Indian Hill Historical Society
8100 Given Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45243

"Keeping Indian Hill's past and present alive for tomorrow"

"Green and Rural"
The Green Areas Program of Indian Hill

The Village of Indian Hill is one of the most scenic areas in the Cincinnati metropolitan region. Its physical characteristics run the gamut from flat, open, grassy fields to heavily wooded, steeply sloped, mature canopy forest. There are meandering streams, dark pine stands and intriguing geological formations with a plethora of fossils. This presence of natural beauty is even more emphatic because of Indian Hill's proximity to densely populated Cincinnati. The Village is home to over 6000 people, most of them aware of its unique beauty and sensitive to the changes that come with urbanization.

The Village Charter of 1941 states that "It is the purpose and intent of the people of Indian Hill that the character and uses of the area within the Village may not be changed, and it shall continue to be a rural neighborhood." As Indian Hill evolved from a farming to a residential community, and as it continues to be a desirable neighborhood for family life, it is the preservation of this characteristic of a green and rural community that is its most noticeable quality.

In the 1940's a program was initiated to acquire property for permanent preservation, and substantial acreage has been purchased or donated since this early impetus. The first Green Areas concept was inspired by the idea of a ring of green surrounding the "hill." This far-sighted vision of a border of green soon evolved into "areas" rather than a "belt." Parcels of land scattered throughout the Village were added, so that the green look of Indian Hill permeated the entire landscape.

A Forest Preserve and Greenbelt Areas Committee, established in 1954, later became today's Green Areas Advisory Committee in 1962. This group, made up of 17 interested residents, is appointed by the mayor. Their role is to advise the City Manager with respect to maintenance of the Green Areas and related matters, and their goal is to preserve open space and the natural landscape of Indian Hill.

In the Village's 19 1/2 square miles, there are almost 2,500 acres of green areas--almost 1/4 of Indian Hill! Some of the acquired land came in large parcels, such as 200-acre Albers Woods (behind the Little Red Schoolhouse); and some of it came in smaller portions, such as Steer Meadow (on Keller Road), a parcel of green sanctuary traversed by one of the Village's horse trails.

As the Village Administration and the Green Areas Commission focused attention on the value of donated Village green land, a number of Indian Hill residents joined individually or collectively in the effort. In one case, 13 families residing along Crabtree Lane, on their own initiative, joined together to help the Village purchase an adjacent 22 acre tract.

Some of the land now owned and preserved by the Village was acquired from land developers as new subdivisions were opened. To explain, a large tract, of, say 100 acres, in a five-acre zone, could have 20 building sites, but the Village has a unique program of permitting house construction on some three-acre tracts of land in a five-acre zone if a desirable adjoining two-acre plot for each exception is donated to the Green Areas. Thus, the remaining land could still be divided into 20 building sites, the five-acre zone provision is upheld, and the home owners could then enjoy an area surrounded by and/or interlaced with green, permanently preserved land.

The overall size of the Green Areas land has grown from 660 acres in 1962 to approximately 2500 acres today, the result of both resident donations of land and purchases by the Village. Also, the Indian Hill continues today to be very receptive to gifts of appropriate Green Areas land. Property owners are encouraged to consider preserving a portion of their land in the Green Areas Trust, thus adding to the scope of this outstanding program.