Cincinnati, and those who may feel unwilling to be de¬
prived of the services of their slaves, can still have the ad¬
vantages of a city life by locating themselves on the Ken¬
tucky shore, in the villages of Newport and Covington, both
of which are healthy, and delightfully situated opposite to
Cincinnati. The experiments of the last season have fully
demonstrated that small steam-boats may descend the Ohio
from Cincinnati in the driest period of the year; for in the
months of October and November, although the river was
quite low, several of the smaller steam-boats made a safe and
speedy passage to Natchez. The difficulties attending a
return to the south at that season are consequently lessened.
This removes what has heretofore been a serious objection to a
summer’s residence in the commercial metropolis of Ohio.

80

CINCINNATI.

CHAPTER XV.

THE FINE ARTS .

Although Cincinnati is perhaps not sufficiently advanced
in the Fine Arts to supply adequate materials for a separate
chapter, yet it would be scarcely proper to pass over the
subject without remarking,, that we have several artists of
genius and reputation in the principal branches of this in¬
teresting department.

In portrait painting we may indeed boast of a young artist *
who has but a single rival in the western country. In land-
scape painting we could name more than one of considerable
promise ; and in the line of ornamental and scene painting a
number of excellent specimens might be referred to. The
admired busts of Lafayette, Clinton, Clay, Jackson, and
Gaines, sufficiently demonstrate the plastic skill of one of our
citizens in modelling likenesses: the numerous figure heads,
and other sculptured ornaments of our steam-boats, display
the taste and ingenuity of two others as carvers, and various
publications have lately furnished several specimens of the
successful efforts of our engravers*

CHAPTER XVI.

STATE OF SOCIETY .

There is, perhaps, no place in the United States more fa¬
vourable for observing the influence of our republican system
upon society at large than in Cincinnati. Its inhabitants are
emigrants from all quarters of the Union, and from different
parts of Europe; yet there is no portion of them from any
particular district so numerous as to cause a general ad¬
herence to the peculiar prejudices and manners in which they
had been educated. Neither do we find the subdivisions of
society influenced by national partialities. We have neither

* Mr. A. H. Cor wine, a native of Kentucky.

CINCINNATI.

81

St. Andrews’, St. George’s, St. Patrick’s, nor New England
Societies, to foster those prejudices in favour of distant lands,
which are so unfriendly to the happiness of those who have come
to spend their lives in another clime. An entire freedom
from political restraint, leaving ail at liberty to follow such
pursuits as are most agreeable, favours the assimilation of all
classes to each other, and the adoption of such manners and
customs as are most suitable to our situation. There is, con¬
sequently, a more rapid amalgamation of manner and feeling
than would be expected among a people so recently collected
together from so many different countries.

In morals, we may safely defy the strictest scrutiny to
point out a rival place, where fewer vices or crimes are
committed among an equal number of people ; and as our city
has hitherto had scarcely any other police than public opinion,
we must, of course, attribute the good order and morality
which prevail among us, to the correct feelings and sentiments
of the inhabitants. The most prominent source of crime and
wretchedness among our eastern brethren—the vice of drunk¬
enness—although not unknown here, is more rare than in
other parts of the Union.* Nor does the vice of gaming
flourish here to any great extent, although much pains have
been taken to introduce it at different periods, and sometimes
with apparent success; yet, happily, it has not yet been so
far naturalized as to appear to be in a congenial clime. Lot¬
tery gambling, so prevalent in most other parts of the United
States, is not one of our evils. The sale of foreign tickets is
prohibited by law ; and the only lottery granted for many years,
by this state, although its profits were destined for a purpose
interesting to the community, was entirely unsuccessful. We
trust that this may be the last attempt to legalize gambling
in Ohio, and that the correct moral feeling exhibited by the
community in this respect may prove a salutary example to
our sister states.

The most numerous class of our citizens consists of our
mechanics; and, as a body, they may be referred to as one of
the chief causes of our prosperity. Of this class, indeed,
we may justly feel proud, not only on account of their pro¬
fessional skill and dexterity, but also because they possess,
generally, the characteristics of good citizens.

* Ope cause of this may be, that our climate is unfavourable to the
longevity of drunkards, which may be considered one of the many bless¬
ings with which we are favoured.

E 5

82

CINCINNATI.

Our merchants are distinguished for their enterprise and
activity, the greatest obstacle to their success being their
number, which is generally more than the business of the
place can profitably sustain. The latter remark is equally
applicable to our professional men (to those, at least, of law
and medicine), of whom a few are eminent, and a number
very respectable.

Of men of leisure and fortune, there are few or none.
Of this class, a certain portion is desirable, provided they be
possessed of public spirit, and of good taste sufficient to lead
them to devote a portion of time in such a manner, as to be¬
nefit the community, by aiding in the diffusion of literature
and science, and establishing and fostering useful public
institutions. The greatest evil to be apprehended from this
class is, that they may hasten the encroachments of luxury.
We are aware that, with the advance of society in wealth and
refinement, a progressive increase of luxury is natural, and,
perhaps, desirable, on account of its encouraging industry
and improving the arts; but experience has shown, that its
uniform tendency is to increase faster than the means of sup¬
porting it, and, "in such cases, it becomes the parent of both
crime and suffering.

The general features of the fashionable portion of our
community are similar to those of the same class in the east¬
ern cities, with an equal amount of refinement, if not a like
degree of useless etiquette. J hroughout the winter season
there are public balls, assemblies, and cotillion parties, for
the gratification of those who are fond of dancing. Private
parties are both frequently and elegantly given, in which
cards, music, dancing, and conversation, constitute the prin¬
cipal sources of amusement. There is an increasing fond¬
ness for the stage, and for the last two seasons our come¬
dians have received an amount of patronage, not less flatter¬
ing than unexampled in previous years. The museums are
becoming fashionable resorts for evening parties. During
the winter season there are lectures delivered in each, once
or twice a week, upon literary and scientific subjects, which
are generally well attended. This rational custom should be
continued—it being admirably calculated to promote inter¬
course, good feeling, and a taste for intellectual pleasures.

In the summer season, excursions to Big Bone and the
Yellow Springs, serve to amuse those who have leisure and
inclination to seek for pleasure, health, and rural scenery.

CINCINNATI.

83

In the dwellings of the middling and poorer classes there
111 general, that appearance of comfort and ease, which
denotes a fertile country and a benignant government—
where labour receives its reward, and enjoys it in security.
I he means of substantial enjoyment are probably more ex-*
tensiveiy diffused throughout our community, ,than among
any other people in existence. Although this remark may
appear to display more of local partiality than of knowledge,
yet we do not fear the result of a candid investigation of its
correctness: and however sanguine our expectations may at
first appear, respecting the future destinies of our favourite
city, if the grounds on which they are made be impartially
examined, they will be found, we think, to warrant our
anticipations.

CHAPTER XVIL
MISCELLANY .
GRAND MASONIC HALL.

We are informed, that the members of the different Masonic
Societies of Cincinnati sre sanguine in the opinion, that
the grand lodge of Ohio* will be removed to Cincinnati,
where a grand hall will be erected, that shall reflect credit
on the state, and do honour to the taste and munificence of
the fraternity.

* OFFICERS OF THE GRAND LODGE OF THE STATE OF OHIO.

M. W. John M. .Goodenow, Grand Master.

R. W. Thomas Corwin, Deputy Grand Master.

R. W. William Rossell Foster, Sen. Grand Warden.

R. W. Roswell Stone, Jun. Grand Warden.

W. Lincoln Goodale, Grand Treasurer.

W. Bela Latham, Grand Secretary.

W. Walter M. Blake, Grand Marshal.

84

CINCINNATI,

For the last two years, this subject has been before the
grand lodge at Columbus, and it is stated that the strongest
objections to the location of that institution in this place, have
been removed, by the liberal offers which have been made
by the Cincinnati lodges. The remaining objection to this
measure, most strongly urged, is its remoteness from the
centre of the state. This objection, even at the present
moment, has not much weight: but the completion of the
canals, and the national turnpike, together with the general
improvement of the roads throughout the state, will not only
obviate it entirely, but give such facilities for reaching
Cincinnati, as will be equalled by few, if any other places in
the state.

A change in the period of holding the meetings of the
trraiid lochie, from the winter to the summer season, and we
are informed that there can be no valid objections urged
against such a change, would always afford good roads and
canal navigation, besides securing a more punctual attendance
from those who are the only proper component parts of this
institution.

The enterprise and comparative wealth of the masonic
bodies of this city—the numerous facilities which it possesses
over all other points in the state, for the selection of skilful

Rev. and W. George C. Sedgwick, Grand Chaplain.

W. Robert T. Lytle, Grand Orator.

W. David Spangler, Grand S. Deacon.

W. William Coolman, Grand J. Deacon.

W. William Fielding, Grand Lecturer.

W. William John, Grand Tyler.

GRAND CHAPTER OF OHIO.

M. E. Charles R. Sherman, Grand High Priest.

E. John Satterthwaite. Deputy G. H. Priest.

E. Joshua Downer, Grand King.

E- Samuel Stokely, Grand Scribe.

E. Lincoln Goodale, Grand Treasurer.

E. Rela Latham, Grand Secretary.

E. James W. Lanier, Grand Marshal.

E. James M c Aboy, Grand Chaplain.

Companion Robert T. Lytle, Grand Captain of the Host.

“ Thos. Orr, Grand Principal Sojourner.

“ David Spangler, Grand Royal Arch Captain.

“ James Price, Grand Master, 3d Vail.

u Moses Levi, Grand Master, 2d Vail.

“ Walter M. Blake, Grand Master, 1st Vail.

“ William John, Grand Guard.

CINCINNATI.

85

mechanics, and cheap materials for building, together with its
many other advantages, will, it is confidently believed, induce
the grand lodge to reflect maturely, before she will withhold,
from the fraternity at large, the important benefits that will
follow the location of its hall in Cincinnati. Should the
grand lodge ultimately select this place for the site of their
hall, and unite with our societies in its erection, there can be
little doubt of the efficient co-operation of our citizens in
aiding its early completion, by donations, or subscriptions
for stock, according to the plan upon which it may be es¬
tablished.

Such has been the increase of the masonic brethren hi
this city, within a few years, that the erection of a hall for
their own accommodation, whether the grand lodge shall
Unite with them or not, will be speedily undertaken ; but
not, we are assured, until the societies possess the ability to
erect such an one, as will do honour to the city, to the state,
and to masonry.

PUBLIC SQUARE.

It is gratifying, that the municipal authorities of the city,
as well as the citizeus generally, are beginning to think
seriously about the purchase of a piece of ground, upon
which, at some future time, to erect a city hall, and establish
m,P u . c promenade, for pleasure, ornament, and recreation,
rlie importance of this subject, as it regards health, utility,
and the beauty of Cincinnati, is too generally felt, and too
universally acknowledged to require that any arguments
should here be urged in its favour. There is but one block
of ground, eligibly situated for this object, that can now
be procured at a fair price, and unless this be speedily secured,
the increasing value of property will soon place even that
beyond the resources of the corporation. The block referred
to is the one on which Judge Burnet resides, between Vine
and Race, and Third and fourth streets. Perhaps the city
plat does not contain one better suited for the purposes of a
public square than this, owing to its central and elevated
position. 7 he terms upon which it is offered, make its
purchase a matter of speculation, even should it not be ulti¬
mately used by the city for public purposes. It can now be
obtained for about 25,000 dollars, and no one, who has studied
the prospects of our city, will doubt, but that in ten years it
may be sold for double that sum.

86

CINCINNATI.

A row of lots, fronting on r l hird-street, the buildings
upon which would not materially injure the beauty of the
square, could, it is believed, at this time be leased for a sum
that would nearly meet the accruing interest of the money
required for the purchase of it. Another row, fronting on
Race-street, may also be leased to advantage, and the
proceeds applied' to the reduction of the principal. The
block is already covered with shade trees, flowering shrubs,
and evergreens; and several liberal donations have been
promised," towards ornamenting and improving the grounds
still further, if the city should become the purchaser. It has
been stated, that the Cincinnati Water Company would in that
case supply, gratuitously, the necessary water for ornamenting"
it with a fountain.

The building, now upon it, has two spacious rooms—one of
which would conveniently accommodate the City Council,
and the other, the City’Court. There are others, which
would answer as offices for the city treasurer, recorder,
clerk, &c. This building, indeed, will be amply sufficient
for the accommodation of the municipal authorities of the
city, until the state of its treasury would justify the erection
of a City Hall, corresponding in size and magnificence to the
future destinies of Cincinnati.

As the present appears to be an auspicious period for laying
the foundation of a permanent revenue for the city, it will
not, perhaps, be considered as without the limits of this
work, to suggest the policy of the city becoming the owner
of all the ground lying south of Front-street, and between
Broadway and the mouth of Deer creek, which can be ob¬
tained at a fair price. The public quay, which is already
melding a handsome revenue to the city, is too limited in
extent for the amount of business that is now done upon
it. This must be evident to those who have witnessed,
within the last few days, from ten to twelve large steam¬
boats, crowded together against the quay, for the purpose of
receiving and discharging their cargoes. In addition to the
ordinary expansion of the commercial business of the city,
the completion of the Miami canal will greatly augment it.
The period is but a short one, when the entire space between
the limits above mentioned, in addition to that already owned
by the city, will be required, upon which to transact, with
convenience, this business. Were this ground owned by the
corporation, and properly disposed of for quays and ware-

CINCINNATI.

87

houses, it would yield, in future years, with the public pro¬
perty below it, a revenue which would lessen the burthens
of taxation, if not entirely supercede the necessity of imposing
them. W ith these suggestions, the expediency of the measure
is left for the consideration and wisdom of the Council and
our citizens.

BRIDGE OVER THE OHIO.

This subject has been one of much speculation for several
years past. Its importance is, perhaps, not less apparent,
than the practicability of its execution. The scarcity of capital
among our citizens may delay it for a few more years* but the
pei iod is manifestly not remote* when its construction will be
undertaken.

The feasibility of throwing a permanent bridge over the
Ohio at this place* at an expense which would secure a hand¬
some interest upon the sum required for its accomplishment*
is generally admitted**by those practical* calculating men* who
have had the subject under consideration* and who have pos¬
sessed the existing data * from which to draw their conclusions.

The water of the Ohio passes over a bed of limestone rock*
which will not only supply the stone* necessary in the con¬
struction of the piers and abutments* but also* an admirable
foundation for them to rest upon. The distance from the top
of the bank at the foot of Broadway* to the top of the bank

Newport or Covington* is 1630 feet* or about 543 yards.
What is termed the channel of the river lies near the north
shore ; its south edge is 435 feet distant from the wall at
the foot of Broadway. There is in this channel a gradual
descent from the north to the south edge; the distance
from one to the other being about 225 feet. Should this
space be thought too great to exist with safety between the
piers* an intermediate one may readily be constructed in the
channel* the greatest depth at low water not exceeding 12
feet. Ihe whole distance across the river would require 8
or 9 piers* besides the abutments on either bank. From
the foot of Broadway* a bridge would strike the Kentucky
shore* opposite the mouth of Licking. A line drawn from
the hank on the Newport shore* until* at a distance of 206
feet from the place of beginning* it should intersect a similar
line from the Covington shore* would indicate the proper
uoint for a pier* on which the main bridge should terminate.
From this* branches should be carried to Newport and

88

CINCINNATI.

Covington, thus uniting those two villages with each other,
and both with Cincinnati.

Between the shore and the northern edge of the channel,
there is, during the high rvater, an eddy, formed by the steam
mill above, over which the draw may properly be made to
admit the passage of steam-boats at that stage of the river:
at a medium stage, the elevation of the bridge, over the main
channel of the stream, would be such as to permit the pas¬
sage of the largest class of boats. Various estimates of
the cost of thiswovk have been made, varying in amount from
one to two hundred thousand dollars. An architect, who
has superintended the construction of several bridges in the
Miami country, and whose practical skill entitles his opinions
to confidence, has recently given this subject some considera¬
tion. His estimates of the cost of a bridge, of the length
above mentioned, supported by nine stone piers, including
breakers above each, to protect them from the ice and drift
wood, branching so as to connect Newport and Covington,
and secured from the weather by a neat and* substantial cover,
is 150,000 dollars.

How nearly this may approximate to the truth, remains
to be determined by more accurate surveys. Should it even
cost 200,000 dollars, still it is believed, that the tolls would,
from the time of its completion, yield a handsome interest upon
its cost, with a certain prospect of an increase, corresponding
to the rapid advances of the city and surrounding country.
It is hoped that our public spirited citizens will not lose
sight of an object so deeply connected with the convenience
and ornament of the city. If our own resources at the
present moment are not adequate to the magnitude of the
w'ork, it would perhaps be no difficult matter to put in requi¬
sition some of the surplus capital of our eastern brethren, to
aid in its early accomplishment.

MILITARY ACADEMY.

The plans of education respectively pursued at West
Point, and at Captain Partridge’s Military Academy, at Mid¬
dletown, are generally admitted to be of the most excellent
kind. They are systems well adapted to impart vigour to
the body, not less than the mind. The courses of study
adopted in these popular institutions, appear to be better
calculated to prepare young men for becoming useful and
practical members of society, than those generally pursued

CINCINNATI.

89

in the literary colleges of the country. Of the signal
success of a Military Academy, similar to that of Captain
Partridge's, if established in Cincinnati, there can be no
doubt. Its central position among the western, and its easy
access by water from the southern states; and the prevail¬
ing sentiment among the people of the west and south,
in favour of a military education, unite in designating this
place as a point highly eligible for the exertion of indi¬
vidual enterprise in regard to this subject. These remarks
are made with the hope of arresting the attention of some
gentleman, properly qualified to establish and conduct such
an institution. A degree of success not less flattering to its
founder, than beneficial to the youth of the west and south,
would unquestionably follow.

LICKING CANAL.

A canal down the valley of Licking river is seriously con¬
templated; of its practicability there can be little doubt.
The bed of the river itself may be converted into a canal, by
constructing dams with locks, at such heights and intervals
as, upon examination, may be found most advantageous. In
some places, a dam, erected at the rapids, will render the
water of the river level and navigable for many miles. The
expense of thus canalling the stream, would be small in com¬
parison with that of the Ohio canals, whilst many and rich
benefits would arise from it to the surrounding country. It
would connect a large and fertile district of Kentucky with
the principal seat of commerce on the Ohio. It would pass
immediately through the counties of Bath, Nicholas, Har¬
rison, Pendleton, and Campbell, whilst many others would
be sufficiently near, to render it the channel of their commu¬
nication with the Ohio. Among the resources of this region
iron ore is found in great abundance. There are already
works erected on Licking, in Bath county, and owned by J.
T. Mason, Esq. They consist of one blast furnace, one
single, and one double forge. Other works will doubtless be
erected, when the improvement, here contemplated, shall be
successfully accomplished, and an easy navigation furnished
from the mine to the market.

LOUISVILLE AND PORTLAND CANAL.

In 1825, a charter was granted by the legislature of Ken¬
tucky, incorporating the stockholders of the Louisville and

90

CINCINNATI.

Portland Canal Company, under the management of a Board,
consisting of a president and 4 directors, for the purpose of
constructing a canal, dry docks, &c. around the falls of the
Ohio. This charter is perpetual: it authorizes the company
to lay a toll of 20 cts. per ton on steam and keel boats, and
4 dollars each on flat boats; and if these tolls should not be
found sufficient to pay the stockholders a net profit of 12-^per
cent, per annum, on their capital, the directors are authorized
to raise the tolls sufficiently high to produce that amount,
the legislature reserving to itself the privilege of reducing
them if the dividend should exceed 18 per cent, per annum.

The work, by consent of the canal commissioners of Ohio,
is under the superintendence of Judge Bates, the principal
engineer of the Ohio canals, by whom the surveys and esti¬
mates have been made, and whose established reputation is
well calculated to inspire confidence in their accuracy. A
contract for the completion of the entire work has been made
with those experienced gentlemen, Messrs. Collins, Chapman,
and Co., of the New York canal.

These gentlemen commenced their operations on the first
of March last, and since that time they have excavated
^oo,io4 cubic yards of earth, Out of 633,358 yards, the esti¬
mated quantity: 5694 cubic yards of common rock have been
excavated out of 111,000 yards, the estimated quantity: 4445
cubic yards of rock have been excavated in lock-pits, out of
20,000, the estimated quantity. The length of the canal will
be 73 feet less than 2 miles: the width will be 50 feet at the
bottom, and 197 feet at the top: its depth 42 from the tops
of the banks, which are to be two feet above high water¬
mark : the sides of the banks will be paved with stone.

The locks will be at the lower end of the canal, and will
consist of 3 lift locks of 8.62 feet lift each, and one guard
lock of the whole depth of the canal. The lift locks will he
190 feet long, by 50 feet wide, in the clear, consequently
they will be of a capacity to pass the largest class of steam¬
boats.

Two dry docks for repairing steam-boats will be con¬
structed by the side of the guard lock. A recess of the size
of the locks is to be excavated about midway of the canal, for
the convenience of passing large steam-boats.

The time for the completion of the work by the contract
is November next, and, from the report of the Board, there
,$eems to be little doubt of its completion within the stipulated

CINCINNATI. 91

period. The entire cost of constructing this canal will be
about 42(1,000 dollars.

This important work, when finished,, will exert such an
immediate and powerful influence upon the commercial
prosperity of Cincinnati, that no apology is necessary for
introducing into this work the foregoing details.

FUTURE IMPORTANCE OF CINCINNATI.

The country bordering upon the two Miamies, that part
of Indiana irrigated by Whitewater and the upper branches
of the White river, and those parts of Kentucky watered by
the Licking and Sandy rivers, constitute the region of country
which is immediately dependent upon Cincinnati, as its great
commercial and manufacturing emporium. This region is
unequalled by any in the United States for the growth of
wheat, corn, hogs, cattle, and, indeed, all the provision sup¬
plies. It includes the iron mines of Brush creek, in Ohio,
and of Licking and Sandy rivers, in Kentucky, and also the
salt and coal of these two latter streams, together with vast
beds of aluminous earth. It abounds in fine oak, locust, and
mulberry timber, suitable for ships and steam-boats. Many
parts oi it are wen aaaptea to grazing; ana otners peculiar iy
suited for the growth of those important articles hemp and
tobacco. The streams by which it is intersected afford ex¬
tensive navigation as well as water power for driving ma¬
chinery—the Ohio river cutting it from east to west, and the
Miami canal traversing that portion of it lying between
Dayton and Cincinnati. Its healthfulness is proverbial, and
its population enterprising and industrious. These constitute
a brief enumeration of the more prominent resources of a
section of country embracing within its limits 10,000,000 of
acres of land, and capable, without equalling the density of
many countries of Europe, of sustaining upwards of 3,000,000
of inhabitants. That a country of such magnitude, and of
such resources, must give high and permanent prosperity to
some point within its limits, is most obvious. A reference to
its geographical features will at once indicate Cincinnati as
possessing greater local advantages than any other site within
this region. In adverting, then, to this interesting point,
and examining the reasons for cherishing the belief of its
continued prosperity, the first thing that arrests the attention
is, the extent, salubrity, and beauty of the plain upon which
the city stands—these are unsurpassed upon the Ohio river.

92

CINCINNATI.

Next follows the cheapness of living, owing to the unrivalled
productiveness of the country around in the growth of all the
substantial articles of food; its facilities for obtaining iron,
coal, lead, hemp, salt-petre, leather, wool, fur, cotton, and
other raw materials necessary for manufactures; the extent
of water power, which the Miami canal, when completed,
will afford upon the city plain; the many diverging channels
upon which her manufactured articles may be sent to the
surrounding, as well as more distant regions; and, finally,
her commercial advantages, arising from a location, which
affords great facilities for receiving from abroad, and again
distributing the foreign productions of both art and nature.

It is to a partial unfolding of these resources that the rapid
growth of Cincinnati, heretofore, may be referred, and from
a more perfect developement of the same, that its continued
prosperity in wealth and population may be safely predicted.
The period is not a remote one when Cincinnati will hold the
same rank among the cities of the Union, that the great
State, of which she is the ornament, now possesses in the
American Confederacy,

I

INDE X.

African Church, 27.

Apprentices’ Library, 39.

Academy Fine Arts, 39.

Aldermen, 43.

Auctions, 73.

Academy, C. F., 34.

B.

Buildings, 20.

-Public, 20.

Bank, Branch, 72.

Bridge over the Ohio, 87.

C.

Colonization Society, 29.

College, Cincinnati, 33.

-, Medical, 32.

Cincinnati Female School, 35.

- Library, 38.

City Government, 42.

-Officers, 43.

Cleanliness, 44.

City Prison, 45.

Commerce, 63.

Court House, 20.

County, Hamilton, 16.

Church, Lutheran and Reformed,27.
Courts, 40.

Cincinnati, Aspect, &c. 17.

E.

Episcopal Society, 26.

Exports, 69.

Edifice, Medical College, 21.
-, Cincinnati College, 22.

F.

Fine Arts, 80.

Friendly Society, 26.

Fuel, 24.

Finances, 46.

Future Importance of Cincinnati,
91.

G.

Government, Municipal, 40.

H.

Humane Society, 28.

Health, Public, 44.

Hospital, 21.

I.

Jail, 20.

Jews, 28.

Imports, 68.

Journals, 39.

Institutions, Literary and Scien¬
tific, 32.

K.

Kidd Fund, 30.

L.

Land Office, 72.

Licking Canal, 89.

Louisville and Portland Canal, 89.

M

Markets, 20.

Mayor, 43.

Manufactures, 51.

Money, 74.

Masonic Hall, 83.

Materials for Building, 19.
Masonic Institutions, 29.

Museum, Letton’s, 38.

-Western, 36.

Manufactures, capacity of Cincin¬
nati for, 59.

Military Academy, 88.

94

INDEX.

o.

Ohio, State of, 1.

-, Rivers, 2.

-, Climate, 2.

-, Minerals, 3.

-, Roads, 4.

-, Education, 5.

-, Canals, 5.

-, Canal, 6.

-, Miami Canal, 8.

-, Population, 11.

-, Militia, 11.

-, Capital, 11.

-, Principal Towns, 12.

-, Religion, 12.

-, Civil Divisions, 12.

-, Government, 12,

-, Judiciary, 12

-, Revenue and Valuation, 13.

-, Manufactures and Com¬
merce, 13.

-, Historical Sketch, 13.

-, Progressive and Future De-

velopements, 14.

-, River, 15.

Offices, Insurance, 72.

-, Intelligence, 73.

P.

Proprietors, 18.

Plan, 19.

Preservation from Fire, 24.
Population, 49.

Post Office, 71.

Public Square, 85.

Population, Comparative, 49.

R.

Real Estate, 74.

Reading Room, 36.

S.

Steam-Boats, 64.

Summer’s Residence, 78.

Society, State of, 80.

-, Episcopal, 26.

-, Methodist, 26.

-, Baptist, Enon, 26.

-, New Jerusalem, 26.

-, Wesleyan Methodist, 26.

-, Friends’, 26.

-, Baptist, First, 27.

-, Roman Catholic, 27.

-, Preformed Presbyterian, 28.

-, Presbyterian, First, 25.

- y Second, 26.

-, Humane, 28.

-, M. Bible, 28.

-, F. Auxiliary Bible, 28.

-, African, 29.

-, W. N. B. and Tract, 29.

-, U. Sunday School, 29.

Societies, Religious and Public
Charities, 25.

School, Woodward Free, 31.
-, Female Boarding, 35.

T.

Theatre, Cincinnati, 22.

U.

United States’ Banking House, 21.
Unirersalists, 28.

LONDON:

JAMES Sl'l.LCt :li, VTlimFAX, LOMBARD STREET, WHllEFRIARS.

APPENDIX.

EXTRACTS

FROM

VARIOUS WORKS ON TI1E STATE OF OHIO, AND CITY
OF CINCINNATI.

Extracts from a Work entitled, “ A Narrative and Statistical
View or Picture of Cincinnati in 1815, by Dr. Drake
Jrom which will be seen the great Improvement that has
taken place in that City during the last Ten Years.

PRICES OF LAND.

“These have been constantly, though not regularly, in¬
creasing ever since the first settlement here. In 1787, John
C. Symmes paid to the United States two-thirds of a dollar
per acre. Their uniform price, since that time, has been two
dollars, except at public auctions, when, from competition,
the prices are frequently raised much higher; and, except
reserved sections, which were at one time fixed at eight, but
afterwards reduced to four dollars.

ithin three miles of Cincinnati, at this time, the prices ol
good unimproved land are between fifty and one hundred and
fifty dollars per acre, varying according to the distance. From
this limit to the extent of twelve miles, they decrease from
thirty to ten. Near the principal villages* of the Miami
country,^ it commands from twenty to forty dollars; in re¬
moter situations, it is from four to eight dollars—improve¬
ments in all cases advancing the price from 25 to 100 per
cent. An average for the settled portions of the Miami

f 2

APPENDIX.

100

country, still supposing the land fertile and uncultivated,
may be stated at eight dollars; if cultivated, at twelve.

Of tracts that have the same local advantages, those allu¬
vial or bottom lands, which have been recently formed, com¬
mand the best price. The dry and fertile prairies are esteemed
of equal value. Next to these, are the uplands, supporting
hackberry, pawpaw, honey-locust, sugar-tree, and the different
species of hickory, walnut, ash, buckeye, and elm. Imme¬
diately below these, in the scale of value, is the land clotned
in beech timber; while that producing white and black oak
chiefly, commands the lowest price of all.

These were not the prices in 1812 5 the war, by promoting
emigration, having advanced the nominal value of land from
25 to 50 per cent.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE.

GRAIN.

The principal kinds are Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats, and
barley. * The first is found on every plantation, but flourishes
best m a fertile, calcareous soil ; where, with good culture, it
will yield from 60 to 100 bushels per acre; but an average
crop, for the whole region, cannot be higher than 4O. Wheat
is raised almost as generally as Indian corn, and is perhaps
better adapted to the soil of most parts of the IMiami country.
Twenty-two bushels may be stated as the average produce
per acre, though it sometimes amounts to 40. Its medium
weight is 60lbs. per bushel. The bearded wheat, with red¬
dish chaff, seems latterly to be preferred, as least liable to
injury from the Hessian fly and weavel. The cultivation of
rye is much more limited, as it is only employed in the dis¬
tillation of whiskey, and as provender for horses. For the
former purpose, it is mixed with Indian corn. Its average
crop may be estimated at 25 bushels per acre. The common
crop of oats is about 35 bushels, and that of barley 30. _ The
latter was not extensively cultivated till since the erection of
two large breweries in Cincinnati.

FRUITS.

An extensive variety of excellent apples have been intro¬
duced, and succeed well, in the Miami country. As in other
parts of the United States, they are occasionally injured by
vernal frosts. In the valley of the Ohio this is less frequently

APPENDIX.

101

the case than on the uplands. Cyder, of a good quality, is
annually made in large quantities. Peaches attain to great
perfection, and are found on every farm. Pears, cherries,
and plums, of different kinds, are common; some finer va¬
rieties of the two latter, however, as well as the apricot and
nectarine, have not yet been successfully cultivated. The
vine has not been planted for the purpose of making wine 7
nor has its cultivation in gardens been continued long enough
to ascertain whether the soil and climate of this quarter be
adapted to its growth.

FLAX AND HEMP.

The first is raised on every farm. It is said not to be so
good as that of the Atlantic states. The seed, especially, is
inferior, yielding much less oil than the flax-seed of those
states. Hemp, a few years since, was cultivated to some
extent, and found to succeed well in bottom lands: but from
a depression in the price, it is now neglected.

MEADOWS.

These are generally luxuriant. Timothy, red and white
clover, and spear-grass, are principally cultivated, and yield a
good crop. Two tons per acre are considered the medium pro¬
duce of the two first. They are not found, except when sown;
but the latter spring up spontaneously on every farm, after
the cultivation of a few years, and afford excellent pasture.

Before the settlement of this country, the woods abounded
in grass and herbage proper for the subsistence of cattle, but
these have long since disappeared, except in remote situations.
In the prairies, however, where the whole energy of the soil
is employed in producing grasses and herbaceous plants, in¬
stead of trees, the pasture is still luxuriant, and the business
of grazing extremely profitable. It is chiefly of Champagne
and Green counties that this remark is true. In the former,
one hundred thousand dollars; it is estimated, are annually
received for fat cattle. The prairies are likewise found to
support hogs; which grow and fatten on the numerous fleshy
roots with which those tracts abound. Sheep, both domestic
and foreign, are already diffused extensively through the
Miami country. They are in general healthy, and rather
prone to excessive fatness. Their flesh is said to be superior
_n flavour to that of the sheep of the Atlantic states.

The agriculture of this, as of other new countries, is not of

APPENDIX.

102

the best kind. Too much reliance is placed on the extent
and fertility of their fields, by the farmers, who in general
consider these a substitute for good tillage. They frequently
plant double the quantity they can properly cultivate, and
thus impoverish their lands, and suffer them to become in¬
fested with briars and noxious weeds. The preservation of
the forests of a country should be an object of attention in
every stage of its settlement; and it would be good policy to
clear and" plant no more land in a new country than can be
well cultivated.

INDIANA TERRITORY.

A part of the region watered by the tributary streams of the
Great Miama, is in this territory. The portion thus situated
is bounded on the east by the western boundary of the state
of Ohio; and is separated from the interior settlements of
the territory, by a tract not yet purchased of the Indians.
It is divided into three counties. Dearborn, Franklin, and
Wayne, which extend northwardly from the Ohio river, in
the order of this enumeration. The two latter are irrigated
by a beautiful stream, called Whitewater. In soil and aspect
they may be compared with Preble county, heretofore de¬
scribed. The soil of Dearborn is not so good^ except in the
vicinity of the Ohio, where, however, it is hilly.

Lawrenceburg is the seat of justice of this county. It
is situated twenty-two miles from Cincinnati, in the valley of
the Ohio, two miles below the mouth of the Great Miami.
Having occasionally suffered inundation, it has grown but
little; and a new village, called Edinburgh, has been lately
laid out on higher ground, about half a mile from the river;
but this is not a place of much promise.

Brookville, the county seat of Franklin, is situated
forty miles from Cincinnati, near the junction of the two prin¬
cipal branches of Whitewater. It is a young, hut thriving
village.

Salisbury has as yet been the seat of justice in the new
county of Wayne; but a village named Centreville, lately
laid out, is at present a competitor for that distinction. Each
of these county seats has a post-office.

The inhabitants of these counties receive their supplies of
foreign goods almost exclusively from Cincinnati; but little
mercantile capital being employed at Lawrenceburg, and

APPENDIX.

103

there being on the Great Miami no depot of merchandise for
that region.

KENTUCKY.

Lickung Kivp originates in the mountains of the south-
^.^,ern part of this state, near the source of the Cumberland
and Kentucky rivers; and, after meandering about 200 miles
enters the Ohio opposite Cincinnati, where it is eighty yards
wide. In spring floods, boats laden with 200 barrels of flour
can descend from points that are more than a hundred miles
distant from its junction with the Ohio; but for ten months
out of twelve its navigation is of little value, and in summer
and autumn it is a moderate mill-stream.

That part of Kentucky which lies opposite the Miami
country is hilly; the soil is various, but generally second
rate, and the population scattered. There are no prairies or
bottom lands; mill-streams are neither numerous nor durable ;
and wells cannot be dug, on account of the limestone rocks,
which, except in the valley of the Ohio, are every where found
at the depth of a few feet. This tract composes two counties,
Eoone and Campbell. The seat of justice of the former is
pules south-west of Cincinnati, and seven miles from
t e Ohio. It is not likely to be a place of any consequence,
as in summer and autumn, water, even for domestic use, can-
not be had under the distance of two miles.

Newport, the seat of justice for Campbell county, is
situated immediately above the mouth of Licking. Its site
is extensive, elevated, and beautiful, commanding a fine view
both up and down the Ohio river. It is healthy, and affords
good weil-water at the depth of forty feet. The proprietor
of tins town is James Taylor, who laid out a few lots in 1791.
n 1/93, the plan was extended; in 1795 , it became the seat
ox justice; and in 1803 the General Government fixed on it
as the site of an arsenal. But notwithstanding its political
advantages proximity to the Ohio and Licking rivers^-early
settlement and beautiful prospects—this place has advanced
tardily^ and is an inconsiderable village. The houses^ chiefly
of wood, are, with the.exception of a few, rather indifferent;
biK a spirit for better improvement seems to be recently ma¬
nifested. Two acres were, by the proprietor, conveyed to
the county for public buildings, of which only a jail has yet
been erected. The building of a handsome brick court-house

APPENDIX.

104

has, however, been ordered. A market-house has recently
been put up on the river bank, but has not yet attracted the
attention of the surrounding country. Two acres of elevated
ground designated by the proprietor for a common, but,
upon a petition of the inhabitants, the legislature of the
state have lately made it the site of art academy., which^at
the same time they endowed with 6000 acres of land. 1 nlS
land is not productive at present, and the academy is not in
operation; but arrangements are made for the erection of a
brick school-house, and the organization of a school on the
plan of Joseph Lancaster. In this village there is a Baptist
and Methodist congregation, but no permanent meeting¬
houses. It has had a post-office for several years. The
United States’ arsenal is erected immediately above the con¬
fluence of Licking with the Ohio. It consists of a capacious,
oblong, two story armory of brick; a fire-proof conical ma¬
gazine for gunpowder; a stone house for the keeper, and
wooden barracks sufficient for the reception of two or three
regiments of men j the whole inclosed with a stockade..

Covington is a new town, beautifully situated imme¬
diately below Licking river, on the bank of the Ohio. It has
]ust been laid out by J. S. Gano, R. M. Gano, and T. D.
Carneal. It is so planned and surveyed, as to make thy
streets appear to be a continuation of those of Cincinnati.
Each block of lots has the advantage of two sixteen feet alleys.
Liberal donations for public buildings have been made. The
great road to the Miami country, from the interior of Ken¬
tucky, from Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas, passes
through this place, and will be a permanent advantage. It
is in contemplation to connect this place and Newport by a
bridge across the mouth of Licking, a work that deserves an
early execution.

POSITION, ASPECT, AND ELEVATION.

Cincinnati, the metropolis of the Miami country, is situated
in a gradual bend of the Ohio river, on its northern bank.
Its longitude has been determined by Lieut.-Col. Mansfield
and M. de Ferrer, who differ only one minute and a half.
The average of their results is 7° 24' 45" west from Wash¬
ington city. Its latitude, taking the mean betwixt the ob¬
servations of the same astronomers, is 39° 6' 30' north. It
lies, therefore, almost under the meridians of Lexington and

APPENDIX.

105

Detroit^ and nearly in the same parallel with St. Louis, Vin¬
cennes, and Baltimore. By estimation, it is distant, over
land, from Pittsburgh, 300 miles—Chillicothe, 94—Detroit,
275—Louisville, 100—and Lexington, 85.

Its site is the eastern part of a tract of alluvial or bottom
land, bounded on the north by a chain of ridges, on the west
by Mill creek, on the south by the river, and on the east by
Deer creek, a brook which originates in the neighbouring up¬
lands. The area of this plain is about four square miles. It
is unequally elevated, and the upper and lower tables have
received from the inhabitants the names of Hill and Bottom.
The latter (gradually widening) stretches westwardly, from
the mouth of Deer creek, where it is but 200 feet broad, to
the interval lauds of Mill creek. Its medium breadth is
about 800 feet. The north-west portions of this slip are the
lowest. They have been overflown a few times since the set¬
tlement of the town, and in March, 1793, the whole of this
plain was inundated. The Hill rises about fifty feet above
the Bottom. The ascent, which is at first steep, soon becomes
gradual, and continues for the distance of nearly 1000 feet,
when the surface declines gently to the base of the adjoining
high lands. The medium breadth of this table is about one
mile. Its western portions are uneven, and towards Mill
creek descend to the level of the Bottom. On the opposite
side of the river, the valley has nearly the same expansion.
The ranges of hills bordering these extensive plains, intersect
each other in such directions as to compose an imperfect
square, through the north-east and south-west angles of which
the Ohio enters and passes out. Being variously divided by
streams and rivulets, lying at different distances from the
town, and having a dense covering of tall trees, these ridges
afford a pleasant termination to the view; but the prospect
along the river is limited and uninteresting. From Newport,
or Covington, the appearance of the town is beautiful; and, at
a future period, when the streets shall be graduated from the
Hill to the river shore, promises to become magnificent.

For estimating the elevation of Cincinnati and its vicinity
above the tide-water of the Atlantic states, we have no better
data than the following: In the report of the Secretary of
the Treasury, on the subject of roads and canals, it is stated,
that Brownsville, on the Monongahela, is 850 feet above the
Atlantic ocean. If we allow, in the bed of the river from
that town to Cincinnati, a fall of nine inches per mile, we

f 3

106 APPENDIX.

have, in round numbers, 500 feet for the elevation of this
place. The surrounding hills rise about 320 feet higher, and
have therefore the altitude of 820 feet. In the report of the
Commissioners of the state of New York, the surface of Lake
Erie is stated at 525 feet above the tide-water of the Hud¬
son. The central tract, between the Ohio and Erie, is table
land, and gives origin to several rivers, which flow in vallies
that become constantly deeper as you advance towards their
mouths. This will account for their rapidity of current, and
cannot be considered an evidence of any extraordinary eleva¬
tion in that tract. There is reason, however, to believe, that
it is more elevated than the hills around Cincinnati, and con¬
sequently, that the interior of this state is between 900 and
1000 feet high.

The interior of Kentucky is probably not so elevated ; as
the back water of the Ohio, in great floods, ascends the rivers
of that state more than forty miles, while it does not reach
farther up the rivers of this state than ten or fifteen miles.
Upon the whole, the medium elevation of the country, on
both sides of the Ohio, from Erie to the Cumberland moun¬
tains, in the meridian of Cincinnati, may be estimated at 850
feet above the ocean.

GEOLOGY.

The face of the country around Cincinnati having been de¬
picted in the introductory chapter, the reader is prepared
to engage in the examination of its internal structure. If
a geologist, at this place, ascend from the surface of the
Ohio, when low, to the top of an adjoining hill, he observes,
first, a region of tabular limestone and argillaceous slate;
then a tract of alluvion, or bottom, composed chiefly of loam
and clay; succeeded by a tract of the same kind, but more
elevated, apparently more ancient, and consisting principally
of gravel and sand; he then arrives at the same kind of cal¬
careous strata exhibited by the bed of the river; which he
sees surmounted by a stratum of loam, covered with soil, and
supporting occasional masses of granite and other primitive
rocks. In attempting to give some account of these strata,
the following order will be pursued: I. Of the limestone
formation —II. Of the alluvial formation —III. Of the argil¬
laceous formation , or the stratum of loam and soil —IV. Of
the primitive masses.

APPENDIX.

107

I. The calcareous or limestone region under examination,
is the largest perhaps in the known world. Parallel to the
meridian, it extends, with few interruptions, but with con¬
siderable variations of character, from the shores of Lake Erie
to the southern part of the state of Tennessee, and probably
to the cape of East Florida; as Mr. Ellicot informs us that
the rocks of the celebrated reef, bordering that promontory,
are calcareous. From the Muskingum and Great Sandy on
the east, this formation extends westwardly beyond the state
of Ohio; but to what distance has not been ascertained.
After passing the Great Miami, in this direction, the strata
become disjointed, and lose their continuity, but show them¬
selves, occasionally, even beyond the Mississippi. The lead-
mines, in the rear of St. Genevieve, abound in crystallized
carbonate of lime; and the strata of the bed of the river,
near that town, are said to resemble those of Cincinnati,
except that they contain a notable proportion of chert or
petrosilex.

The strata throughout this extensive region agree in having
a horizontal position, and in containing marine remains: it is
therefore a floetz, or secondary formation—a vast precipitate
from a lake or sea of salt water. To what depth it extends
beneath the bed of the Ohio, has not been ascertained. In
some parts of Kentucky, perforations in search of salt have
been made more than 300 feet deep, without passing
through it.

In the qualities and characters of this limestone there is
much diversity. At Cincinnati, it is of blue or grayish blue
colour; has a coarse grain; receives but an indifferent polish ;
is of various densities, with the medium specific gravity of
2.65; affords lime of a dark colour, but of sufficient strength;
and is in strata from one to eighteen inches thick, which al¬
ternate with layers of clay-slate, the argilla fissilis of Turton.
This substance, which is in larger quantities than the rocks
it separates, has a dull blue *colour; breaks into thick irre¬
gular fragments; softens and is diffusable in water; effer¬
vesces with acids; contains neither sulphur nor bitumen;
and has the specific gravity of 2.55. To the south it nearly
disappears, and the calcareous strata change their character,
passing into the state of marble; large quantities of which
are quarried along the Kentucky river. To the east, where
the argillaceous strata disappear, the limestone becomes
charged with silicious earth, the species of slate called shivers

103

APPENDIX.

is discovered, and,, in advancing a little farther, the transition
to sandstone is found to be complete. This takes place before
reaching Chillicothe, on the Scioto river. Limestone, how¬
ever, again shows itself in spots, but with few of the charac¬
ters it exhibits at Cincinnati. To the north of this town, the
argillaceous slate has a great preponderance over the lime¬
stone strata; which have in that direction less solidity, and
are more abundant in marine remains. This is the case for
about fifty miles, when the region of silicious limestone sud¬
denly commences. It appears at first in large quantities, but,
on approaching the sources of the Great Miami, it is seldom
visible. The prevailing colour of this stone is an ash gray;
the proportion of sand or silicious earth is variable; it is fre¬
quently soft and crumbling when taken from the quarry, and
hardens on exposure to the air; in some places, as at Dayton,
it assumes the texture of an indifferent marble; it effervesces
with acids but feebly; abounds in nodules of flint ; affords
white lime by burning; the lamina are generally thicker than
those of the Ohio, and are frequently found consolidated into
huge masses, which have small irregular cavities, and perpen¬
dicular or oblique fissures. An additional distinguishing cha¬
racteristic is the existence of rapids or cascades in all the
streams which flow over it.

BOTANY.

A general treatise on the vegetable productions of the
western part of the state of Ohio, would much exceed the
limits of this work, and still more, the knowledge of its
author. Nothing further, therefore, will be attempted, than
a catalogue of the forest trees, and such herbaceous plants as
are deemed useful in medicine and the arts. Many species
will unquestionably be omitted; but enough, it is hoped, can
be exhibited to prove, that the botanical resources of this
quarter are not inferior to those of any other part of the
United States. ^

FAMILIES. SPECIES.

Cephalanthus occidentals
Cornus florida

- caudidissima

-- alterna

POPULAR NAMES.

Button tree
Dogwood
Swamp dogwood
Alternate-branched ditto

APPENDIX.

109

FAMILIES.

CORNUS

Ptelea

Hamamelis

VlTIS

Hedera

Ceanothus

Euonymus

Celastrus

Lonicera

Ribes

Ulmus

Sambucus

Viburnum

STAPHYLiEA

Rhus

iEscuLUS

Dirca

Vaccinium

SPECIES.

sericea, L.

trifoliata

virginiana

vulpina, L.

labrusca^ L.

serotina

quinquefolia

americanus

carolinensis

sempervirens

scandens

virginiana

oxycanthoides

floridum

americana

mollifolia

nigra

canadensis
prunifolium
trifoliata
radicans, L.
glabrum
typhinum
copallinum
suaveolens, L.

popular names.

Rose or red willow
Shrub trefoil
Witch hazle
Fox grape
Fall grape
Winter grape
Ivy

New Jersey tea

Indian arrow-wood

Evergreen ditto

Staff tree or bittersweet

Honeysuckle

Gooseberry

Black currant

Slippery elm

White elm

Common alder

Red berried alder

Black haw

Bladdernut tree

Poison vine

Sumach

Stagshorn sumach
Lentiscus leaved ditto
Trifoliate sumach

flava., L.
maxima
palustris
stamineum

Common or foetid buckeye
Sfveet buckeye
Marsh leatherwood
Long leaved viccinium

Laurus sassafras

- benzoin

Sassafras

Spicervood

Cercis canadensis

Guilandina dioecia

Hydrangea frutescens

Redbud
Coffee tree
Mock snow ball

Prunus virginiana Wild cherry

-several varieties and perhaps species of plum tree

MespT^us 8 I" ^ ve or s * x s P ec * es an( ^ severa l varieties of haw

no

APPENDIX.

FAMILIES.

Pyrus

Rosa

Rueus

Spiraea

Tilia

Magnolia

SFECIES. POPULAR NAMES.

coronaria
parviflora, L.

Crab apple

} .

lucida, L.
Carolina, L.

> Wild roses

palustris

Swamp rose

fruticosus

Blackberry

hispidus

Running blackberry

occidentalis

Raspberry

opulifolia

Nine bark

tomentosa

Downy spiraea

americana

Black linden tree

pubescens

Oblique-leaved ditto

acuminata

Cucumber tree

Annona glabra

Liriodendron tulipifera

Pawpaw, two varieties
Poplar, yellow and white

Bignonia

Robinia

Ascyrum

Morus

Betula

-— Alnus

Fagus

Carpinus

radicans

pseud-acacia

hypericoides

Trumpet flower
Flowering locust
St. Peter s wort

rubra

nigra

rubra

ferruginea, L.
castanea, L.

Red mulberry
Black birch
Common alder
Beech
Chesnut

L'dbldllud^ JLi. KsUCSJiiCk

betulus virginiana Hornbeam
ostrva r—r —-

J UGLANS

nigra

cinerea, L.
alba ovata
alba minimi
alba odorata

Black walnut
Butternut
Shell-bark hickory
Pig nut
Balsam hickory

There are perhaps other species of this genus, and
several varieties, some ox which appear to be
hybrids.

Pinus Abies americana Hemlock

Platanus occidentalis Sycamore

Quercus macrocarpa Bur oak

■-alba White oak

APPENDIX.

Ill

FAMILIES.

Quehcus

CORYEUS

Thuya

Saeix

SPECIES.

prinos acuminata

prinos monticola

cinerea

tinctoria

falcata

coccinea

americana

occidentalis

nigra

sericea

album

fraxinifolium

VlSCUM

Xanthoxylon
Smieax, four or five species of green briar
POPULUS ’ ’ *'

POPULAR NAMES.

Chesnut oak
Mountain chesnut oak
Upland willow oak
Black oak
Spanish oak
Red oak
Hazle nut

American arbor vitce
Rough barked willow
Ozier
Misselloe
Prickly ash

Taxus

JuNIPERUS

Acer

Ceetis

Biospiros

Geeditsia

Nyssa

Fraxinus

deltoide
tremula
canadensis
virginiana
saccharinum
glaucum

Cotton tree
Aspen

Canadian yew tree
Red cedar
Sugar tree
Red or water ?naple

pennsylvanicum Mountain maple
Box alder
Hackberry

negundo
occidentalis
virginiana
triacanthos
sylvatica
americana? C.

Persimmon
Honey locust
Sour gum
White ash
sambuci folia ? C. Swamp ash
quadrangularis ? L.Blue ash.

REMARKS.

I. The foregoing catalogue comprises about sixty genera*
and upwards of one hundred species of trees, which are
named. If to these we add* the different kinds of crataegus,
mespilus, prunus, smilax, and other shrubs, which are known
to grow in this quarter, but have not yet been scientifically
examined, we have, for the forest of the Miami country, more
than one hundred and twenty species. Mr. Marshall's Ar-
bustum Americanum contains descriptions of one hundred
and five genera, and two hundred and fifty species; from which
it appears that the forest of this district produces more than

APPENDIX.

312

half the genera, and about half the species, which were by
Mr. Marshall known to exist in the United States.

II. Mr. Michaux, as quoted by Dr. Mease, asserts that, in
the United States, there are ninety kinds of trees which grow
above forty feet in height; in the Miami country, there are
about forty-five which attain to that elevation. According to
the same authority, there are, in the Union, thirty species
which rise above sixty feet; in this quarter, there are at least
an equal number which grow to that height. Hence it ap¬
pears that the soil of this tract is superior to that of the
United States generally, for it affords as many trees above
sixty feet in height as all the states taken together, while it
has only half the number of species.

III. The most valuable timber trees are the white flower¬
ing locust, white, black, low-land ehesnut and bur oaks, black
walnut, wild cherry, yellow poplar, blue and white ash, mul¬
berry, honey locust, shell-bark hickory, coffee nut and beech ;
all of which, except the first, are common throughout the
Miami country. Many other species, such as the sweet buck¬
eye, sassafras, sugar-tree, red maple, linden tree, and box-
alder are seldom used for timber, but are of great value in
the mechanical arts. Experience has shown that the timber
of the western country is softer, weaker, and less durable
than that of the Atlantic states; which is no doubt owing to
its more rapid growth in a fertile, calcareous soil, and humid
atmosphere.

IV. The most elegant flowering trees and shrubs are the
following, which excel in the order of their enumeration:
dogwood, red-bud, white flowering locust, crab-apple, honey¬
suckle, black haw, the different species of roses, plums, and
haws, the buckeye and yellow poplar: most of which are
common, and for that reason are seldom transplanted into our
streets or gardens.

V. The beech, white oak, sugar tree, and some kinds of
walnut, hickory, and ash, are the most numerous of any trees
in the Miami country. The flowering locust, abundant in
Kentucky and along the Ohio, is rarely found more than 30
miles north of that river. The ehesnut, persimmon, fox-
grape, and mountain-chesnut oak are still scarcer. The arbor
vitae, hemlock, yew, mountain maple, red berried alder, and
witch hazle, I have only found at the falls of the Little Miami;
while the swamp ash, cucumber tree, rose willow, leather

appendix. Ii3

wood, and aspen, seem to be confined to the more northern
portions of this tract.

VI. The juglans paean (a species of hickory), aralia spi-
nosa (angelica tree), and bignonia catalpa (catalpa tree), are
common in the Indiana territory as far north as the latitude
of Cincinnati, but are not found east of the Great Miami.
The white cedar and cypress (cupressus thyoides and dis-
ticha) are found on the river Wabash; and the white pine
(pinus strobus) is said to be occasionally seen on the waters
of the Muskingum; but neither is found in the Miami
country. The cane (arunda gigantea) seems not to have at
any time grown north of the Ohio, in this state. On the
Wabash it is frequently seen, but seldom pushes itself further
north than 39°. In the fertile parts of Kentucky, this vege¬
table, 25 years ago, formed extensive and almost impenetrable
brakes, which have long since been devoured by cattle, and at
present not a single stalk can be found.

FUEL.

Wood is the chief article of fuel at this place. Beech, ash,
hickory, sugar-tree, oak, red maple, honey locust, and buckeye,
are most in use. The first, from its excellence and profusion,
will long continue to be burnt in larger quantities than any of
the others. Many teams are constantly employed in hauling
wood into the town from the surrounding hills; but the prin¬
cipal part is rafted and boated down the Ohio and Licking
rivers—the channels through which this important article
will be mainly received in future.

As no coal has been discovered near to Cincinnati, but little
of it is yet consumed here, except by manufacturers, it is
brought from Pittsburgh, and sold on the river shore at 10 or
15 cents per bushel. The English chaldrons seem to be un¬
known in the measure of this article on the Ohio.

MARKETS.

There are two market-houses, and at one or the other of
these, fresh meats can be had, except in the midst of winter,
on every day in the week but the Sabbath. On the regular
market days, however, the shambles are much more abun¬
dantly stored, and exhibit beef, veal, pork, and mutton. The
last is of superior excellence; the first, though generally good,
is said to be inferior in flavour to that of the maritime states,
which, if true, is no doubt to be ascribed to a diiference in the

114

APPENDIX.

mode of fattening. The poultry is fine. The supply of fish
is not great, though in the Ohio they are abundant. Perch,
pike, eel, yellow-cat, and swordfish are most esteemed—to
these may be added the soft-shelled turtle, which is considered
a great delicacy. Venison is brought from the woods during
the proper season, and bear meat is now and then offered.
The quantity of butter and cheese is in general not equal to
the demand, and much of both is of an inferior quality, which
arises from the want of better dairies, and a greater number
of good cows, than have yet been introduced into the fertile
pasture grounds of the Miamies. Of vegetables, our markets
afford an abundance. Among these are a great variety of
fruits, both native and cultivated. Of the former, blackber¬
ries, crab apples, pawpaws, fall, winter, and fox grapes, mul¬
berries, plums, wild cherries, cranberries, and the nuts of the
walnut, hickory, and chesnut, are the principal. Of the latter
may be enumerated many fine varieties of apple, peaches of a
delicious flavour, pears, cherries, plums, quinces, raspberries,
currants, gooseberries, strawberries, grapes, and various kinds
of fine melons. All the culinary roots, herbs, and pulse, of
the middle states, with the sweet potatoe of the south, are
plentiful and delicious.

Within four years the prices of many articles in our markets
have advanced, which indicates a rate of increase in the popu¬
lation of the town greater than that of the surrounding
country. The effect of this will be, an increase in the num¬
ber of grazing farms, the erection of larger dairies, and the
cultivation of more extensive gardens, for"the whole of which
the vicinity of this place is most eligibly situated.

MANUFACTURES.

It is six years since a manufactory of cotton and woollen
machinery was established, in which time 23 cotton spinning
mules and throstles, carrying 3300 spindles; 71 roving and
drawing heads; 14 cotton and 91 wool-carding machines;
besides wool-spinning machinery to the amount of 130 spin¬
dles, twisting machines and cotton gins have been made.
Plated saddlery and carriage mounting of all kinds, many dif¬
ferent articles of jewellery, and silver ware of every sort—after
the most fashionable models, and handsomely enchased , are
manufactured. Swords, dirks, &c. are mounted in any form,
and either plated or gilt. Clocks of every kind are made,
and watches repaired.

APPENDIX.

115

Sills, chimney-pieces, monuments, and, in short, all the
varieties of stone-cutting, are executed with neatness and
taste. Common pottery, of a good quality, is made in suf¬
ficient quantity for home consumption. A manufactory of
green window glass and hollow ware is about to go into
operation, and will be followed by another of white flint glass
the ensuing summer. Clean sand, of a beautiful white
colour, has been found in abundance near the mouth of the
Scioto; but no clay proper for crucibles has been discovered
as yet on the Ohio, and that article has to be brought from
the state of Delaware.

The principal manufactures in wood are the following:—
sideboards, secretaries, bureaus, and other articles of cabinet
furniture; all of which may be had of a superior quality,
made either of our beautiful cherry and walnut, or of maho¬
gany freighted up the Mississippi. Fancy chairs and settees,
elegantly gilt and varnished. Waggons, carts, and drays,
coaches, phaetons, gigs, and other pleasure carriages, trimmed
and ornamented. Plane stocks, weavers' reeds, and the dif¬
ferent productions of the lathe, comprehending wheels, chairs,
screws, &c. The various kinds of coopers’ work, for the exe¬
cution of which a machine has been erected, and is now in
full operation. The author of this invention is William
Bailey, of Kentucky, who in 1811 obtained a patent. The
power is given by one or two horses, which, with a man and
a boy, can dress and joint, in a superior manner, the staves
necessary for one hundred barrels, hogsheads, or pipes, in
twelve hours. It can also be employed in shaving and
jointing shingles, with equal advantage. The proprietors of
the establishment in this place are making arrangements for
the exportation of dressed staves to New Orleans.

To the productions in wood may be added the steam saw¬
mill, erected on the river bank, below but adjoining the
town. The principal building is a strong frame, 70 by 56
feet, and three stories high. ‘The engine drives four saws in
separate gates , acting at the rate of 80 times in a minute,
making the product of each saw about 200 feet of boards an
hour. The carriages run upon cast racks , are propelled by
the improved short handy and gigged backwards by bevel
ivheels, in the manner of the best mills. The logs to be
sawed are chiefly brought in rafts to the beach, and drawn up
the bank and into the mill by power from the engine. Other

116

APPENDIX.

branches of business will be carried on in this establishment.
The engine is estimated at 20 horse power, and of Evans'
patent, except the condenser, which the proprietors have
abandoned, as being attended with a degree of trouble and
expense altogether disproportionate to its advantage. In
place of this, they pour on the waste steam a current of cold
water, which, becoming instantly heated, is employed to re¬
plenish the boilers. The Steam Mill Company, and Cincinnati
Manufacturing Company, have adopted the same alteration,
with great success.

There are four cotton spinning establishments, most of
them small. The whole contain upwards of 1200 spindles,
which are moved by horses. Wool-carding is performed in
several places, and an extensive woollen manufactory, de¬
signed and calculated to yield 60 yards of broad cloth per
day, will be in operation the ensuing winter. It is owned by
the Cincinnati Manufacturing Company. The machinery is
driven by an engine of 20 horse power. The products of the
looms at this place have not been great; but several hand¬
some pieces of carpeting, diaper, plaid, denim, and other
cotton fabrics, deserve to be mentioned. Cables, the various
kinds of small cordage and spun yarn , are made in two ex¬
tensive ropewalks. The latter has for some years been an
article of exportation. Wool hats are not manufactured
here; but fur hats, of good quality, are made in such quanti¬
ties, as to give a surplus for exportation to the Mississippi,
where they are exchanged for peltry. The tanning and cur¬
rying of leather is carried on at six tan-yards in this place
and its vicinity; and the manufacture of shoes, boots, and
saddlery, is extensive. Skin-dressing in alum is executed
with neatness. Trunks covered with deer skin and oil cloth,
leather gloves, and a great variety of brushes, are made, of a
good quality. Blank books, and all kinds of common and
extra binding, are executed with neatness.

The Cincinnati Manufacturing Company have embraced, in
their plan, manufactories of white and red lead, of such extent,
as will yield six or seven tons per week. The latter is not
yet completed; but the former, which is the third that has been
erected between the Mississippi and the mountains, is in ope¬
ration, and produces white lead of an excellent quality. It
must indeed be superior to that brought from the Atlantic
states, as it has no mixture of whiting , with which the im-

APPENDIX.

117

ported white lead is always alloyed.* Arrangements for a
sugar refinery were made early in the present year 3 the
buildings have been commenced, and the establishment will
be in operation in a few weeks. Tobacco and snuff are manu¬
factured in four different shops. Pot and pearl-ash, soap of
various kinds, and candles, are made in such quantities as to
give a large surplus for exportation.

The rectification of spirit and distillation of cordials, are
prosecuted to such a degree as to give an ample supply of the
latter for domestic use. But these establishments, both in
extent and utility, are eclipsed by our breweries. The first
was erected on the river bank, in the lower part of the town,
four years ago, and uses the river water; the other was esta¬
blished since, on a smaller scale, and derives its waters from
wells and cisterns. The two are calculated to consume an¬
nually 30,000 bushels of barley. Their products are beer,
porter, and ale, of a quality at least equal to that of the At¬
lantic states. Large quantities have been exported to the
Mississippi, even as far as New-Orleans, the climate of which
they are found to bear very well.

The manufacture of flour, at the steam-mill, will be carried
on to a great extent. The machinery is all on the plan of
Oliver Evans, and driven by an engine of 70 horse power.
Four pair of six feet burr stones will be run. Two pair have
been in motion for several months, and produce about 60
barrels of flour per day; the whole, when in operation, will, it
is expected, afford 700 barrels a week. The flour is generally
of a superior quality.

In the year 1814 a mustard manufactory was erected
above the town; but has not yet got into such extensive ope¬
ration as to supersede the importation of that article.

In the fine arts we have not anything to boast; but it is
worthy of being mentioned, that all kinds of labelling, sign
and ornamental painting, together with the engraving on
copper of official and other seals, cards of address, and vig¬
nettes, is executed with taste and elegance.

COMMERCE.

Vessels .—Flat bottomed boats, keel boats, and barges, are
the vessels in which the commerce of this place has hitherto
been carried on. The first will long continue to be employed

* See Cooper’s Emporium of Arts and Sciences.

118

APPENDIX.

in transporting heavy articles down the Ohio; but the latter,
it is probable, will be in a great degree superseded by steam¬
boats, of which two kinds are coming into use on the western
waters. From these inventions the people on this river an¬
ticipate many substantial advantages—more, perhaps, than
will be realized; but all must admit, that no country on
earth, equally fertile with this, can be more benefited by such
boats. The reduction of the voyage from New Orleans to
Cincinnati from a hundred to thirty days,* is equivalent to
an approximation of the two places, or to the annihilation of
two-thirds of the distance, and superadds, to the security
and abundance of a temperate interior region, the productions
of the south, and of all foreign lands.

Exports .—Of these, flour is the chief article, and several
thousand barrels are annually exported from the Miami
country to New Orleans. After this follow pork, bacon, and
lard; whiskey, peach brandy, beer, and porter; pot and pearl
ash; cheese, soap, and candles; hemp and spun yarn; wal¬
nut, cherry, and blue ash boards; cabinet furniture and
chairs; to which might be advantageously added kiln-dried
Indian meal, for the West Indies.

Imports .—The different kinds of East Indian, European,
and New England goods, with several manufactures of the
middle states, are received from Philadelphia and Baltimore,
but chiefly from the former. It is not difficult to foresee,
however, that at no distant time the ingress of foreign mer¬
chandise will be through other channels. A portage of three
hundred miles, over high and rugged mountains, must at all
times be more expensive than ascending a navigable river five
times the distance. Whenever the General Government shall
complete the road from the navigable waters of the Potomac
to those of the Ohio, the expense of transportation by land
will be so far reduced, that factories and other mercantile
houses, will perhaps at no distant period be established on
the former of these rivers. Should New York execute the
canal which it has projected, the metropolis of that flourishing
state will probably become one of our inlets for foreign goods.
But the great emporium of the western country in future
must be New Orleans. To effect this change in the current
of importation, but three things are necessary~more exten¬
sive and wealthy mercantile houses in that city; an improve-

* Now done in twelve clays.— Edit.

APPENDIX.

119

inent in the navigation of the Ohio at the Falls; and an in¬
creased number of steam-boats. Even under existing cir¬
cumstances many articles are brought from thence at a lower
price than from the eastern cities; of which coffee, salt fish,
claret, and some other wines, copperas, queensware, paints,
mahogany, and logwood, may be cited as examples. In ad¬
dition to these, we obtain from the state of Louisiana, of its
productions, sugar and molasses, cotton, rice, salted hides,
3 nd some other articles.

Our imports from the Missouri territory are lead, peltry,
and skins—from Tennessee and Kentucky, cotton, tobacco,
salt-petre, and marble—from Pennsylvania and Virginia, bar,
rolled, and cast iron, with several of the manufactures of that
metal; millstones, coal, salt, glassware, pine-timber, and
plank. Castings of an excellent quality are brought from
Zanesville and Brush creek, iu this state. And furs are
obtained from the waters of the Great Miami, Wabash, and
Maumee.

The goods brought for consumption in this quarter are
kept in more than seventy shops. Of these about sixty con¬
tain dry goods, hard, glass, and queens wares, liquors, and
groceries. The others are stores for iron, shoes, and drugs.

Cincinnati was made a port of entry in 1808, but the busi¬
ness of building ships having been discontinued on the Ohio,
no vessel has yet cleared from this place.

FUTURE CONSEQUENCE.

It will, perhaps, to many persons at a distance, and particu¬
larly to those who have not studied our natural and com¬
mercial geography, appear altogether visionary, if not boastful,
to speak of cities on these western waters. Yet it is certain,
that those who have contemplated this country with most
attention, are strongest in the belief, that many of the vil¬
lages which have sprung up within thirty years, on the banks
of the Ohio and Mississippi, are destined, before the termi¬
nation of the present century, to attain the rank of populous
'and magnificent cities. The grounds which support this
prediction are too broad to be travelled over at this time;
but it may be rendered plausible in a high degree, merely by
a reference to the Mississippi. If we consider the quantity
of water discharged by this great river—the vast extent and
number of its branches, many of which exceed in length the

APPENDIX.

120

largest rivers of Europe—the general direction of the main
trunk, nearly from north to south, passing through more than
fifteen degrees of latitude, in the temperate zone—the diver¬
sities of aspect, and inexhaustible fertility, of the region
which it irrigates—the boundless and perennial forests, which,
in the east, and in the north, overshadow its sources—the
numerous beds of coal and iron which enrich its banks—the
reciprocal ties and dependencies, which can never cease to
operate, between the inhabitants of its upper and lower por¬
tions—the numerous states which will possess in its naviga¬
tion a common interest, that must for ever constitute a bond
of political and commercial amity—we must be convinced,
that there is no river on earth of equal importance ; or, at
least, none on whose countless tributary streams so many
millions can subsist.

Of all the ramifications which enter into the composition
of this majestic river, the Ohio will unquestionably retain, for
ages, the highest rank. What comparison the countries de¬
pendent on it will ultimately bear to the Hudson, the Dela¬
ware, or Potomac, cannot at this time be determined; but
any hypothesis that assigns to the former a decreasing ratio
of improvement will be seen to have no foundation; the
opinion that these states cannot support even a denser popu¬
lation than any in the east, is altogether groundless; the as¬
sociations of wildness and ferocity—ignorance and vice, which
the mention of this distant land has hitherto excited, must
ere long be dissolved; and our Atlantic brethren will behold,
with astonishment, in the green and untutored states of the
West, an equipoise for their own. Debarred, by their loca¬
lity, from an inordinate participation in foreign luxuries, and
consequently secured from the greatest corruption introduced
by commerce—secluded from foreign intercourse, and thereby
rendered patriotic—compelled to engage in manufactures,
which must render them independent—secure from conquest,
or even invasion, and therefore without the apprehensions
which prevent the expenditure of money in solid improve¬
ments—possessed of a greater proportion of freehold estates
than any people on earth, and of course made industrious, in¬
dependent, and proud—the inhabitants of this region are
obviously destined to an unrivalled excellence in agriculture,
manufactures, and internal commerce—in literature and the
arts—in public virtue, and in national strength.

Where will be erected the chief cities of this promising

APPENDIX.

121

.i 1 ma > r be answered with certainty— on the borders
of the Ohio nver. They are not likely to become places of
political importance, for these must lie towards the centres of
the states which this river will divide; but the commercial
and manufacturing advantages that exist in lieu of the poli¬
tical, are so much superior, as to justify, in this inquiry," the
omission of every town not situated on the Ohio. Pitts¬
burgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville, are the places which at
present have the fairest prospects of future greatness. The
age of Cincinnati is intermediate to the others. Their popu¬
lation and business correspond at present with the order of
thmr enumeration; but the time is apparently not remote
Pot? r- C erei f U C0 “Pfative rank will be assigned them.
Sf, Cl T m "r f Ud LouisvilIe seem destined to surpass
Pittsburgh. 10 this prediction the inhabitants of that town

or 111 L years the entrepot of all the Ohio countries—are
not expected to assent. It will even be regarded by them as
groundless and arrogant; but without stopping to anticipate
and lepel the charges of self-interest and vain-glory, I shall
proceed to a brief exposition of the relative advantages of that
own and this. It is well known to all the people of the
United States, that for twenty years, both foreign and At¬
lantic goods to the amount of several millions of dollars, have
been annually waggoned to Pittsburgh, deposited in its ware-
louses, ana snipped m its boats for the country below. The
expense of these operations has, of course, been defrayed bv
ie consumers. m Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and the ad-
joimiig territories, who have thus made to the prosperity of
Pittsburgh a yearly contribution of great value. Hundreds
ot our merchants were passing, moreover, through this town;
und it was early discovered, that, if manufactures were esta-
lshed, it would be possible to dispose of many articles re¬
quired in the newer_ settlements below. Hence founderies,
glass-houses, breweries, and iron manufactories of various
kinds, were erected ; and the wares of this - Birmingham of
America, superadaed to the merchandise of the East, soon
spread extensively over our country. During such a period
of commercial prosperity, the borough could not but flourish;
and were the causes of its growth as permanent as they have
been efficient it would unquestionably retain an enviable
superiority. But a change in the current of our importations
such a change as has already begun—must inevitably re¬
duce the ratio of improvement in that place, just as much as

AFPENDIX.

122

it will be increased by the same cause in Cincinnati, Louis¬
ville, and the other towns below. The waggoners employed
in the transportation of our merchandise from Philadelphia;
the boat builders, and commission merchants; the freighters,
and those who manufacture for these populous young states,
will no longer receive our specie for their services, and must
of course find other employments, or emigrate to other towns.
The coal and iron of that place will indeed long continue
abundant; but these are easily floated with the current to
the towns below; which can thus establish the manufactures
dependent on these important articles, with nearly as much
facility as they are set up in Pittsburgh—while that town
must obtain its cotton and sugar, its hemp and lead, at an
expense of freightage, taking these articles together, more
than twice as great as that paid by us. The country around
that place is, moreover, rugged and sterile, in comparison
with that about either Cincinnati or Louisville; and the
greatest population it can support will have a correspondent
rarity. Pittsburgh, therefore, has not so high a destination
as its younger rivals to the westward, but it must for ever
maintain a very important and respectable rank.

The chief advantage which Louisville possesses over Cin¬
cinnati, is the partial interruption of commerce at that place
by the foils of the Ohio. The cargoes of boats, when the
water is low, are waggoned for two miles round those rapids.
This net only gives employment to a great number of hands,
but it makes the town one of the heads of navigation—a place
ef debarkation and deposit—where, of course, an active mer¬
cantile business may be done. If these obstructions to the
navigation were irreinoveable, Louisville would certainly
arrive at a very exalted degree of commercial greatness. . But
the opinion of professional engineers is such as to dissipate
much of this interesting prospect. The desired improvement
was actually commenced more than a year ago; and although
the prosecution of it has been for some time suspended—by
causes not necessarily connected with the undertaking'—there
can be no doubt of its being resumed, and finished before the
lapse of many years. When this is done, the commercial
importance of that town must receive a signal reduction; but
still it will possess the peculiar advantage of a site for great
water works. It will, moreover, be the emporium of an ex¬
tensive and fruitful district in Kentucky; for which its
situation, on a southern bend of the Ohio, gives it a number

APPENDIX.

123

cL^vxrf 3568 ' Stfll there are reasons for believing that
Sr? f TO BE ™ FUTURE metropolis op Ini
° X , Its • S7/ V S . more ell S n ’ ]e ‘ban that of most other towns

than Loiiisville * 1S , s “ sce P tlbIe . of being rendered healthier
TbI rp • i 1 j a - nd 18 extensive enough for a lar^e city

so that'al^th^V 4 T th l South ~ east > soutl1 , and south-west,
so that all the streets, if extended, would, at one or both

T^hn, ln t t 1 erse f tlie nver withiu the limits of the cornoration

whtb% ef ° r ^ " great exteilt ^ore, along the S ole of

S s On^r/ P ef T Shml *° r«™>‘ the landing of

A survey of the Ohio will exhibit to us the important fact

So wTereM". ,rgh Lo " isvill ° there is not a single
spot where a future rival to Cincinnati can be raised up

m“y be' S ee y n a tha?T Ce t “ ‘ he “P ° f the Mira,i “nntry, ii
Mavsville wb^h * th? i IVer -i m a PP r °aching Cincinnati from
north-west • that mi ? S above ’ runs generally to the

course and * i P assni S the to ™> it soon alters its

cornse, and hows nearly to the south for more than fort-

co^LTilirT^fj ’ tIlat Cincinnati lies in a situation to
mmand the trade of the eastern and western, as well as the

mSLnXf 1 K - M r ‘ r ,! ‘T This’ is the Jase for

more than thnty miles m those directions; and when the im¬
provement of the roads shall be such as to facilitate inter¬
course with this place, the power it must exercise over these
opposite districts will be still greater. The adjoining parts
of Kentucky, although politically disconnected, must Ydim

Cincinnati ° Thus'il^fth'' 6 - 1 ' COmmerci " 1 dependence oS
Cincinnati. I bus it is the permanent mart and trading

New a R f 3 W xi° Se f’ ea eqUals the cultivable portion of

as^-ats - tity *

.-these are some of the local advantages of Cincinnati and

irsitT: sp f; «. **

arn,Vmnf b t t f , mot fai1 t0 realize their most glowin«*
anticipations of future greatness. ^ 0

G 2

124

APPENDIX.

Extracts from the Rev. Timothy Flint’s “ Recollections of
the last Ten Years passed in occasional Residences ana
Journeyings in the Valley of the Mississippi•

“ Eleven years since, this was the only place tnat could
properly be called a town, on the course of the Ohio and
Mississippi, from Steubenville to Natchez, a distance of
fifteen hundred miles. It is far otherwise now. But even
then you cast your eye upon a large and compact town, a^
extended your view over the river to the fine buildings inmg
on the slope of the opposite shore, and contemplated tne
steam-manufactories, darting their columns of smoxe aloic.
All this moving picture of wealth, populousness, and activity,
has been won from the wilderness within forty years % In
1815-16, it contained between eight and nine thousand in¬
habitants, handsome streets, a number o ; churches, one a
very large one, a very spacious building mr a Lancastrian
school, and other piddle buildings, and two commodious
market-houses. On the opposite shore rose a considerate

m i o/vmn Vmrinsinmp

marKet-nouses. v^n me - . ;

village; an arsenal of brick some_'>““1 ““"f’S !’S

village; an arsemu ui uns**., r " x . ' a-

one or two country-seats., that rose still farther, in
tance. The buildings on each side were placed m positions,
that displayed them to the best possible advantage, on gentle
slopes rising gradually from the shores of the river. V\ hue 1
am writing, it is supposed to contain between sixteen and
twenty thousand inhabitants, with the increase of every ap¬
pendage to city comfort, beauty, and opulence, m more than
a commensurate proportion with its increasing population.
It is a fund for proud anticipation, to minds tnat sympathise
with the welfare of their country and of man. Inis great
state, which was, within my -memory, an unbroken wilder¬
ness, is now, at farthest, only the fourth state in the union m
point of numbers. There are not, probably, on die earth
seven hundred thousand human beings, who in the mass are
more comfortably fed and clothed, than the population of this
state. I looked upon this fresh and flourishing city, out¬
stretched under my eye, and compared in thought its progress
with that of the imperial Petersburgh—where a great and in¬
telligent despot said, f Let there be a city/ and a city arose
upon a Golgotha, upon piles ot human bones and skulls, that
gave consistency ti a morass. The awe of a numberless
soldiery, the concentered resources of thirty millions ot slat es.

APPENDIX.

125

the will of the sovereign, who made the same use of men that
the mason does of bricks and mortar, must all conspire to
form a city in that place. Droves of peasants are trans¬
planted from the extremities of Asia to people it. Imperial
treasures are lavished to furnish inducements to entice the
noblesse to build and reside there. A despotic court displays
there Asiatic magnificence, and squanders the means of
ministering to its caprices and its pleasures. The result of
all these concurring causes is the erection of one splendid city
in the midst of a desert; and more human beings, probably,
perished in this unnatural forcing of a city, than inhabit it at
this day.

How different are the fostering efforts of liberty. Sixteen
hundred miles from the sea, in half an age, this flourishing
and beautiful town has emerged from the woods, and when as
old as Petersburgh now is, will probably, in wealth and popu¬
lation, emulate the imperial city. No troops are stationed,
no public money lavished hete. It is not even the state me¬
tropolis. The people build and multiply imperceptibly and
in silence. Nothing is forced. This magnificent result is
only the developement of our free and noble institutions upon
a fertile soil. Nor is this place the solitary point, where the
genius of our institutions is working this result. Numerous
cities and towns, over an extent of two thousand of miles,
are emulating the growth of this place. The banks of the
Ohio are destined shortly to become almost a continued
village. Eleven years have produced an astonishing change
in this respect; for at that distance of time, by far the
greater proportion of the course of the Ohio was through
a forest. When you saw this city, apparently lifting its
head from surrounding woods, you found yourself at a loss to
imagine whence so many people could be furnished with
supplies. In the fine weather, at the commencement of
winter, it is only necessary *to go to the market of this town,
and see its exuberant supplies of every article for con¬
sumption, in the finest order, and of the best quality j to see
the lines of waggons, and the astonishing quantities of every
kind of produce, to realize, at once, all that you have read
about the growth of Ohio.

In one place you see lines of waggons in the Pennsylvania
style. In another place the Tunkers, with their long and
flowing beards, have brought up their teams with their fat
mutton and fine flour. Fowls, domestic and wild turkeys.

126

APPENDIX,

venison, those fine birds which are here called partridges, and
which we call quails, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, equally
excellent and cheap—in short, all that you see in Boston
market, with the exception of the same variety of fish, and
all these things, in the greatest abundance, are here. In one
quarter there are wild animals that have been taken in the
woods 5 cages of red-birds and parroquets; and in another,
old ladies, with roots, herbs, nuts, mittens, stockings, and
what they call f Yankee notions.' My judgment goes with
the general assertion here, that no place, in proportion to its
size, has a richer or more abundant market than Cincinnati."

“ An astonishing growth of weeds, and tangled vegetation
in the inclosed lots and fields, attest the qualities of the soil.
There are a great many handsome gardens, neatly laid out,
and ornamented with the most vigorous and luxuriant growth
of vines, ornamental shrubs, and fruit-trees. As you "recede
from town and the Ohio bottom, the country becomes
agreeably uneven, and undulating, though apparently as rich
as the bottom. These elevations are so abrupt and consider¬
able, that you have seldom many houses in view from the
same point. Some of the sites for the farms, in the vicinity
of the town, are delightfully romantic. The experiment has
abundantly verified, that speculation and wealth, without
natural advantages, in the United States, cannot force a
town. Every thing, with us, must be free, even to the ad¬
vancement of a town. Nothing will grow vigorously in our
land from artificial cultivation, nor unless nature works at the
root. If speculation, as is said, founded this flourishing town,
it happened for once to select the place, where nature and the
actual position of things called for one. It is intermediate
between the two Miamies, in the centre of a very rich region
of country, where points of river and road communication,
from the most fertile districts and remotest sections of the
state, terminate. The result demonstrates, that the wonderful
improvement of the town only keeps pace with the advance¬
ment and cultivation of the country.

The great state, of which this town is the natural, though
not the political, metropolis, spreads from the lakes on the
north, to the Ohio on the south, on which it fronts for many
hundred miles. In the north-west, where it joins Indiana;
on Mad river, and on the Scioto, it evidences its proximity to
the prairie region of the west. These prairies are but di-

APPENDIX.

miuutive, though fertile copies of the more western ones.
The far greater proportion of this state is thickly timbered
with a heavy and deep forest, the classes of whose trees and
shrubs have been often described, and are well known. One
remark may convey some general idea of the forest. There
are very few evergreens, or terehinthine trees, if we except
some few cypress trees, and all the trees are deciduous.
With the exception, perhaps, of Illinois, this state affords the
greatest bodies of good land in America. On its whole wide
surface, there is scarcely any land so hilly, sterile, or marshy,
as with moderate labour may not be subdued, drained, and
cultivated. Toward the north there are indeed extensive
tracts of marshy country; but when drained, as they will
easily be, they will become the most productive lands.
Besides this tract there are no wide morasses, no extensive
inundated swamps, no sterile mountains, or barren plains.
The whole region seems to have invited that hardy and
numerous body of freeholders, that inhabit it, to select them¬
selves moderate, and nearly equal-sized farms, and to dot
and intersperse them over its surface. And in respect of the
smallness of the farms, the number and equality of them, and
the compactness of its population, not confined, as is the case
farther west, to the water-courses, but diffused over the whole
state, it compares very accurately with its parent, New-Eng-
land.

To an eye, however, that could contemplate the whole re¬
gion from an elevated point, it would, even yet, exhibit a great
proportion of unbroken forest, only here and there chequered
with farms. And yet in the country towns, and better settled
districts, any spectacle that collects the multitude, a training,
an ordination, an election, the commencement of any great
public work, causes a rush from the woods and the forests,
which, like the tenanted trees of the poets, in the olden time,
seem to have given birth to crowds of men, women, and children,
pouring towards the point of attraction. The greater part of
the land, in the settled districts, is taken up, as the phrase is.
But the population has yet, by no means, advanced towards
the density of which it is capable. The gigantic strides, by
which this state has swept by most of those that witnessed its
birth, seem to justify all the proud anticipations of the most
sanguine patriots, and even the turgid predictions of fourth of
July orators. If its progress for the future should correspond

128

APPENDIX.

with that of the past, in one century it will probably compare
with the most populous and cultivated regions of Europe/'

“Efforts to promote polite literature have jilready been
made in this town. If its only rival, Lexington, be, as she
contends, the Athens of the west, this place is struggling to
become its Corinth. There were, eleven vears since, two
gazettes, and two booksellers' shops, although, unhappily,
novels were the most saleable article. The rudiments of
general taste, were, however, as yet but crude and unformed.
The prevalent models of grandeur, beauty, and taste, in com¬
position and style, were those that characterized fourth of
July orations, in the first years of our Independence."

“ Every new inspection of the town, and every excursion
in its vicinity, gave me more imposing views of its resources
and anticipations. Improvements are rising every day. Car¬
penters, masons, boat-builders, mechanics of all descriptions,
were numerous, and found ample occupation, and there were
daily calls for more.

In making remoter journies from the town, beside the
rivulets, and in the little bottoms, not yet in cultivation, I
discerned the smoke rising in the woods, and heard the strokes
of the axe, the tinkling of bells, and the baying of dogs, and
saw the newly arrived emigrant either rearing his log cabin,
or just entered into possession. It has afforded me more
pleasing reflections, a happier train of associations, to contem¬
plate these beginnings of social toil in the wide wilderness,
than, in our more cultivated regions, to come in view of the
most sumptuous mansion. Nothing can be more beautiful than
these little bottoms, upon which these emigrants, if I may so
say, deposit their household goods. Springs burst forth in the
intervals between the high and low grounds. The trees and
shrubs are of the most beautiful kind. The brilliant red-bird
is seen flitting among the shrubs, or, perched on a tree, seems
welcoming, in her mellow notes, the emigrant to his abode.
Flocks of parroquets are glittering among the trees, and gray
squirrels are skipping from branch to branch. In the midst
of these primeval scenes, the patient and laborious father fixes
his family. In a few weeks they have reared a comfortable
cabin, and other out buildings. Pass this place in two years,
and you will see extensive fields of corn and wheat; a young

APPENDIX.

129

and thrifty orchard, fruit-trees of all kinds, the guaranty of
present abundant subsistence, and of future luxury. Pass it
in ten years, and the log buildings will have disappeared.
The shrubs and forest trees will be gone. The Arcadian as¬
pect of humble and retired abundance and comfort, will have
given place to a brick house, with accompaniments like those
that attend the same kind of house in the older countries.
By this time, the occupant, who came there with, perhaps, a
small sum of money and moderate expectations, from humble
life, and with no more than a common school education, has
been made, in succession, member of the assembly, justice of
the peace, and finally, county judge. He has long been in the
habit of thinking of a select society, and of founding a family.
I admit, that the first residence among the trees affords the
most agreeable picture to my mind; and that there is an in¬
expressible charm in the pastoral simplicity of those years,
before pride and self-consequence have banished the repose of
their Eden, and when you witness the first struggles of social
toil with the barren luxuriance of nature.”

"At a small town at the mouth of Kentucky river, I
crossed into that state. I had for some part of the day’s
ride, for a companion, a very interesting young man from
Suabia, in Germany. Highly gifted and educated, he enter-*
tained and expressed very different views of this country
from those of most of the European travellers of this class
that we find here. Neither given to indiscriminate praise
nor censure, he saw and admitted how different an asylum
these free and fertile regions offered to his poor countrymen,
from the overpeopled and oppressed countries of Europe.”

" You will no where see fairer and fresher complexions, or
fuller and finer forms, than you see in the young men and
women, who are generally exempted from the necessity of
labour. They have a mild and temperate climate, a country
producing the greatest abundance, and sufficiently old to have
possessed itself of all the comforts of life. The people live
easily and plentifully, and on the '‘finest of the wheat.” The
circumstances, under which they are born, tend to give them
the most perfect developement- of person and form. It struck
me, that the young native Kentuckians were, in general, the
largest race that I had seen. There was obvious, at once, a
considerable difference of manners between the people of this

130

APPENDIX.

and the opposite states, that do not possess slaves. The
villages are full of people, that seem to have plenty of leisure.
The bell of the court-house—for their villages were generally
destitute of a church—would, on a half hour's previous notice,
generally assemble a full audience, to what is here technically
called ‘ a preaching/ It was easy to see, in the complexion,
manner, and dress of the audience, a greater exemption from
personal labour, than I had witnessed elsewhere. Striking
marks of rustic opulence appear impressed upon every thing
here. There is a great difference in the manners of the
taverns here, from those of the Atlantic towns. The public
houses assemble a great number of well-dressed boarders,
townsmen, and strangers. The meals are served up with no
small degree of display and splendour. The lady hostess is
conducted by some dandy to her chair, at the head of the table,
which seems to be considered a post of no small honour, and
which she fills with a suitable degree of dignity/'

“ The ease and opulence, that are so visible in the appear¬
ance of the people, are equally so in the houses, their appen¬
dages, and furniture. Travelling through the villages in this
fertile region, where the roads are perfectly good, and where
every elevation brings you in view of a noble farm-house, in
the midst of its orchards, and sheltered by its fine groves of
forest and sugar-maple trees, you would scarcely realize, that
the first settlers in the country, and they men of mature age
when they settled in it, were, some of them, still living. Every
thing is young or old only by comparison. The inhabitants,
who are more enthusiastic and national than the other western
people, and look with a proud disdain upon the younger states,
designate their own state, with the veneration due to age, by
the name of f 01 d Kentucky/ To them it is the home of all
that is good, fertile, happy, and great. As the English are
said to go to battle with a song extolling their roast beef,
instead of saying their prayers, so the Kentuckian, when about
to encounter danger, rushes upon it, crying, ‘ Hurrah for old
Kentucky/ Every one in the western country has heard the
anecdote, that a methodist preacher from this state, in another
state, was preaching, and expatiating upon the happiness of
heaven. Having gradually advanced towards the cap of his
climax, ‘ In short/ said he, ‘ my brethren, to say all in one
word, heaven is a Kentuck of a place/ ”

APPENDIX.

131

“When the first emigrants entered this country, in its
surface so gently waving, with such easy undulations, so many
clear limestone springs and branches, so thickly covered with
cane, with pawpaw, and a hundred species of flowering trees
and shrubs, among which fed innumerable herds of deer, and
buffaloes, and other game, as well as wild turkeys and other
wild fowl, and this delightful aspect of the country directly
contrasted with the sterile regions of North Carolina, which
they had left, no wonder that it appeared to them a paradise.
I was much amused to see the countenances of some of the
hoary patriarchs of this country, with whom I staid, brighten
instantly, as they began to paint the aspect of this land of
flowers and game, as they saw it when they first arrived here.
Enthusiasm and strong excitement naturally inspire eloquence,
and these people became eloquent in relating their early re¬
membrances of the beauty of this country. Indeed, the first
settlement of the country, the delightful scenes which it
opened, the singular character of the first adventurers, who
seem to have been a compound of the hero, the philosopher,
the farmer, and the savage; the fierce struggle, which the
savages made to retain this delightful domain, and which,
before that struggle was settled, gave it the name of f the
bloody ground,"—these circumstances, conspire to designate
this country, as the theatre, and the time of its settlement,
as the period, of romance. The adventures of Daniel Boon
would make no mean show beside those of other heroes and
adventurers. But although much has been said in prose, and
sung in verse, about Daniel Boon, this Achilles of the west
wants a Homer, worthily to celebrate his exploits.

In my whole tour through this state, I experienced a frank
and. cordial hospitality. I entered it with a share of those
prejudices, which I had probably fostered unconsciously. I
was aware how strongly they existed in the minds of the peo¬
ple, with regard to the inhabitants of the north. The general
kindness with which I was every where received, impressed
me so much the more forcibly, for being unexpected. The
Kentuckians, it must be admitted, are a high-minded people,
and possess the stamina of a noble character. It cannot be
said correctly, as is said in journals and geographies, that they
are too recent and too various in their descent and manners,
to have a distinct character as a people. They are generally
of one descent, and are scions from a noble stock—the de¬
scendants from affluent and respectable planters from Virginia

132

APPENDIX.

andNorth Carolina. They are in that condition in life, which is,
perhaps, best calculated to develope high-mindedness and
self-respect. We aim not in these remarks at eulogy, but to
pay tribute where tribute is due.”

PROGRESS OF THE WEST

[From No. I. of the Western Quarterly Review.]

c<r At the next census our numbers will probably exceed four
millions. Ohio is estimated to contain, at present, between
eight and nine hundred thousand inhabitants, and will then
contain a million. The lady, in whose house we write these
remarks, is a young and fresh looking woman, and she re¬
members, when they were but six framed houses in Cincinnati.
It contained last winter, as ascertained by actual enumeration,
sixteen thousand two hundred inhabitants. It has a great
many neat houses, and a few gardens, which will bear a proud
comparison with any that we have seen. Nearly two hun¬
dred houses were built the last season, and yet, as we know
to our cost, not a house is to be rented. We have a great col¬
lection of enterprising mechanics, spreading the products of
their industry up and down our almost interminable streams.
Turn a hungry army loose among us, and if they have money
in their pockets, it will be their own fault if they have not
plenty of pork and flour. Nearly one hundred and fifty
steam-boats ply on our waters. An Atlantic cit, who talks
of us under the name of backwoodsmen, would not believe
that such fairy structures of oriental gorgeousness and splen¬
dour, as the Washington, the Florida, the Walk in the Water,
the Lady of the Lake, &c. &c., had ever existed in the ima¬
ginative brain of a romancer, much less that they were ac¬
tually in existence, rushing down the Mississippi, as on the
wings of the wind, or ploughing up between the forests, and
walking against the mighty current f as things of life/ bearing
speculators, merchants, dandies, fine ladies, every thing real,
and every thing affected, in the form of humanity, with
pianos, and stocks of novels, and cards, and dice, and flirting,
and love-making, and drinking, and champagne, and on the

APPENDIX.

133

deck, perhaps, three hundred fellows, who have seen alli¬
gators, and neither fear whiskey nor gunpowder. A steam¬
boat, coming from New Orleans, brings to the remotest
villages of our streams, and the very doors of the cabins, a
little of Paris, a section of Broadway, or a slice of Philadel¬
phia, to ferment, in the minds of our young people, the innate
propensity for fashions and finery. Within a day’s journey of
us, three distinct canals are in a respectable progress towards
completion. Two will probably be finished this summer.
The very thought of either would have been rejected as a
moonshine speculation, at the close of the revolutionary war,
when contemplated as the work of the whole nation.* The
Erie canal, taking the freshness of the country through which
it is located into view, is a project absolutely stupendous.
But twenty years ago, and nine-tenths of the route was an
unbroken wilderness. Scarcely have log cabins sprung up
among the trees, when a survey is made for a canal 320 miles
in length, and with 1185 feet of lockage. It will stretch
along from hill to hill, through forests as old as the world,
uniting the limpid waters of the lake with those of the Gulf
of Mexico on the one hand, as they are already united with
the Atlantic on the other. One hundred and sixteen miles
are contracted to be finished this year. The prospect is, that
the whole will be finished in 1830, at an expense of between
three and four million dollars. The Miami canal, terminatin 0,
at this town, is 67 miles in length ; will cost between 6 and
700,000 dollars; has 300 feet of lockage, and will open the
greater part of its extent to boats this summer, and is ex¬
pected to connect the waters of Mad river with the Ohio next
season. Cincinnati will soon be the centre of the c celestial
empire,’ as the Chinese say; and instead of encountering the
storms, the sea sickness, and dangers of a passage from the
Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, whenever the Erie canal shall
be completed, the opulent southern planters will take their
families, their dogs and parrots, through a world of forests,
from New Orleans to New York, giving us a call by the way!
When they are more acquainted -with us, their voyage will
often terminate here.

The whole country above, below, and on all sides, is on a
march of improvement, of which this is a fair sample. We
have twice travelled through the state of Ohio from Wheeling
to Cincinnati, an extent of between two and three hundred
miles. We have travelled in no part of the United States

134

APPENDIX.

with more pleasure. The aspect of the country is charming,
with the pleasant alternations of fertile valleys, and cultivated
hilis, dotted with a number of considerable towns and pleasant
villages, and sprinkled with a succession of many stone and
brick houses, not of the most beautiful architecture to be
sure, but evidencing abundance and comfort. We could
hardly bring ourselves to realize, that the country through
which we passed, in a line of mail stages, was scarcely twenty
years old. The noble national road is completed in many
places, and you see hosts of the labourers at their work upon
it. The taverns are every where excellent. The abundance
of the table would dine a'file of soldiers, after the guests had
risen. The load of eatables, with which the table groans, is
universally surmounted with fowls, killed after your arrival,
and no doubt from patriotism, placed before you in the form
of a spread eagle. \ ou regale on old fashioned apple-pies,
and, for the exhilaration of the true sons of the west, two de¬
canters of the c native nod at each other from either end of
the table. All this, except in the towns, where they have
learned the vile city tricks of bills, costs you twenty cents,
except in possessing greater abundance, and something less
of puritanism, Ohio is now what Massachusetts was thirty
years ago.. The ladies wear caps after the same fashion,
The bed linen has the same fragrant and home made smell,
and the women that attend, are officiously kind, and almost
to a fault. A man who would impose upon their efforts to
please, merits the stocks. A stray Atlantic city dandy some¬
times exercises this inhumanity, and makes the landlady
blush, that, after she has done all she can, she cannot please
the thing.”

APPENDIX.

135

A Table, showing the number of inhabitants from each of the
States, Kingdoms, and Counties. (From the Cincinnati
Directory for 1325. J

Pennsylvania . . .

. 394

France.

. 19

New Jersey . . .

. 337

Switzerland . . .

. 17

New York . . .

. 233

District of Columbia

. 11

England ....

. 192

South Carolina .

. 10

Massachusetts

. 184

North Carolina . .

. 7

Ireland ....

. 1/3

Tennessee . . .

. 3

Maryland ....

. 170

Indiana ....

. 2

Connecticut

. 143

Michigan Territory

. 2

Virginia ....

. 113

Prussia ....

2

Germany ....

. 62

Holland ....

. 2

Ohio.

. 52

Portugal ....

9

Kentucky ....

. 42

Austria ....

. 1

Scotland ....

. 39

Denmark ....

. 1

V ermont ....

. 36

Poland ....

1

Delaware ....

. 32

St. Domingo . .

. 1

New Hampshire

. 30

Georgia ....

. 1

Maine.

. 23

Sweden ....

1

Wales.

. 21

Rhode Island

. 20

Unknown

. 43

-The above table is a tolerable correct basis on which
we may calculate the origin of the citizens of this city (with
a few exceptions), the principal one of which is, that a greater
propoi non of the females are natives of ICcw Jersey and
Pennsylvania, than appears from this table, and consequently
a greater proportion of the children and youth who are natives
of this city, are the descendants of the emigrants from those
states.

This is oovious, from the fact, that more of the emigrants
from those states, moved here with families, than those from
the northern states, or from Europe.

THE END.

Jumss Bu'.lock, Printer, Lombard Street, Whitefriars, London.

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