Bond Hill, Ohio
Encyclopedia
Founded as a railroad suburb and temperance
community in 1871 in northeastern Millcreek Township in Hamilton County, Ohio
, Bond Hill is currently a neighborhood of the City of Cincinnati. It is one of a number of neighborhoods lining the Mill Creek
, an urban stream
in southwestern Ohio
. Bond Hill began as a commuter suburb connected to Cincinnati via the Marietta-Cincinnati Railroad. Bond Hill incorporated as the Village of Bond Hill in 1886 and the small village of about 1000 persons was annexed into Cincinnati in 1903. Many new homes were added east of the original settlement in the 1930s. Beginning in the 1960s, redlining
by the Federal Housing Authority and blockbusting
by Hamilton County realtors swiftly changed the demographic makeup of the community. The first black family moved to Bond Hill in 1964, but due to these practices, by 1978 nearly 70% of the community was black. By 2000, less than 7% of Bond Hill residents were white.
Bond Hill was originally founded by a cooperative
building association, the Cooperative Land and Building Association No.1 of Hamilton County, Ohio, the first post-Civil War housing cooperative in Cincinnati and the first building association to be organized along idealistic and not ethnic lines. The cooperative was organized in 1870 by five men including several teetotallers
from nearby Cumminsville. The cooperative initially planned on building in Cumminsville but for unknown reasons, the young co-op changed the site of their development to the area they renamed Bond Hill. The change was likely stimulated by a founding member of the cooperative, Henry Watkin
. Watkin had been living in the area with his wife, Laura Ann Fry Watkin and their child, Effie Maud, since 1860. A utopian communalist and expatriat English printer, Watkin attained some renown as the adopted father and mentor of the once famous writer, Lafcadio Hearn
. Henry Watkin's wife, Laura Ann Fry Watkin, was the daughter of the master artist, woodcarver, vegetarian, and religious communist
Henry Fry
. Early members of the cooperative included artist friends of Henry Fry: Emma Bepler and her father August Bepler.
For at least 11 years after its founding in 1871, the sale of liquor was prohibited in Bond Hill according to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Cooperative. In the early 1880s, a disagreement centered around Bond Hill's church, considered by some to be the cooperative's non-denominational church and by others to be Presbyterian, likely caused a schism within the early community and the cooperative. The role of Watkin and the early founders in the leadership of the community seems to have ebbed after this schism.
The origin of the name Bond Hill remains something of a mystery. Newspaper articles documenting the founding and naming of the railroad suburb by the cooperative indicate that Bond Hill was the name of the area in the 1830s: "This was the name of that particular locality forty years ago, and carries with it associations not easily forgotten by the oldest inhabitants," (January 10, 1871, Cincinnati Daily Enquirer). An oral history transcribed in 1961 by George E. Patmor, one of the village's earliest residents, indicates that the name was first given by visitors to a sawmill operated by a man named Bond: "In these days the people of St. Bernard
and Cincinnati would use a footpath through the woods 'for a shortcut from St. Bernard to Bond’s sawmill to work or transact business.' It got to be a common saying that they were going up on Bond Hill, so this is how we got the name 'Bond Hill'." Local historian, Aharon Varady, speculates that like other mills in upper Millcreek Township, Bond's Mill may have been a gathering site for gambling and traveling teamsters—associations which nearby residents may have wished to be forgotten.
Until the mid-1930s, Bond Hill was largely rural and surrounded by orchards and dairy farms. New parkways, such as Bloody Run (later Victory) Parkway offered Cincinnatians a destination to picnic in Bond Hill meadows on weekends. Even earlier, while the Miami-Erie Canal
still flowed to the west of the neighborhood, parties traveled up the canal towpath to recreation open spaces in an area called Ludlow Grove area between St. Bernard and Bond Hill. (Today, portions of Ludlow Grove exist as parks within developed portions of St. Bernard.) Residential developments replaced the dairy farms in the east of Bond Hill. Industrial facilities replaced the orchards in the south and the artificial lakes in the east. In the north, a regional high school and a large 4,400 car parking lot and shopping complex were built in the 1950s. Community residents opposed these intrusions but were largely ignored. Perhaps the most radical change in the neighborhood was the construction of the Interstate 75 Millcreek Expressway over the length of the canal in western Bond Hill and the Norwood Lateral
(State Route 562) extension in southern Bond Hill. By their completion in the early 1960s the rural character of the neighborhood had been fundamentally altered.
The environmental degradation and urbanization of the neighborhood presaged the exit of whites from Bond Hill in the 1960s and '70s. Realtors and local banks actively encouraged the demographic transition
of the neighborhood through redlining
, blockbusting
, and racial steering
. The Bond Hill-Roselawn
Community Council was founded in 1965 to combat this change. Throughout the next twenty years the Bond Hill Community Council struggled to develop a community plan and to stabilize white flight
. Their achievements included the creation of a Bond Hill Community Master Plan in 1977 and the recognition of the "Old Bond Hill Village" Historic District in 1982. However, the demographic shift never abated, and today (2004) Bond Hill is nearly as segregated a black community as it once was a white one a half-century earlier.
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
community in 1871 in northeastern Millcreek Township in Hamilton County, Ohio
Hamilton County, Ohio
As of 2000, there were 845,303 people, 346,790 households, and 212,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,075 people per square mile . There were 373,393 housing units at an average density of 917 per square mile...
, Bond Hill is currently a neighborhood of the City of Cincinnati. It is one of a number of neighborhoods lining the Mill Creek
Mill Creek
- In Canada :*Mill Creek, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality*Mill Creek, Cumberland, Nova Scotia, in Cumberland country- In the United States :*Mill Creek, California, a town in Tehama County...
, an urban stream
Urban stream
An urban stream is a formerly natural waterway that flows through a heavily populated area. Urban streams are often significantly polluted, due to urban runoff and combined sewer outflows....
in southwestern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Bond Hill began as a commuter suburb connected to Cincinnati via the Marietta-Cincinnati Railroad. Bond Hill incorporated as the Village of Bond Hill in 1886 and the small village of about 1000 persons was annexed into Cincinnati in 1903. Many new homes were added east of the original settlement in the 1930s. Beginning in the 1960s, redlining
Redlining
Redlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
by the Federal Housing Authority and blockbusting
Blockbusting
Blockbusting is a business practice of U.S. real estate agents and building developers meant to encourage white property owners to sell their houses at a loss, by implying that racial, ethnic, or religious minorities — Blacks, Hispanics, Jews et al. — were moving into their previously racially...
by Hamilton County realtors swiftly changed the demographic makeup of the community. The first black family moved to Bond Hill in 1964, but due to these practices, by 1978 nearly 70% of the community was black. By 2000, less than 7% of Bond Hill residents were white.
Bond Hill was originally founded by a cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
building association, the Cooperative Land and Building Association No.1 of Hamilton County, Ohio, the first post-Civil War housing cooperative in Cincinnati and the first building association to be organized along idealistic and not ethnic lines. The cooperative was organized in 1870 by five men including several teetotallers
Teetotalism
Teetotalism refers to either the practice of or the promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices teetotalism is called a teetotaler or is simply said to be teetotal...
from nearby Cumminsville. The cooperative initially planned on building in Cumminsville but for unknown reasons, the young co-op changed the site of their development to the area they renamed Bond Hill. The change was likely stimulated by a founding member of the cooperative, Henry Watkin
Henry Watkin
Henry Watkin , was an expatriate English printer and cooperative socialist in Cincinnati, Ohio during the mid-to-late 19th century....
. Watkin had been living in the area with his wife, Laura Ann Fry Watkin and their child, Effie Maud, since 1860. A utopian communalist and expatriat English printer, Watkin attained some renown as the adopted father and mentor of the once famous writer, Lafcadio Hearn
Lafcadio Hearn
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things...
. Henry Watkin's wife, Laura Ann Fry Watkin, was the daughter of the master artist, woodcarver, vegetarian, and religious communist
Religious communism
Religious communism is a form of communism centered on religious principles. The term usually refers to a number of egalitarian and utopian religious societies practicing the voluntary dissolution of private property, so that society's benefits are distributed according to a person's needs, and...
Henry Fry
Henry Fry
Henry Kenneth Fry BSc, BSc, MBBS, MD, DSO : Rhodes Scholar, physician and anthropologist, Medical Officer for the City of Adelaide.*1886: Born 25 May 1886 North Adelaide, South Australia*Educated Prince Alfred College...
. Early members of the cooperative included artist friends of Henry Fry: Emma Bepler and her father August Bepler.
For at least 11 years after its founding in 1871, the sale of liquor was prohibited in Bond Hill according to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Cooperative. In the early 1880s, a disagreement centered around Bond Hill's church, considered by some to be the cooperative's non-denominational church and by others to be Presbyterian, likely caused a schism within the early community and the cooperative. The role of Watkin and the early founders in the leadership of the community seems to have ebbed after this schism.
The origin of the name Bond Hill remains something of a mystery. Newspaper articles documenting the founding and naming of the railroad suburb by the cooperative indicate that Bond Hill was the name of the area in the 1830s: "This was the name of that particular locality forty years ago, and carries with it associations not easily forgotten by the oldest inhabitants," (January 10, 1871, Cincinnati Daily Enquirer). An oral history transcribed in 1961 by George E. Patmor, one of the village's earliest residents, indicates that the name was first given by visitors to a sawmill operated by a man named Bond: "In these days the people of St. Bernard
St. Bernard, Ohio
St. Bernard is a small city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,924 at the 2000 census.-Geography:St. Bernard is located at , and along with Norwood and Elmwood Place, is an enclave surrounded by the city of Cincinnati.According to the United States Census Bureau, the...
and Cincinnati would use a footpath through the woods 'for a shortcut from St. Bernard to Bond’s sawmill to work or transact business.' It got to be a common saying that they were going up on Bond Hill, so this is how we got the name 'Bond Hill'." Local historian, Aharon Varady, speculates that like other mills in upper Millcreek Township, Bond's Mill may have been a gathering site for gambling and traveling teamsters—associations which nearby residents may have wished to be forgotten.
Until the mid-1930s, Bond Hill was largely rural and surrounded by orchards and dairy farms. New parkways, such as Bloody Run (later Victory) Parkway offered Cincinnatians a destination to picnic in Bond Hill meadows on weekends. Even earlier, while the Miami-Erie Canal
Miami and Erie Canal
The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that connected the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio with Lake Erie in Toledo, Ohio. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845. It consisted of 19 aqueducts, three guard locks, and 103 canal locks. Each lock measured by and they...
still flowed to the west of the neighborhood, parties traveled up the canal towpath to recreation open spaces in an area called Ludlow Grove area between St. Bernard and Bond Hill. (Today, portions of Ludlow Grove exist as parks within developed portions of St. Bernard.) Residential developments replaced the dairy farms in the east of Bond Hill. Industrial facilities replaced the orchards in the south and the artificial lakes in the east. In the north, a regional high school and a large 4,400 car parking lot and shopping complex were built in the 1950s. Community residents opposed these intrusions but were largely ignored. Perhaps the most radical change in the neighborhood was the construction of the Interstate 75 Millcreek Expressway over the length of the canal in western Bond Hill and the Norwood Lateral
Ohio State Highway 562
State Route 562 is a limited-access highway, or expressway in Southwest Ohio. Its western terminus is at Interstate 75 and its eastern terminus is at Interstate 71. It is generally locally referred to as the Norwood Lateral Expressway, since most of its length is in the suburban city of Norwood....
(State Route 562) extension in southern Bond Hill. By their completion in the early 1960s the rural character of the neighborhood had been fundamentally altered.
The environmental degradation and urbanization of the neighborhood presaged the exit of whites from Bond Hill in the 1960s and '70s. Realtors and local banks actively encouraged the demographic transition
Demographic transition
The demographic transition model is the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system. The theory is based on an interpretation of demographic history developed in 1929 by the American...
of the neighborhood through redlining
Redlining
Redlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
, blockbusting
Blockbusting
Blockbusting is a business practice of U.S. real estate agents and building developers meant to encourage white property owners to sell their houses at a loss, by implying that racial, ethnic, or religious minorities — Blacks, Hispanics, Jews et al. — were moving into their previously racially...
, and racial steering
Racial steering
Racial steering refers to the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race...
. The Bond Hill-Roselawn
Roselawn, Cincinnati, Ohio
Roselawn is a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio.- External links :*...
Community Council was founded in 1965 to combat this change. Throughout the next twenty years the Bond Hill Community Council struggled to develop a community plan and to stabilize white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
. Their achievements included the creation of a Bond Hill Community Master Plan in 1977 and the recognition of the "Old Bond Hill Village" Historic District in 1982. However, the demographic shift never abated, and today (2004) Bond Hill is nearly as segregated a black community as it once was a white one a half-century earlier.