4 
Edith M. Southall 
were cut apart, and the course of the Ohio at Cincinnati today 
was brought about, as a result of later drainage adjustments. 
Cincinnati, Covington and Newport commercially one city. From 
a geographical point of view, then, Cincinnati, Covington and 
Newport are all one, and they are so treated in this discussion. 
Commercially, also, Covington and Newport are suburbs of Cin- 
cinnati, though legally they are distinct municipalities. Sepa- 
rated from Cincinnati by the Ohio Fiver only, over which stretch 
five bridges, and wdthin twenty minutes’ reach of the city’s busi- 
ness center, the majority of these Kentucky citizens have their 
business interests in Cincinnati, are employed in her numerous 
industrial establishments, and are largely dependent on her for 
their prosperity. While these towns have a creditable number 
of manufacturing establishments, they make large use of Cincin- 
nati’s transportation facilities in shipping their products. Almost 
from the founding of Covington and Newport, their development 
has been closely associated with that of Cincinnati, and geograph- 
ically these towns are South Cincinnati,” as they are sometimes 
called. 
The Founding of Cincinnati 
Symmes^ Purchase. The founding of Cincinnati, or Losanti- 
ville, as it was originally called, was due primarily to the attrac- 
tion of the Miami Valley’s rich soil. Alajor Benjamin Stites, 
of Brownsville, Pa., passing through this region, was so impressed 
with its fertile fields, fine forests and beautiful streams, that he 
decided to found a permanent settlement in the neighborhood. 
In partnership with Judge John Cleves Symmes, of Trenton, 
N. J., Major Stites shortly obtained possession of 1,000,000 acres 
of this Miami country, bordering on the Ohio Fiver. 
Advantages of the Miami region. Fiver valleys always attract 
settlers, and this Miami Valley is a peculiarly advantageous loca- 
tion. It is not far vertically from sea-level, the country in gen- 
eral is about 500 feet above sea-level, the surrounding hills about 
200 to 300 feet higher. Furthermore, it is well watered. The 
Licking Fiver joins the Ohio from the Kentucky side, just oppo- 
site Cincinnati, while at the time of the first settlement the Great 
and Little Miami, which drain this Miami country and are tribu- 
tary to the Ohio, were bounded for many miles by land of unsur- 
passed fertility. 
