Indian Hill Historical Society
8100 Given Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45243

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

The Story of Indian Hill

Indian Hill is a quiet residential community in Southwest Ohio, just a few miles northeast of the City of Cincinnati. First settled in 1795, Indian Hill in its early years saw pioneer farmers, millers, and merchants. Earlier, its inhabitants were from the Shawnee, Miami and Delaware tribes, drawn to the area by its abundant source of water and fertile soil for their crops. Indians roamed the tree-covered gently rolling hills long before Major Benjamin Stites, surveyor, trader, and Army officer, came to the area in 1787 and purchased the scenic land for 66 cents an acre.

By the end of the 18th century, the Ohio River community known as Columbia attracted pioneers who moved over the Appalachian Mountains into the "West" by wagon and by boat. In their search for good farm land and timber, settlers moved up the Little Miami River Valley. During conflicts with Indians local farmers' families sought refuge in stockades such as Nelson's and Covalt's Stations, resuming working their farm land when peace returned. By 1795, with the Treaty of Greenville, Indian/farmer confrontations lessened.

Many of Indian Hill's early settlers came by flatboat down the Ohio River, and then up the Little Miami to the promising farm land of that river valley. Early residents such as John Elliott, Christian Waldschmidt, Matthias Kugler, and Nathaniel Armstrong established mills for lumber, paper, grain, and cotton and wool; and these millers sold their products in nearby Montgomery and Milford and to the commercial establishments of Cincinnati.

During the Civil War years Camp Dennison was established nearby as a Union Army training ground for recruits. One of the largest Union Army encampments, Camp Dennison's site was chosen for its proximity to the Little Miami River and the railroad line. It remained active throughout the War Between The States, and in its later years of 1864 and 1865 was a hospital for wounded Union soldiers.

Indian Hill continued as a farming community throughout the rest of the 1800's, and today several working farms still remain in the Village. However, the decades after the turn of the century saw a major change in its make-up, because of the area's appeal as a place for summer homes. In the 1920's well-to-do families began moving from older Cincinnati sections such as Clifton and Avondale to establish large country estates in Indian Hill. A group of Cincinnati businessmen formed the Camargo Realty Company and laid out a community of residential building sites adjacent to its own golf course, country club, and polo grounds and stables.

Luxurious stables were built on many of the estates, and fox hunting and polo were major facets of the life of the property owners. The Camargo Hunt (established in 1925) was the focus of the social life of many residents, and this group continues to hunt occasionally within the Village even today. Today in Indian Hill the barns (there are over 200 of them) are a picturesque part of the Village architecture, ranging in size from large boarding stables to simple two or three-stall shelters for family mounts, as many of the residents make good use of local horse trails.

In 1941 Indian Hill was incorporated, with a Charter that states, "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 that it shall continue to be a rural neighborhood of homes and farms." A firm zoning policy designates one, three, and five acre sites throughout Indian Hill, and there are no multiple housing, commercial establishments, or office buildings.

At the time of incorporation the population of Indian Hill's almost 20 square miles (equaling about 1/4 the area of Cincinnati at that time) was 1,500. Since then, the population has grown to over 5,000 persons, which gives the "Village" the official designation of a "city" with a council-manager form of government. The seven-person Council, elected at large for two-year terms, selects one of its members as Mayor. The mayor presides over Council meetings, serves as judge in Mayor's Court, which has jurisdiction over Village ordinances, and is the ceremonial head of the Village of Indian Hill. The professional City Manager conducts the day-to-day business of the community, referring to Council matters that pertain to basic Village policy.

The Indian Hill Rangers, founded in 1903 as the volunteer "Horse Rangers" has grown into a fully equipped, well-staffed police force. The fire protection of the Village is in the hands of the Madeira and Indian Hill Fire Company, founded in 1924 in Madeira and extended into Indian Hill in 1929. This also was once a small volunteer force, established by a citizens' committee for fighting fires in the sparsely populated, spread-out area of Indian Hill. Now equipped with the latest in firefighting apparatus, the Fire Company operates from two local fire stations and has a staff of over forty full and part-time professionals. From their own headquarters buildings, two other service aspects of the Village operate: the community-owned Indian Hill Water Works and the full-time fully-staffed Service Department.

Education is a top priority with the residents of Indian Hill, with public, private, and parochial schools serving the area. The Exempted Village School District (established in 1951) traces its history back to the remaining one-room schoolhouses located in the Village, and even further back to the first settlers' log cabin schools which these brick structures replaced. Today professional educators operate the modern, award-winning schools that make up the Indian Hill system. Cincinnati Country Day School is also located within the Village. Founded in 1926, Country Day is a private school with a headmaster-style organization and draws students from all of metropolitan Cincinnati.

The churches of Indian Hill are an outstanding feature of both the landscape and the life of the Village. A number of denominations are represented, and their congregations' buildings serve as meeting places for cultural as well as religious activities.

Community gatherings include such Village functions as the annual 4th of July Parade, Easter Egg Hunt, Memorial Day program, and participation in all the activities of the Recreation Commission, ranging from an all-sports program to playground supervision.

The principal factor in the over-all atmosphere of rural calm of this community is the Green Areas land of the Village. Almost 25% of Indian Hill's acreage is owned by the Village, administered by the Green Areas Commission, and dedicated in perpetuity to its preservation as unspoiled woods and fields. Parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields are part of this picture, but it is the abundant Green Areas' virgin woods and streams that most contribute to the uniqueness of Indian Hill. 

The families who live in the Village value its rural atmosphere, its reputation for safety, its strong sense of history and community, its firm administration of zoning ordinances, and its proximity to the cultural life of a large city. This is Indian Hill.