History of Covington Ky
Covington is a city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 43,370; it is the fifth-most-populous city in Kentucky. It is one of two county seats of Kenton County. Covington is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Covington is part of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area and is separated from Cincinnati by the Ohio River and from Newport by the Licking River. Covington is located within the Upland South region of the United States of America; it is also acknowledged as a Midwestern city.
In 1814, John Gano, Richard Gano, and Thomas Carneal purchased 150 acres on the west side of the Licking River at its confluence with the Ohio River, referred to as "the Point," from Thomas Kennedy for $50,000. The men named their new riverfront enterprise the "Covington Company," in honor of their friend, General Leonard Covington, an American officer who once trained troops in the area and was killed in the War of 1812.
The other major development occurring during this time period was the construction of the Covington and Lexington Railroad in 1853. While the public square remained a hub for the "courthouse crowd," in large part because of the railroad, the area of Madison Avenue and Pike Street became the city's primary commercial center during the rest of 19th century and into the 20th century.
With a train stop at Russell and Pike Streets, which was also near the terminus of the Covington and Lexington Turnpike, the area of the city soon became a beehive of commercial activity. Packing houses, groceries, dry goods stores, meat markets, printers, jewelers, saloons, lumber yards, machine shops, hardware stores, and more than 20 hotels cropped up in this area of the city.
The next major project that spurred the economic growth of Covington was the decade-long construction of the Covington-Cincinnati Suspension Bridge between Covington and Cincinnati. Built by John A. Roebling, construction
In 1814, John Gano, Richard Gano, and Thomas Carneal purchased 150 acres on the west side of the Licking River at its confluence with the Ohio River, referred to as "the Point," from Thomas Kennedy for $50,000. The men named their new riverfront enterprise the "Covington Company," in honor of their friend, General Leonard Covington, an American officer who once trained troops in the area and was killed in the War of 1812.
The other major development occurring during this time period was the construction of the Covington and Lexington Railroad in 1853. While the public square remained a hub for the "courthouse crowd," in large part because of the railroad, the area of Madison Avenue and Pike Street became the city's primary commercial center during the rest of 19th century and into the 20th century.
With a train stop at Russell and Pike Streets, which was also near the terminus of the Covington and Lexington Turnpike, the area of the city soon became a beehive of commercial activity. Packing houses, groceries, dry goods stores, meat markets, printers, jewelers, saloons, lumber yards, machine shops, hardware stores, and more than 20 hotels cropped up in this area of the city.
The next major project that spurred the economic growth of Covington was the decade-long construction of the Covington-Cincinnati Suspension Bridge between Covington and Cincinnati. Built by John A. Roebling, construction