General Arthur St. Clair established Losantiville (Cincinnati) in 1788. Settlers began arriving after Fort Washington was built nearby. Situated along the Ohio River, Losantiville was renamed Cincinnati in 1790.

Cincinnati emerged as a river port when the first steamboat arrived from Pittsburgh in 1811. Its importance grew with the completion of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1832 and the start of Little Miami Railway in 1843.

The city was an important point in the Underground Railroad route and despite its location, Cincinnati supported Abraham Lincoln and the Union Army during the Civil War. After the war the economy suffered as trade with the South was reduced. This problem was partly overcome by the building of the railroad to Tennessee.

In 1990 the population of Cincinnati was 364,114. The city, which is one of the country's largest inland coal ports, produces soap products, chemicals, clothing, transportation equipment, building materials, furniture, cosmetics, printing, jet engines packaged meats.