Digging Cincinnati History

At Adventure Trek, archaeology isn’t something you just learn about—it’s something you experience. 🛠️

Families and students have the opportunity to work with real tools, apply real techniques, and engage in discovery firsthand. Rather than simply observing, you step into the process—analyzing artifacts up close, solving problems, and exploring how archaeology works in practice.

It’s hands-on, immersive, and designed to make learning feel tangible and memorable.

For homeschool families and educators, this becomes a reliable, experience-based opportunity that supports curiosity, critical thinking, and real-world understanding.

ARI invites you, your family, and your classroom to experience how learning comes to life this June.

Learn more:
https://exploreari.org/adventure-trek/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2026-adventure-trek&utm_content=8

While traveling along Pleasant Avenue (Route 127) in Fairfield today, I noticed these two stone entrances and the stone wall along the side of the road. But the houses behind the wall looked like they were built in the 1970s-1980s. Very strange!

It turns out that this was the border of an estate of over 42 acres, whose owners included Freeman G. Cary, noted horticulturist, and prominent business owners from Hamilton, including John C. Hooven (who named the estate "Hoovenden"), George Rentschler, Joseph Lowenstein, and Alvin Hock.

In 1973, the land was developed into a subdivision, but the stone wall remained. While the original estate house was destroyed by multiple fires in 1909, the caretaker's house remained and was added onto over the years. I was surprised that it was even still there! Read more about Hoovenden here: https://www.journal-news.com/news/history-column-hoovenden-j-c-hooven-s-summer-estate/article_6700f407-d418-5599-b47c-cd6cbea5edbb.html

But this wasn’t the only one in this area! Just across Pleasant Avenue is Calumet Way, and another historic home, the Hunter House, was also saved, and the neighborhood built around it.

I love that these were believed to be worth saving at a time when so many buildings were lost to new developments. History hiding in plain sight!

In 1901, Cincinnati City Engineer Louis Gustave Frederick Bouscaren appeared before the Water Works Board with a rather expensive request. Bouscaren asked the Board to approve a $500,000 brick cover for the Eden Park reservoir.

That immense artificial lake, covering 13 acres and more than 30 feet deep, held 100 million gallons of water, divided into two basins. Exposed to sunlight, the reservoir blossomed with algae that imparted a nasty flavor to the city’s water. Running the Water Works in 1901 was August “Garry” Herrmann, one of George “Boss” Cox’s chief lieutenants. Herrmann and Cox cared not a whit about the taste of the municipal effluent and so Bouscaren’s request was denied.

Ever since the immense reservoir had gone operational in 1878, the Water Works had fished a body out on a regular basis, and considered it no big deal. https://ow.ly/3UFl50Z19w6

📸 courtesy Don Prout's "CincinnatiViews"

🌿 Did you know?
ARI and OXBOW, Inc. are teaming up for a free Summer Hiking Series — and our first hike kicks off this Wednesday, led by the Oxbow! Come explore wetlands, wildlife, and the stories held in the Oxbow Nature Preserve.

And mark your calendar:
June 17 is our first ARI‑led hike — The First Farmers: The Adena Culture. Learn about early plant use and the transition to farming during the Early Woodland period on a scenic walk along the trail.

Come explore the landscape with us all summer long.

https://exploreari.org/summer-hiking-series/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2026-summer-hiking-series&utm_content=may-20

This is the same building that has a partial front collapse this morning. I’m afraid we may lose this one. 😔

This building was the oldest existing firehouse in Cincinnati. https://www.facebook.com/share/1EiuuCUayX/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Breaking: A building in the East End has partially collapsed overnight. Firefighters are on scene, but Riverside Drive is closed nearby.

Al Lautenslager discusses his latest book at the Downtown Main Library, that uncovers the overlooked history of Black baseball in the Queen City.

His rich research honors the players, coaches, and communities who shaped the city’s baseball legacy during a time of segregation, struggle, and determination. Cincinnati Soul tells the story of the athletes on iconic teams like the Cincinnati Tigers and Cincinnati Cuban Stars.