Walnut Hills: A bit of history . . .

Walnut Hills was the name of Rev. James Kemper's farm. Rev. Kemper built his house in 1804 near the corner of what is now Kemper Lane and Windsor Street.

Rev. Kemper was born in Virginia in 1753. He was a surveyor but eventually studied theology and was licensed by Spring of 1791. He arrived in Cincinnati in Fall of 1791, a mere 3 years after the city's founding. He help found First Presbyterian of Walnut Hills in 1819 and was pastor there until his death in 1834.

The Rev. Kemper's farm would grow up to be a large portion of the neighborhood of Walnut Hills. In 1829, he gifted some land to the Lane Seminary. And after his death, his sons (He had 15 children!) sold much of the family farm to development.

Anyway, I am always reminded of Walnut Hills' rural past when I see this grand, Queen Anne home on Park Avenue. (And not far from the Reverend's house.) And every time I drive around I am amazed at the architecture throughout the neighborhood.


References:
History of the Early American Presbyterian Church website.

Historic photo from the Library's Cincinnati Memory Project.