In its golden age, Cincinnati was a leader in industry and culture. Europeans immigrated into the city to fill jobs, and the rural landscape was developing into suburbs. Incline railways provided access to hilltop neighborhoods, and forthe first time, the middle class could afford to move to outlying areas, commuting to work in the city. Breweries, soap manufacturers, meat packing plants, and other industries flourished, as supplies and products were distributed throughout Cincinnati along the Miami-ErieCanal—steamboats crowded the Ohio River wharves. The city thrived during the decades surrounding the turn of the 19th century.
Native Cincinnatian Betty Ann Smiddy is president of the College Hill Historical Society and has received outstanding achievement awards in local history from the Ohio Historical Society and the Hamilton County Recorder's Office. Her award-winning newsletters for CHHS culminated in A Little Piece of Paradise . . . College Hill, Ohio. Betty is a Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year and was given a key to the City of Cincinnati for her volunteer activities.