A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

Sunday, when the omnibus didn’t run. Once a month, the omnibus ran at night to Cincinnati to attendentertainment.In cold weather, lap robes, ceramic hot water bottles or straw wrapped hot bricks were used tokeep the passengers warm. Slow, expensive in its day, limited in passenger capacity anduncomfortable being jousted over gravel or rutted, mud roads, the coming of the trains was muchanticipated 35 . In 1851 the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad was built, linking a faster way tothe outlying communities but it would be several decades before College Hill was linked directly tothis line. In the 1860’s tracks were laid from Cincinnati to Cumminsville along Spring Grove Avenuefor horse or mule drawn cars. But in the Meantime, Edward W. Sayre operated his four horseomnibus on its once daily trip to Cumminsville where passengers could catch a mule-car into town.Edward Sayre ran the omnibus from 1861 until October of 1876. Sayre also carried the mail. WhenSayre died in 1926, he certainly had seen a revolution in transportation!The 1850 census listed Dr. Mathias Williams in College Hill as a physician. F. G. Cary’s homebecame the home and office of many physicians: Dr. A. G. McChesney (1869), Dr. Johnson (1886)and years later, Dr. Kilgour, a homeopathic doctor from Canada.About 1855 the emigration to the hill included many familiar names: Charles Cist, George C.and Norris S. Knight, Rev. Clement Babb, J. C. C. Holenshade, A. D. E. Tweed, G. Y. Roots. Homedevelopment started on Glenview Avenue in 1855. The first homes built were for George Henshaw,M. L. Knight and A. Henshaw.It wasn’t until July 21, 1866 that College Hill was incorporated as a village. Edward DeSerisywas Mayor (1866-67); E. N. Wilde, clerk; Samuel F. Cary, Eber P. Strong, Joel Strong and AmosWorthington as Trustees. Armand DeSerisy 36 was postmaster. Later mayors were Norris S. Knight,1868; Henry M. Cist, 1869; Cyrus S. Bates, 1870-71; L. T. Worthington, 1880-81. When Cyrus Bateswas mayor, W. S. Rogers was recorder, E. B. Stout, Marshall; I. N. Skillman, treasurer; long termcouncil, D. B. Pierson, W. C. Huntington, E. DeSerisy; short term, Eber Strong, A. A. Upson, R.Simpson. For the sake of completeness these were the Mayors of College Hill: Edward DeSeresy1857-1867; Norris S. Knight 1868; Henry M. Cist 1869; Cyrus W. Bates 1870-1879; L. T.Worthington 1880-1881; J. C. C. Holenshade 1882; E. Henshaw 1883-84; Joseph Barker 1885; JohnBruce 1886-1911.Once it became a village, streets were laid out and macadamized, eight foot wide sidewalks wereadded, and land set aside for a new school. The town hall was in rented quarters but a new one wasbuilt 1880 on the southeast corner of Larch and Belmont Avenues. The name was changed fromPleasant Hill to College Hill when a post office was established there.In 1869 the population was 800 and Henry M. Cist was mayor; Edward DeSerisy, postmaster; J.Rieck, J. and M. Denman and Rogers & Company, were general stores (ed. Note: An advertisementof Asa Roger’s stated: Dealers in dry goods, groceries, notions and everything usually kept in acountry store, excepting whisky and tobacco. Good meals prepared when notified before hand); D.O’Neill, grocery and saloon; C. Wulfe, butcher shop; A. McGrew, blacksmith shop; J. W. Brown,wagon shop; J. B. Myers, sawmill; J. & W. Towlman, sawmill. William Flamm opened his grocery in1870 at the corner of Llanfair and Belmont Ave. Years later it was Bolam’s grocery and finally wasconverted into apartments.The roads were described in 1870 as: “The principal streets are the old Hamilton road, nowcalled Hamilton avenue, and Colerain avenue, which leaves the Hamilton road at the site of oldCary’s Academy. The former is sixty feet wide, well macadamized, and has graveled sidewalks, tenfeet in width, finished as far north as Linden avenue...Running across from Hamilton to Colerainavenue, immediately opposite Farmers’ College is Locust avenue...On the north side of this is the35 The seventeen room Huntington house, 5801 Glenview Avenue was a stage stop for travelers en route to Hamilton, Ohio.36 His granddaughter is Mrs. Jane Early, the wife of Dr. Daniel Earley, who lives in College Hill.118