UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
OHIO
Hamilton County

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Cincinnati is situated at the Ohio River in the extreme southwest of Ohio, opposite the Kentucky towns of Newport and Covington. At a population (2000) of some 331,000 it is the third-largest city on Ohio. Its metropolitan area extends into Kentucky and Indiana and has a population of nearly two million residents.

In 1787 Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance, which opened the land between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River to settlement. On December 28, 1788, 11 families and 24 men led by Col. Robert Patterson arrived at a site of 747 acres located directly opposite the Licking River. This was the second settlement in the new territory and was named Losantiville. On January 4, 1790 Arthur St. Clair, the first governor of the Northwest Territory, renamed it Cincinnati for the Society of Cincinnati, a group of Revolutionary War officers (the society itself took its name after the famous Roman consul and dictator Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus of the 5th century BC, who by later historians was described as an example of good leadership, service to the public good, and the virtue of modesty). Cincinnati was the first seat of legislature of the Northwest Territory (today Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota). During the first forty years after its founding, Cincinnati experienced spectacular growth. In 1819 it was incorporated as a city. Citizens, extremely proud of their city, were referring to it as "The Queen City" or "The Queen of the West". After the opening of the Ohio and Erie canal (1825–1832, abandoned in the 1920's) the city developed as a shipping point especially for farm products and meat (hence its erstwhile nickname, Porkopolis). Corrupt politics in the 1880's led to a crime wave which culminated in the Cincinnati riot in March 1884. A reform movement eventually resulted in the establishment in 1924 of a city-manager type of government. Cincinnati is renowned for its educational institutions (the University of Cincinnati, Edgecliff College, Xavier University, and others), museums, music and art.

William Howard TAFT (1857–1930), 27th President (1909–1913) of the United States, and his son, the Republican politician Robert A. TAFT (1889–1953), were born in Cincinnati.

The Tyler-Davidson Fountain [right] is the oldest downtown sculpture and has become the best known and loved symbol of Cincinnati. The 43-foot fountain was donated to the people of Cincinnati on October 6, 1871 by the businessman Henry Probasco as a memorial to his deceased brother-in-law and business partner Tyler Davidson. The fountain was cast by Ferdinand von Müller, the director of the Royal Bronze Foundry of Bavaria. The design follows plans drawn by August von Kreling. The 9-foot central figure represents the "Genius of Water". For its hundredth birthday celebrations the fountain was renovated and moved to a new location on Fountain Square Plaza.

The Cincinnati City Hall [left] on 801 Plum Street was built in 1887–1893 by Cincinnati's preeminent architect, the English-born Samuel Hannaford. The building was listed as a historic landmark in 1972.

The Cincinnati Art Museum [right] in Eden Park was built in 1886 in Romanesque Revival style by the architect James McLaughlin. The flour mill operator Charles A. West had donated the sum of $150,000 with the provision that the sum be matched by public subscription, which indeed raised another $160,000. West then donated another $150,000 as an endowment for the museum. The grounds, 20 acres in Eden Park, were donated by the City of Cincinnati. At its opening the museum was hailed as the "Art Palace of the West". Classic Revival wings were added in 1907 and 1928. A comprehensive renovation in 1992 restored architectural details which had been covered over for many years. Today, the museum is ranked among the top 20 art institutions in the United States.