The Price Hill Incline connected Mill Creek in what is today Lower Price Hill with Price Hill in Cincinnati, Ohio. Connecting the disjointed West 8th Street, the idea of General Rees E. Price, a wealthy Welsh merchant.
History
The Price Hill Incline connected Mill Creek in what is today Lower Price Hill with Price Hill in Cincinnati, Ohio. Connecting the disjointed West 8th Street, the idea of General Rees E. Price, a wealthy Welsh merchant.(1)(2)
Price, after whom Price Hill was named after, was an investor in land west of Mill Creek.(2) He constructed a brickyard and sawmill, and platted a subdivision. With his sons, John and William Prince, he constructed the Price Hill Incline Plane in 1874 with funding derived from their businesses. The original cars were named “Lilly-of-the-Valley” and “Highland Mary” by William after his sisters, Mary and Lilla Price.
The new incline climbed 350 feet from the basin to the top, and helped develop Price Hill as a wealthier neighborhood in Cincinnati.(2) The Price Hill House, Pavilion and park were completed two years later, and the grounds around the incline was host to elaborate and festive events.
The incline was the first in Cincinnati, and was accompanied with a freight line in 1876.
In 1928, electricity replaced steam as a source of power for the Incline.(2) The incline became disabled in July 1943 and was not repaired.
With the need for cheap and reliable transportation evident, the East Price Hill Improvement Association, or EPHIA, was formed.(2) EPHIA’s first task was to restore the Incline, and through Councilman Edward N. Waldvogel and the City Council, the incline was put back into service in 1945.
Gallery
Sources
- “Incline aids Western Hills expansion.” Western Hills Press (Cincinnati) 31 Oct. 1973, sec. B: 2. Print.
- “A Rich History.” East Price Hill Improvement Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2010. Article.
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