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Losantiville is one of the first permanent European settlements in Ohio, was established on the site of present-day Cincinnati in 1788. It began to attract settlers after 1789, when an army post named Fort Washington was built nearby. In 1790 the community was renamed Cincinnati. The settlement was recognized as a village in 1802 and incorporated as a city in 1819.
Not only was Cincinnati strategically situated to benefit from westward migrations, it also became a major center for north-south commerce, both overland and by water. The Ohio River was a primary route connecting the East with the nation's growing frontier, particularly after steamboat travel began in 1811. The Miami and Erie Canal later tied the city to Great Lakes shipping. It has been aptly remarked that Cincinnati is the "northernmost southern city and the southernmost northern city."
Cincinnati's extensive ties to the South provoked a mixed reaction to the American Civil War (1861-1865). The city was a center of activity by the Copperheads, a name applied to people who for a variety of reasons opposed fighting the war. At the same time, the city was a major point on the Underground Railroad, the informal system to move slaves from the South to freedom in the North.
During and immediately after the Civil War, the economy of the city suffered as trade with the South was disrupted. At the same time, westward traffic began to bypass the city as new railroads made Chicago the region's principal crossroads. The city's economy revived only slowly. In an attempt to reinvigorate trade with the mid-South, the city constructed a railroad to Chattanooga, Tennessee. This railroad, the Southern, is the only long-distance line ever owned by an American municipality.
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