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

Chapter 13 People and PlacesIsaac Betts 1 : The centerpiece of the Betts-Longworth Historic District, formed in 1982, is theBetts house - now restored and open to the public as the Betts House Research Center. The two-storyFederal style house was built by the Revolutionary War veteran William Betts and his wife PhebeStevens Betts. They moved in 1790 from Rahway, New Jersey to Brownsville, Pennsylvania and thenby flatboat to Cincinnati in 1800 bringing their seven children and elderly parents. Settling first inLebanon on land purchased from John Cleves Symmes, the deed proved faulty and their money wasrefunded, enabling Betts to return to Cincinnati in 1802. Betts here established a brick factory.The oldest brick building on its original site in Cincinnati, the Betts homestead was built in 1804at 416 Clark Street on land William Betts obtained as repayment of a debt owed to him by JoelWilliams, a tavern keeper. Betts purchased 111 acres from Williams for $1,665. Joel Williams, whohad come with Israel Ludlow from New Jersey to survey and plat what later became Cincinnati,obtained large tracts of land from the first land lottery.The West End area was flat and grassy, thus the nickname of “little Texas.” Outside of theboundaries of Cincinnati, it was an early neighborhood to be developed beyond the central businessdistrict. Some of the adjoining land was owned by Nicholas Longworth.Betts was a brick maker, using the easily obtainable local clay; he also operated part of his landas a farm since brick making was a seasonal business. The dirt lane that was once called WesternRow, later Central Avenue, ended in Betts’ peach orchard.He constructed a sturdy house. One wall was cracked and a kitchen was destroyed beyond repairby the New Madrid earthquake of 1811 but the rest of the house escaped damage. Over the years itwas added to at least six times, doubling its original size.William Betts died in 1815, leaving his wife and twelve children. He specified in his will that hischildren were to be maintained for and educated by the sale of produce from the farm and thedividends from his stock holdings in the Miami Exporting Company until the youngest child reachedage 21. The farm was then to be sold and the proceeds divided equally among the surviving sons,along with the stock. The daughters were to receive cash from the settlement of the land sale, alongwith other bank stock. His wife received the house and furnishings.A local tax census identified Phebe Betts as the head of the household of 16 people. This mayhave included some of her at home children (the older children having married and left home), herhusband’s elderly parents and farm/brickyard workers. At least three sons, Smith, Oliver, and Isaac,continued to operate the brickyard. In 1819 Cincinnati had 25 brick yards and employed 200 menduring brick making season. They collectively made more than 8 million bricks annually.In 1833 the youngest Betts child turned legal age and the formal subdivision and auction of theBetts farm was made in April. Eleven acres were set aside for private development by the Bettsfamily which included the Betts-Longworth area. The newly platted Clark Street was named forWilliam Betts’ mother, Elizabeth Clark Betts, who died in 1832.Compared to the nearby land subdivided earlier by Longworth, these lots were larger,encouraging stylish buildings by the more prosperous managers and business owners. Various familyand friends had already built near Betts. One neighbor (422 Clark Street) was James Gamble, partnerin Procter & Gamble. He lived there until his death in 1891.South of the Betts subdivision were narrow lots, no more than thirty feet wide, whose houseswere set close to the street. These inexpensive properties were purchased by working classimmigrants who wanted to be near where they were employed. By 1855 the West End wascompletely built, having a population of 30,000 residents per square mile. The more affluent startedto migrate up the hills surrounding the basin area.About 1848 Isaac Betts and his wife, Mary Toy, built a three story townhouse east of the Betts1 Source: Mrs. Martha (Benedict) Tuttle90