Landmarks
Places of Historic Significance
Pioneer Cemetery
Airport Road
Memorial Pioneer Cemetery marks the only restored remnant of the pioneer settlement of Columbia. The cemetery, 2.2 acres at Wilmer Avenue north of Davis Lane, is the oldest cemetery in Hamilton County and is the final resting place of Revolutionary and Civil War veterans and pioneers. The oldest stone now existing in the cemetery is that of five months old Phebe Stites, daughter of Captain Hezekiah Stites. Tiny Phebe died on March 14, 1797. Burials probably began at least as early as 1790, the date of the founding of the Columbia Baptist Church on this site. A tall Corinthian pillar taken from the old Post Office building, which was erected in 1856, was placed here in 1888 after the post office was razed. There is also a marker dedicated in 1923, a memorial to Major Benjamin Sites, 1734-1804, who founded the town of Columbia. On March 23, 1937, the Cincinnati Baptist Church conveyed to the City of Cincinnati the Columbia Baptist Cemetery in order to establish it as a Memorial Pioneer Cemetery. The area was neglected over the years until Frederick L. Payne, then Supervising Horticulturalist for the Park Board, began a restoration project in 1967. As a result of his work, which continued through 1971, he prepared two volumes that permanently recorded the history of the cemetery. The volumes, which are at the Cincinnati Historical Society, list all those persons who could be identified as buried there since 1790 and include photographs of all markers existing during the restoration period. Frederick L. Payne retired as Director of Parks on January 1, 1987. In appreciation of his contributions, through private donations, a simple colonial garden is planted near the cemetery.
Fulton Cemetery
256 Carrel St
Established in 1794, the Fulton-Presbyterian Cemetery is the amalgamation of three individual cemeteries- namely, Presbyterian Cemetery, Fulton Cemetery and Fulton Mechanick's Cemetery. The historic place was titled Presbyterian Cemetery in 1970. At least eight Revolutionary War veterans are buried there. Although the place was severely vandalized for years, it was later cleaned and restored by local communities in 1999. The Fulton-Presbyterian Cemetery has been enlisted in the US National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
Carrel Street Station
address
Coming soon...
Lunken Airport
Airport Road
The History Of Lunken Airport
1788
Columbia, now the area occupied by Lunken Airport, became the first settlement in the Cincinnati area.
1921
Dixie Davis begins teaching flying lessons.
1925
Dixie Davis establishes a permanent airfield at Lunken.
T. Embry and J. Paul Riddle found the Embry-Riddle Company.
The City of Cincinnati accepts the land gift of Lunken Airfield.
1927
Charles Lindbergh, a 26-year-old air-mail pilot, makes his historic non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Lindbergh flies his Ryan monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, from New York to Paris in 33 hours and 29 minutes.
Lindbergh lands at Lunken airfield to and from New York to refuel where he is mobbed by well-wishers.
Embry Riddle Co. (located at Lunken) is awarded one of the earliest U.S. air mail contracts.
The Sikorsky S-29A, "The Flying Cigar Store" is a frequent visitor to Lunken selling cigars, watches, razors, lipsticks, etc.
Cincinnati purchases 870 acres through a bond issue. Lunken now occupies approximately 1000 acres.
1928
Embry-Riddle, operating 10 aircraft at Lunken, became a subsidiary of AVCO, a parent of American Airlines.
The Flamingo, one of the first all metal monoplanes built in America, is produced at Lunken by Metal Aircraft Company.
1930
Formal dedication of Lunken Airport takes place. A three-day celebration includes notables such as Howard Hughes, Jimmy Doolittle, Freddie Lund, Cincinnati Air Corps Reserves and Jean Harlow.
Lunken Airport is dedicated as the largest municipal airport in the world.
1937
The new terminal is completed and serves as an active airline terminal until January 1947.
1940s
American Airlines is born at Lunken Airport.
1964
The Beatles arrive at Lunken Airport for their concert at Crosley Field.
Columbia Baptist Church
3718 Eastern Ave
In November, 1788, a company of pioneers from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, led by Major Benjamin Stites came down the Ohio river and landed near what is now Lunken Airport. They established a settlement and called it Columbia. Several Baptist families were included in the company. On January 20, 1790 these families met in the home of Benjamin Davis and organized the Columbia Baptist Church. Rev. Stephen Gano presided over the meeting and Isaac Ferris was chosen as the first deacon. This was the first official protestant church of any denomination in the Northwest Territory.
Rev. John Smith of Pennsylvania was called as the first pastor. Major Stites donated a plot of higher ground at what is now known as pioneer cemetery (most of the original pioneers, including Major Stites are buried here). The frame church constructed on this site is pictured above.
During the late 18th century Columbia Baptist Church experienced a great revival, adding nearly 150 new members. Unfortunately, this revival was short lived. Around the turn of the century the majority of Columbia’s members moved northward and established the Duck Creek Baptist Church. This left Columbia so enfeebled that services were held intermittently and eventually abandoned. The building was left to decay and was finally demolished in 1837 (a metal cross survived the demolition and is on display in the current building).
Within half a century of the demise of the original Columbia Baptist Church, the Little Miami Railroad brought new life to the old village and Columbia again became the field for a church.
On January 4, 1865 the new Columbia Baptist Church was formed with the Rev. B.F. Harmon as pastor. By February 8 the church had 24 members and was recognized by the Miami Baptist Association. By September of 1865 the church had expanded to 57 members and plans were soon under way to build a church. The lot on which the current church stands was purchased for $1,600 and the building was dedicated on September 29, 1867. Pastor Harmon continued his work here for four years. His son, Judson Harmon would eventually become one of the greatest governors the state of Ohio has ever known and competed with Woodrow Wilson in the Democratic Presidential Primary Election.
Alms Park
710 Tusculum Ave
The Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park on Mt. Tusculum offers a magnificent view of the Ohio River at a point originally called “Bald Hill” because local Native Americans cleared the trees to have an unobstructed view of early settlers of “Columbia.”
This hilltop 94-acre park was given to the Park Board in 1916 as a memorial to Frederick H. Alms by his wife. The land was once owned by Nicholas Longworth, who produced his Catawba wine there before the Civil War. From its heights, one can see the juncture of the Little Miami River with the gigantic bend of the Ohio, the hills of Kentucky, Lunken Airport and panoramic valleys.
The Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum
3738 Eastern Ave.
A gift to the people of Cincinnati by Andrew Carnegie, The Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum was one 2,500 libraries completed funded by the steel tycoon and philanthropist. This landmark was built in 1906 to the specifications of the same architectural firm which designed Cincinnati's Music Hall, Samuel Hannaford & Sons. Known as East End Branch, the building served as a Cincinnati public library until 1959 when it was sold into private use. Over the years, it was host to the Fraternal Order of Police and Veterans of Foreign Wars. In 1994, the building was purchased by the community, renovated and turned into a nonprofit community center.
Morris House
3642 Eastern Ave
The Morris House is the oldest occupied building in Cincinnati. This 2.5 story A-frame was built in 1804, only a few months later than the Kemper Log Cabin, the city's oldest house. Erected by James C. Morris, who started a tannery nearby and has been called "The First Manufacturer in Hamilton County," this home is currently in its fourth re-incarnation, its original log walls having been covered multiple times by weather boarding. Although invisible now, its log walls, hewn timbers, and handmade laths are still in place. The original, large cabin hearth was uncovered during one renovation.
Spencer Township Hall
3833 Eastern Ave.
The Spencer Township Hall is a historic former government building in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. One of Cincinnati's oldest extant public buildings, it has been designated a historic site because of its architecture.
Architecture.
Constructed in 1860,the township hall is a two-story brick building with a stone foundation, a shingled roof, and miscellaneous elements of stone. Many small elements combine to give the building a Greek Revival flavor, including its pilasters, the capitals on its columns, and the simple windowsills and lintels. Among its lesser details are a bracketed overhanging roof, which adds an Italianate appearance, and a pair of datestones above the main entrance — one commemorating the local IOOF lodge, and the other marking the building as the township hall. When originally built, the hall was three bays wide and six bays long, although it was later expanded by the construction of an addition to the front.
Besides serving as the township hall, the building was originally the meeting place for the IOOF lodge whose datestone appears on the facade; the lodge was chartered just one year before the building was built. In the late 1970s, the building was no longer used as a government or fraternal building, but despite the presence of the unsympathetic addition to the facade, it was still seen as a high-quality work of institutional architecture. By this time, it had been adaptively reused, and it was home to an engineering firm, which decided to remove the front addition in conjunction with a grassroots effort to revitalize the neighborhood.
In 1979, the Spencer Township Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its historically significant architecture.