Falmouth, 1853
Falmouth, September 19, 1853 - As the town of Falmouth is soon to be introduced as your next door neighbor, up the railroad, and to enter into close and friendly relations with your city, it may be well enough to "post up" your readers a little in regard to Falmouth, and its surroundings. You, also, Mr. Editor, might make an acquaintance with us profitable, by extending the circulation of your valuable paper, in a district that must naturally look to your city for the news, the markets, etc.
Falmouth, the county seat of Pendleton county, contains about three thousand and fifty inhabitants. It is distant from Covington, by the Covington and Lexington railroad, thirty-eight miles. It is situated at the confluence of Main and South Licking rivers, in a beautiful valley of about three miles in circumference, embraced for the greater part by two rivers. The valley is quite level, fertile, dry, and has never [!?] been overflown. For beauty of situation or romantic surroundings, Falmouth is not surpassed by any town in the west; overlooked, as the place is, by high hills, from which you have a fine view, in the valleys opening to the north, the south, and the east, with silver threadlike rivers, winding through them, spanned by bridges and margined by green trees. The town enjoys superior water power, and water for all purposes in its rivers; and its springs and hills the greatest abundance of the purest and coldest water for drinking. No place in my acquaintance is so beautifully watered, and where ice is so little wanted.
With such health of locality, such pure air and water, such fresh country scenery, what valley more pleasant could be found to nestle a college in than this? But an hour or two's ride from the noise and dust of the city, it must and will be sought as a desirable retreat. For schools or institutions of learning, no place in the State offers more natural inducements, or will be more easy of access from north or south.
In regard to the country, Falmouth is surrounded, for the most part, it is true, by a hilly country but with good soil, producing the grasses in the greatest perfection; say, real clover, timothy, and blue grass; so far as I have seen the experiment fairly tested, scarcely excelled by the boasted grass lands of the center of the State. With the hand of industry and enterprise, our hills might soon be covered with the finest stock of every kind, and to the rearing of sheep, they are extremely well adapted. As our lands are yet cheap, how easy stock farms, which are the pride of any country, might be made to beautify our hills. Our access to market will be speedy enough for the dairy farmer.
Our bottoms and uplands produce all the staples of the country in abundance. Our ridges, for tobacco, and fruits of all kinds, are unrivalled.
In a business point of view, Falmouth will command quite a large section of country, and to meet the demands of the people, a considerable warehouse and commission business will have to be done.
It will be one of the best places in northern Kentucky for the manufacture and prizing of tobacco. For the manufacture of cooperage, every inducement is offered, that of easy access to markets, that abundant and cheap material of the very best kind, can offer. In fact, mechanics of almost every sort, producing for the city, the town, or the country, might drive a profitable business here. It would be a capital point for the slaughtering of hogs, for the city packers, having advantages equal to Plainsville, or any point on the roads leading north, or west, from Cincinnati. Situate at the floor of the rich valley of the South Licking, at the probable junction of the Maysville and Covington road with the Covington and Lexington (for we are but thirty-five miles from Maysville, by way of Main Licking and North Fork valleys) it must be a point for the collection and shipment of much stock.
In this short article, we have space to refer to but few of the advantages that time and enterprise must develope [sic] in our suburban town. As the road will be open by the first of October, and out citizens design giving on the day of its opening, an old-fashioned Kentucky barbeque, if the weather permits, we would say to all, come and see for yourselves. We will give you a very hearty welcome.
[signed] B
Covington Journal, September 24, 1853