City of Fort Thomas,
Kentucky
Known as the city of beautiful homes, Ft Thomas is perched
above the Ohio River on the northeast side of Campbell
County. Early settlement began along a toll road between
Newport and Cynthiana that is now known as US 27 in 1818.
But
it wasn't until 1846 when a second road, Jamestown Pike
was chartered did development begin in earnest.
The road was named initially named Jamestown because
it originated in the section of Dayton then known as Jamestown.
The road would later appear on some maps as MT Pleasant
Rd. A later road that would link the area to a river ferry
at Brent would become today's River Road.
Enough residents lived in the area by 1867 to consider
incorporation. They did so as the District of the Highlands.
The man credited with drafting the incorporation was former
US Attorney General under President Andrew Johnson, Henry
Stanbery.
The district's first board of trustees would meet at
the home Joseph Metcalf which was located at Alexandria
Pike and Ft Thomas Avenue. The site would later play host
to Samuel Woodfill Elementary.
Additional corridors to Ft Thomas came in 1872 when Newport
built a road to get to a reservoir it had built in the
Highlands. In 1888 Grand Avenue was built by land developer
Samuel Bigstaff, who saw the potential of the Highland
as a bedroom community.
The biggest change in the Highlands came in the late
1800's when the army decided to relocate the Newport Military
Barracks because of flooding problems at the existing
location on the Licking and Ohio rivers. The army selected
the site in large because its elevation made flooding
impossible.
To provide better transportation to the new fort, street
car tracks were laid. That prompted the development of
more homes and several resort hotels, including the Altamont,
Shelly Arms and Avenel. The fort also triggered the development
of a small business district across from the fort that
became known as the "Midway".
A movement to incorporate into a city came in 1910, but
little came of the effort. In 1912 another effort resulted
in plans to incorporate on June 15th, 1912. The courts
dissolved the incorporation on Sept. 27, 1912 as a result
of two residents filing suit.
After a failed attempt to annex the Highlands by Newport,
residents again were prompted to incorporate. They succeeded
in 1914 and included the area known as Ft Thomas, Guyville
and Dale. The incorporation forced debate over what to
name the community. Many wanted to retain the name "Highlands"
but others felt that the community should capitalize on
the military fort and its national recognition. In the
end Ft Thomas prevailed.
Ft Thomas today is working to revitalize the the downtown
business community which has been sleeping for years.
