City Of Alexandria, Kentucky

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Alexandria, one of the two county seats in of Campbell County, lies eight miles south of Newport, the other county seat. When part of Campbell County went to create Kenton County in 1840, legislators designated Alexandria the county seat of Campbell because it was close to the center of the county, and a courthouse was built in Alexandria. The frustrated residents of Newport, built their own courthouse in 1884. An arrangement was worked out under which the county's fiscal court and judicial offices are located in the Newport courthouse while the Alexandria courthouse houses the administrative offices.

The Alexandria area is believed to have been settled in 1793 by Frank Spillman and his family who came from Virginia, and may have named the location for Alexandria Virginia. Spillman began developing the town and selling lots in 1819. The city was incorporated in 1834.

Because the road between Newport and Winchester that was built by the state in 1836 was little more than a trail. Campbell County residents formed a turnpike association to construct a better road. The road completed in 1856, came to be known as the Alexandria Pike. It was owned by the Newport and Alexandria Turnpike Company and had two toll gates in Alexandria. The farmers and the residents of the 1900's wanted a free road for access to the markets in Newport, Covington and Cincinnati, so the county purchased the road in 1921. It soon became a part of today's U.S. 27.

Because of Alexandria's location near the center of the county and away from the river, the rapid growth and industrial development that affected most other Northern Kentucky cities didn't occur there. Today's Alexandria, still considered rural, is only beginning to see a large amount of growth from the recent completion of the AA Highway. Residential subdivisions as well as strip shopping centers are now starting to sprout all around the area.