Bond Hill, Cincinnati facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bond Hill
Neighborhood of Cincinnati
Bond Hill (red) within Cincinnati, OH
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Hamilton
City	Cincinnati
Founded	1870
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,002
ZIP code	45237

Bond Hill is one of the 52 neighborhoods in Cincinnati, Ohio. It started as a community connected to Cincinnati by a railroad in 1870. Bond Hill is located near the Mill Creek. In 2020, about 7,002 people lived there.

History of Bond Hill

How Bond Hill Started

Bond Hill began as a place where people lived and then traveled by train to work in Cincinnati. It was created by a group called the Cooperative Land and Building Association No.1. This group was special because it was the first housing cooperative in Cincinnati after the Civil War. It was also the first group to be formed based on shared ideas, not just people from the same background.

Five men started the cooperative in 1870. They first planned to build homes in a different area. But for reasons we don't fully know, they decided to build in the area they named Bond Hill. One of the founders, Henry Watkin, an English printer who believed in creating ideal communities, likely suggested the new location.

For at least 11 years after Bond Hill was founded, selling alcohol was not allowed there. This rule was part of the cooperative's official rules. In the early 1880s, there was a disagreement about the community's church. Some thought it was for everyone, while others saw it as a Presbyterian church. This disagreement caused a split in the community. After this, the original founders had less power in leading the community. Bond Hill officially became a village in 1886.

Where Did the Name "Bond Hill" Come From?

The exact reason for the name "Bond Hill" is a bit of a mystery. Old newspaper articles from 1871 say that "Bond Hill" was the name of the area even 40 years before. This means the name was used as early as the 1830s.

An old story from 1961, told by George E. Patmor, an early resident, gives a clue. He said that people from nearby towns would walk through the woods to a sawmill owned by a man named Bond. People would say they were "going up on Bond Hill" to reach Bond's sawmill. This is how the name might have stuck.

Bond Hill Grows and Changes

Bond Hill became part of Cincinnati in 1903. For many years, until the mid-1930s, Bond Hill was mostly countryside. It had many orchards and dairy farms. New roads, like Bloody Run (later called Victory) Parkway, became the main ways to get in and out of the neighborhood. These new roads replaced the old Miami-Erie Canal.

Because of these changes, homes and businesses started to replace the farms. In the 1950s, a large high school, a parking lot, and a shopping center were built in the northern part of Bond Hill. More building happened in the 1960s when new highways were constructed. These included Interstate 75 Millcreek Expressway and the Norwood Lateral. Many people living in Bond Hill did not want these new developments, but their concerns were mostly ignored.

Over time, the neighborhood became more urban, and the environment changed. This led to many white residents moving out of Bond Hill in the 1960s and 1970s. Real estate agents and banks also played a role in this change. They used practices like "redlining" (making it hard for people in certain areas to get loans) and "blockbusting" (encouraging people to sell their homes quickly).

To fight these changes, the Bond Hill-Roselawn Community Council was started in 1965. For the next 20 years, this group worked to create a plan for the community. They also tried to stop people from leaving the neighborhood. They successfully created a "Bond Hill Community Master Plan" in 1977. In 1982, the "Old Bond Hill Village" Historic District was recognized, helping to protect older parts of the neighborhood.

In 2016, a new plan called the "Bond Hill + Roselawn Community Plan" was created. This new plan replaced the 1977 one. It was developed by a new group, the Bond Hill + Roselawn Collaborative. Many community members, business owners, and religious leaders helped create this plan over two years.

People in Bond Hill

In 2020, about 7,002 people lived in Bond Hill. There were 3,581 homes. Most people living in the neighborhood were Black or African American (87.0%). About 6.7% were White, and smaller numbers were Asian, Native American, or from other backgrounds. About 3.1% of the people were Hispanic or Latino.

There were 3,243 households, and about half of them (51.5%) were families. About 45.3% of all households were made up of people living alone.

About 25.7% of the people in Bond Hill were under 18 years old. Most people (54.1%) were between 18 and 64. About 20.2% were 65 years old or older. Slightly more than half of the population (51.4%) were female.

From 2016 to 2020, the average yearly income for a household in Bond Hill was about $39,637. About 20.4% of families lived below the poverty line. About 18.0% of adults had a bachelor's degree or higher.

The Bond Hill Bella Vista Historic District

On October 16, 2019, the Cincinnati City Council voted to make The Bond Hill Bella Vista Historic District a special historic area. It was the 25th historic district in the city. This district is located east of Reading Road, along Bella Vista Street. Bella Vista Street is a short, one-block road with no outlet, and all its power lines are underground.

The Bond Hill Bella Vista Historic District is important for a few reasons. It is Cincinnati's first historic district where most of the buildings are in the "Tudor Revival" style. It is also the first historic district made up mostly of buildings from the 1920s and 1930s.