Losantiville

Few people are aware that Cincinnati wasn’t founded as Cincinnati. The area was established as three separate towns: Columbia at the mouth of the Little Miami River, North Bend at the conveniently named northern-most bend in the Ohio River, and Losantiville at the location of Cincinnati’s current downtown area. Losantiville, which very loosely means “the town opposite the mouth,” was also named for its location – across the Ohio from the mouth of the Licking River. North Bend was prone to flooding and Columbia became a decently successful trading town, but it was Losantiville which eventually took off as the major center in the area. In the late 1700’s, Losantiville got a new name because the troops in the hated the awkward name. In honor of a society for Officers of the Revolutionary Army, they called this growing town “Cincinnati.”