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Near this site in Over-The-Rhine was one of the original Kroger Grocery & Baking Company stores, where Bernard H. Kroger began serving the Over-the-Rhine area in 1902. Kroger was 23 years old when he opened his first store, The Great Western Tea Company, at 66 East Pearl Street near the Cincinnati Riverfront in July of 1883. By 1902, when the company was incorporated as the Kroger Grocery & Baking Company, Kroger operated 40 stores. By 1908, the company had grown to a chain of 136 stores in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky, and began making deliveries to customers with 200 mule-drawn wagons. Kroger was the first to combine meats and groceries under one roof and the first grocery company to operate its own bakery. Currently called the Kroger Co., the grocer is a major contributor to the local economy.
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Born in Rhode Island, John Pray (1783-1872) moved to the Maumee River Valley from New York shortly after serving in the War of 1812 and completing a prospecting tour in Ohio. He built a dam across the river to Granger Island and in 1821 constructed a water-powered gristmill, the first on the lower Maumee. In 1831, he laid out the Village of Waterville with the first 50 lots. The Columbian House, a stagecoach inn constructed by Pray in 1828 and expanded in 1837, was for years the commercial and social center of Waterville and accommodated travelers from cities such as Detroit and Cincinnati. From this building, he operated the village’s post office. When Wood County was organized in 1820, Pray became a commissioner until Lucas County was formed from part of Wood in 1835. For nine years he served as Justice of the Peace in Waterville. He and his wife Lucy raised eleven children to adulthood. Circa 1854 he constructed his home, which today overlooks Pray Park.
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Landscape architect Howard Daniels designed the original portion of Green Lawn Cemetery in 1848. Noted Columbus architect Frank Packard designed Green Lawn’s Chapel mausoleum, the Hayden family mausoleum, and the Packard mausoleum. Spanning over 360 acres, the cemetery’s wooded setting provides a habitat for a variety of birds and other wildlife. The Chapel contains stunning stained glass windows and mosaic artwork by Tiffany & Company of New York. The monuments, obelisks, and memorials throughout the cemetery represent a wealth of artwork and a history of Columbus. As one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Ohio, Green Lawn is the resting-place of many noted individuals who have made significant contributions to Columbus, Franklin County and the nation.
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The Village of Poland officially incorporated in August 1866, a year after the end of the Civil War. In April 1867, the citizens elected John Leslie as mayor. As of 1880, Poland’s population exceeded 400. Through its history, the village has consisted of a four-acre village green, churches, schools, hotels, a sawmill, gristmill, post office, tannery, and foundry, as well as carriage, tin, and cabinet shops; drug, dry goods, and hardware stores, and doctors, blacksmiths, and shoemakers. Residents swam in and skated on Yellow Creek. The Poland Municipal Forest was established in 1938 and annexed later as the Village continued to grow. In 1966, the residents held a three day Centennial Celebration, featuring an address by Governor James Rhodes. The centennial year also saw the publication of a history of Poland and the restoration of Centennial Gardens.
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Here in the Oak Openings Region of northwest Ohio, some of the last Ottawa villages in Ohio lined the banks of Swan Creek during the 1830s. These Native Americans were led by Chief Ottokee (Autokee), a descendant of Pontiac, and half brother to another Ottawa Chief named Wauseon. Known for being honest and friendly, Ottokee was the last Ottawa chief in the Maumee Valley, for years refusing to go when the last of his people were removed to lands west of the Mississippi River.
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Population growth in the newly settled communities of Cincinnati (1788) and Hamilton (1791) led to a call to improve the early Native American and military foot trail that connected the two settlements. The Cincinnati and Hamilton Turnpike Company was incorporated in 1817 to construct a turnpike between the two communities. With a capital-stock value of $100,000, the company set about to markedly reduce the thirty mile trip to two days travel time. From this turnpike emerged a tollgate at this site to collect tolls to pay for maintenance of the road. Blacksmith shops to tend to vehicle and horse needs and several inns to house weary travelers were also established at this site. One inn, “The Century Inn,” established in 1806, continues to operate as one of Ohio’s oldest.
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When the cable car route was electrified in 1898, transportation through the area became more efficient, and Walnut Hills became more desirable. New stores were built to accommodate commuters who found it convenient to shop while waiting to transfer at Peebles Corner. During the early 1900s, high-density, mixed-use buildings were erected to accommodate the increasing population and facilitate commercial and residential growth. These buildings had three or four stories with a storefront on the first floor and multi-family residences above. They reflected architectural styles representative of the period including Italianate, Queen Anne, Classical Revival, and Art Deco. The Peebles Corner Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 for its commercial and architectural significance.
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In 1817 twenty-two men, including future President William Henry Harrison, chartered Cincinnati’s first Episcopal parish, Christ Church. In 1835 members erected a Gothic Revival-style church on this site. The neighborhood evolved as the city grew with the influx of immigrants. Parish women raised funds to teach, feed, clothe, and shelter tenement families, and alleviate suffering during floods and disease outbreaks. In 1883 the women helped establish what became Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. In 1909 members opened the Late Gothic-style Parish House, a community center with kitchen, classrooms, library, auditorium, clinic, gymnasium, and bowling alley. By the parish’s centennial in 1917, music had expanded beyond worship to public concerts. In 1940 the annual Boar’s Head Festival of music and pageantry began. Since the 1960s, members have collaborated with local agencies to advocate for social and economic justice, a mission continuing into the 21st century. (Continued on other side)
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