Developing the Ohio River Valley

 
After several devastating floods, most recently in 1937, many towns along the Ohio River were encircled by floodwalls which in several towns have become a showcase of for the town’s history.

    
Early town

    
Clearing the land                                                  Ohio and Erie Canal

    
Early Agriculture – Harvesting Wheat                                                Unloading cargo

    
Civil War Action                                                1937 Flood

    
Shipping mussel shells for buttons                                    National Football League

 
Mural Painters on the Job

 

Cincinnati – The city raised on beer

Cincinnati was one of the leading beer-producing cities in the United States before prohibition due in large part to an influx of German immigrants in the mid-19^th century who brought lager styles to add to the porters and ales offered by the earlier English, Irish and French brewers. The Germans fondly named their neighborhood “Over-the-Rhine”. By 1860 there were 36 commercial breweries in the city. In 1893 in the Cincinnati the average annual per capita consumption of beer was 40 gallons for each man, woman and child.

Currently there are 57 craft breweries to choose from in and around the city.

    
Rhinegeist Brewery hall                                      Modern craft brewery

 

Queen City Underground Tour 

On our guided walking tour of Cincinnati we learned about the city’s hidden history as we strolled through Over-the-Rhine, home to America's largest set of historical landmarks. Buildings in this district were once home to over 130 saloons, bars, and beer gardens. We descended below the city streets to a hidden crypt where some of Cincinnati's first residents were buried and to newly discovered cellars vital to Cincinnati's brewery heritage. 

 
Historic brewery aging cellar

Findlay Market is Ohio's oldest continuously operated public market and one of Cincinnati's most cherished institutions. Located on the free trolley line and just blocks from downtown in Over-the-Rhine, it is a center of farm fresh, locally sourced, artisanal and specialty foods. We enjoyed its offering for lunch and a delicious dessert.

 
Findlay Market
 

While in Cincinnati we again walked across the Ohio River, this time on the Purple People Bridge, crossing from Kentucky to Ohio.  Yes the bridge is painted purple.

 
Two states in one step

 

Big Bone Lick

Located just south of Cincinnati, Big Bone Lick is the Birthplace of American Vertebrate Paleontology

Huge Ice Age mammals once travelled to the Big Bone Lick area to lick mineral rich soil. In recent history humans also travelled to this area of make salt and to drink from and bath in the springs at a health spa.

    
Skull of adult bull mastodon                                                             Bison herd

In Oct 1803 while traveling down the Ohio River, Lewis visited Big Bone Lick.

The upon return from the expedition to the Pacific Ocean, Clark conducted a major dig at Big Bone Lick, an area well known at that time for its wealth of large bones and fossils.

Question: What features distinguish a buffalo from and bison?

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