City of Covington, Kentucky

Covington, the largest city in northern Kentucky is located at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio Rivers. In the 18th century this area was known as the Point, a popular rendezvous place for explorers and pioneers.

In 1780 the site was presented as a military warrant to George Muse in recognition of his service during the French and Indian War. Thomas Kennedy who established a farm, a ferryboat service and a tavern later acquired it.

In 1814 Kennedy sold 150 acres of the land for the purpose of establishing a city there. On Feb. 8th 1815 the Kentucky legislature approved an act creating the town of Covington. The community was named in honor of Gen. Leonard Covington of Maryland who had been mortally wounded in the War of 1812.

By 1830 the town had a population of 715, a log church, several Inns and a schoolhouse where the town trustees met. In 1834 Covington received its charter as a city. Mortimer Benton was elected the first mayor.

Large numbers of Irish and German immigrants helped make Covington the state's 2nd. largest city by 1850. During the Confederate invasion of Kentucky in 1862, southern troops commanded by Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, threatened northern Kentucky, and Union Gen. Lew Wallace declared marshall law in Covington. A pontoon bridge was laid over coal barges in the Ohio River to rush Cincinnati militia troops over to Covington to build and occupy fortifications south of the city. The bridge proved to be of value and in 1867 the suspension bridge was designed by John Roebling was opened.

In 1888 the bridge of the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad was opened, and the city was connected by rail with Cincinnati. The Covington & Lexington Railroad had connected with Lexington as early as 1854. In the 1890's a city waterworks, an electric plant and a streetcar system were built. Men such as John G. Carlisle and William Goebel, whose brief time as a Kentucky governor in 1900 was ended by an unknown assassin, dominated local politics during the era.

In the early 1900's Covington expanded its boundaries by annexing the City of Central Covington (Peaselburg) in 1906, Latonia in 1909 and West Covington in 1909. Attempts to annex Ludlow failed. Covington's population grew to more than 53,000 by 1910. That year was the same that the Roman Catholic Cathedral Bassilica of the Assumption was completed.

In the 30's the population peaked at over 65,000 as many eastern Kentuckians flocked to the area in search of jobs during the Great Depression. In the decades that followed, the population of Covington declined as suburban cities started to grow in Kenton and surrounding counties. After World War II a number of the city's well-established businesses and industries moved to suburban outskirts.