Explosion of a steam fire engine, Cincinnati

Steam Machines, Engines, Locomotives. In 1781 James Watt patented a steam engine that produced continuous rotary motion. Watt's ten-horsepower engines enabled a wide range of manufacturing machinery to be powered. The engines could be sited anywhere that water and coal or wood fuel could be obtained. By 1883, engines that could provide 10,000 hp had become feasible. The steam engine was one of the most important technologies of the Industrial Revolution.

Cincinnati wasn't always known by the present name. It was first called Ft. Washington in honor of George Washington. Then, in 1788, it was named Losantiville. There is no data on just who dreamed that name up, but in 1789, the local Indians came calling bent on destroying the tiny settlement. They failed. Another attack came in 1790 and 91. By 1802, the Indians gave up, and the settlement was named Cincinnati, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati by General Arthur St. Clair, then the governor of the Northwest Territory. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the one who named it "The Queen City of the West". Looking at any police car will remind you of the nickname. Winston Churchhill called Cincinnati one of the most beautiful cities in the Union. Harriet Beecher Stowe started writing "Uncle Tom's Cabin" while living in Cincinnati. Washington Roebling built a magnificent suspension bridge spanning the Ohio river long before the Brooklyn Bridge was built and it is still standing, looking as good as it did when it was first built in 1867. In the late 1800's, William Proctor and James Gamble established the company known as Proctor and Gamble, who made Star Candles. The candles were shipped to the Ohio River and each box was marked with a star inside of a circle. This logo evolved into the Moon and Stars logo that was recently removed from their products because a few people thought that it was satanic. Actually, the logo featured a moon with 13 stars, one for each of the original colonies. Cincinnati is located in Hamilton county, which was named for Alexander Hamilton.