Rachel Wells News

Robert Bonner Bowler: A “Baron of Clifton”

By Jan Checco

This article was first published in the Summer 2022 Clifton Chronicle.

Robert Bonner Bowler

Robert Bowler (1803-1864) came to Cincinnati from Providence, Rhode Island in 1820. In 1842, he married Susan Pendleton, granddaughter of the politically powerful Judge Nathaniel Pendleton, and made his riches in dry goods and railroading. His 1845 two-story brick and stucco house – Mount Storm – featured two terraces and a porch with views of the Kentucky hills sweeping up the Mill Creek. A tower was added later.

Bowler’s landscape included shade trees from around the world and 17 greenhouses, making it like none other in the Midwest. A lovingly-tended collection of rare roses, 90 varieties of camellia, 60 begonia varieties, a collection of bananas and palm trees were splendidly complemented by seven Australian black swans gliding on small lakes. A publication of the period noted, “The entire residence was most lavishly decorated with rare plants, bright flowers and buds, exotics evergreen and smilax, the perfume of which filled the air.”

Sadly, Bowler enjoyed this paradise for only 19 years. He was struck and killed in 1864 by an urban stagecoach. His wife, their three children and grandchildren stayed on with the help of Irish laborer James Cluxton, who worked for 53 years to care for the property and helped to rear the children born at Mount Storm.  

The city of Cincinnati purchased Mount Storm and its 70 acres from the Bowler family in 1912 with a promise to make it a park. The former grand home was demolished when a battle to save it was lost in 1917.

Robert Bonner Bowler had this two-story brick and stucco house built in 1845. Named “Mount Storm,” the home was surrounded by a 70-acre landscape featuring rare roses, palm trees and more. The home was demolished in 1917 and the land became Mt. Storm Park.
Rachel Wells News

A Treasury of Millstones

By Geoff Gelke, The History Bluffs

This article was first published in the Summer 2022 Clifton Chronicle.

Halfway down the northern curve of Clifton Avenue resides Dr.Thurman Henderson in “Shady Side,” a splendid Italianate mansion built in 1851 by Joseph Clarkson Ringwalt, successful Cincinnati merchant. The hilltop residence is embraced by woodland that, in the 19th century, included a “pretty lakelet” formed by damming the ravine behind the home. Replete with select trees and foliage, the property enjoyed raves in Sydney Maxwell’s 1870 publication Suburbs of Cincinnati. One can imagine the Ringwalts’ pleasure, swimming for over fifty-five years within their private fairyland forest!

Pictured is an edge-roller millstone, part of 18th century machinery used to crush grain. Millstones were found near a home in Clifton and donated to Clifton Town Meeting in 2022. Some were moved to Clifton Plaza for all to see.

Today, Dr. Henderson – a renowned physicist, inventor, engineer and scientist – continues to enjoy vestiges of his property’s past grandeur. He was delighted to recently understand details that formerly eluded comprehension – dozens of 24- to 40-inch-wide round and flat stones, all hiding in plain sight throughout the grounds. Eighteenth century millstones!

These probably came from the 1791 Irwin Mill – a grist mill built along the Mill Creek at the bottom of Clifton Avenue (called Irwin Mill Road until 1848.) The stones are classified as “edge-roller” type, engineered to roll on their wide edge surfaces around a large flat stone. Connected to a center drive shaft, the wheels rolled in circles, crushing grain spread beneath them. The grooves on the edges facilitated the movement of ground grain out to a deep circular pan where the flour was collected and bagged. More than one millstone could be driven by the center shaft, powered by gigantic overhead wooden gears, which were rotated by a waterwheel turning in the creek water’s flow. In periods of drought, the hydraulic flow was assured by a nearby “mill pond” via water channeled downhill in a “race run” (wooden trough). Such simple grist mills were typical in wilderness times when most millstones in America came from France or England, perhaps accompanied by the huge wooden gearing which allowed frontier mills to be constructed quickly.

Much to the disappointment of William Irwin, his mill was eclipsed by the 1830s when the Miami & Erie Canal came through the valley. Among the ruins would have been piles of used millstones, just waiting to be discovered by Mr. Ringwalt and recognized for their potential as pavers. Scores of them were set in place throughout his estate as stepping stones down into the ravine through the woods on the way to the pond. The millstones now protrude irregularly from the ground, shifted by 150 years of erosion.

Thanks to the generosity of Dr. Henderson, visitors to Clifton can now view and touch some of these millstones and imagine them at work in 1791, grinding flour to bake the bread of Clifton’s first farmers.  Could these be our community’s oldest relics?

Rachel Wells News

Hiding in Plain Sight: Clifton History in Our Sidewalks

By Margaret Reich

This article was first published in the Clifton Chronicle

One of several bronze “art carpet” along Ludlow Avenue. This one features a card catalogue and book spines in reference to Clifton Branch Library, which was once housed in a nearby building. Photo by Kip Eagen.

While serving as president of the Clifton Community Fund, one of the most fun emails I’ve received came from a Clifton resident curious about the beautiful bronze panels inset on the sidewalks of Ludlow Avenue. A book lover, she asked about the plaque in front of Gaslight Bar and Grill that features a card catalog and book spines with titles she did not recognize. Many Clifton residents may not know that this building once housed our neighborhood library. The titles and authors featured are all inside jokes about Clifton and Cincinnati history. For instance, “I Know Where the Bodies Are Buried” by Adolph Strauch: He was the 19th century designer and landscaper of Spring Grove Cemetery. Israel Ludlow was a surveyor who helped to found Cincinnati. The Academy of the Sacred Heart on Lafayette Avenue was built to look like an English castle. “Schnecken: A Tale of Butter and Cinnamon,” by Virginia Bakery: this recalls the beloved bakery famous for a pastry sold from the shop where we now find J. Gumbo’s. Sharp observers will notice that the wisteria arbor next to J. Gumbo’s still has “Virginia Bakery” etched into the wood.

While serving as president of the Clifton Community Fund, one of the most fun emails I’ve received came from a Clifton resident curious about the beautiful bronze panels inset on the sidewalks of Ludlow Avenue. A book lover, she asked about the plaque in front of Gaslight Bar and Grill that features a card catalog and book spines with titles she did not recognize. Many Clifton residents may not know that this building once housed our neighborhood library. The titles and authors featured are all inside jokes about Clifton and Cincinnati history. For instance, “I Know Where the Bodies Are Buried” by Adolph Strauch: He was the 19th century designer and landscaper of Spring Grove Cemetery. Israel Ludlow was a surveyor who helped to found Cincinnati. The Academy of the Sacred Heart on Lafayette Avenue was built to look like an English castle. “Schnecken: A Tale of Butter and Cinnamon,” by Virginia Bakery: this recalls the beloved bakery famous for a pastry sold from the shop where we now find J. Gumbo’s. Sharp observers will notice that the wisteria arbor next to J. Gumbo’s still has “Virginia Bakery” etched into the wood.

There are six bronze plaques in total, inlaid on sidewalks on both sides of Ludlow Avenue. Originally called “Art Carpets,” the art panels were fabricated and installed in 2010. In 2016, CCF helped to reset them after some had started to shift. Take a look at the plaques as you stroll the business district this spring, ice cream cone or coffee drink in hand. Many of them are still related to adjacent buildings as are the ones in front of the Esquire and Graeter’s. All contain insider references to businesses, landmarks, and individuals from our neighborhood’s past. I’ll share more Art Carpets backstories in future issues of the Chronicle. You can send questions or any insights you might have about them to cliftonccf@gmail.com.

Rachel Wells News

Clifton History in Our Sidewalks, Part II

By Margaret Reich, with Kip Eagen

This article was first published in the Summer 2022 Clifton Chronicle.

Six bronze plaques were imbedded in the sidewalks of the Ludlow Avenue business district in 2010 as part of a larger Ludlow Avenue revitalization project, which also included establishment of the seating area at Ludlow and Telford. The plaques were designed and fabricated by the Andrews/LeFevre Studios in New York City, guided by input from our community. The plaques commemorate the history, buildings and businesses of Clifton.

The Clifton residents who worked with the city on this project included Jinny Berten, Kip Eagen, Phil Herrick, and Steve Schuckman with the support of ArtWorks. The intention was to create visually striking works of art called “Art Carpets.” The content is whimsical in nature with visual puns and “insider” references to local history. These public art works are unique to Clifton within Cincinnati. 

The largest plaque sits in front of Clifton Plaza. Look carefully and the images are self-explanatory, celebrating some of Clifton’s exceptional architecture, like the allegedly haunted house on Cornell Avenue. A favorite true story is remembered, of the cow that escaped a Camp Washington slaughterhouse and evaded capture in Mt. Storm Park for 12 days. Some of the Art Carpets are related to nearby buildings (one at the Esquire Theatre, one in front of Graeter’s Ice Cream). Let me know which plaque you’d next like to know about at cliftonccf@gmail.com.

One of several bronze “art carpets” ne of several bronze “art carpets” embedded in the sidewalk along Ludlow Avenue. The one pictured here is the largest and sits in front of Clifton Plaza. It depicts examples of Clifton’s architectural gems, a fountain, a gas-lit streetlamp, and more.