ISSUE 51 – STEVE KOVACS FUN WITH MAPS

DAILY FEATURE: By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (August 17, 2020) – In Issue 51 of Steve Kovacs Fun with Maps feature we learn about the roots of Cincinnati and a name change – Yikes, we could have been Losantiville!

Cincinnati, Birthplace of Professional Baseball (FILE)

Happy Birthday Losantiville!

Losantiville was founded 232 years ago today (there are other dates floating around, but we’ll stick with this one). 

It was the first major inland city founded after the Revolutionary War and quickly became the 6th largest US city and remained so for several decades prior to the Civil War.  The city remains a vibrant Midwestern city to this day.   A strong industrial and business base took hold in the city early, largely thanks to access to easy transportation, the Ohio River.  It also has a booming music, arts and sports scene, when not in the middle of an epidemic

Whoops, we need to mention that Losantiville was renamed 2 years after its founding by Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory.   Many of you know this already, but we’ll carry on. 

The good governor renamed the city after the Society of Cincinnati, which was made up of Revolutionary War veterans.   The Society in turn was named for an early Roman Republic dictator, Cincinnatus, who saved the day for Rome during a crisis, and then gave up his power and turned to farming — an act nearly unheard of today…

So here are some things that come to mind when one says “Cincinnati”:  Queen City, Procter & Gamble, Ivory, pork, Music Hall, Reds, street cars (in 1859), Kroger, Octoberfest Zinzinnati, Skyline, and Graeter’s.  What else comes to your mind?

Here is Mitchell’s map of Cincinnati from 1876.

Map of Cincinnati from 1876 (Credit Steve Kovacs)

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Click here to visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.