Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Cincinnati, originally uploaded by kwatson0013.

Cincinnati is the 3rd largest city in the state of Ohio behind Columbus and Cleveland.

Cincinnati was descovered in 1788 by explorers John Cleves Symmes and Robert Patterson. Symmes was the father in law to future 9th President of the United States William Henry Harrison. They named the town Losantville which meant city opposite the Licking River. The Licking River is a river that flows through Kentucky and enters into the Ohio River right where Cincinnati is. The name would later be changed to Cincinnati by Revolutionary War General Arthur St Clair after the Society of Cincinnati which was established during the war.

In 1802, Cincinnati was incorporated as a city and by 1811, steam boats were using the Ohio River to supply the area from the east. The Miami and Erie Canal was also completed that year giving passage from the Ohio River to Lake Erie. This would cause rapid growth in Cincinnati and in 1819, Cincinnati was incorporated into a city.

Cincinnati was considered the first real American City of the United States. It was the biggest city east of the Allegheny River for years and was inhabited by all Americans instead of eastern citys that at one time were controlled by the English.

During the mid 1850's, Cincinnati earned its name the Queen City. In a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Catawba Wine, Longfellow rights about Cincinnati as the Queen of the West. It is still referred as the Queen City today.