First Cincinnati Corp history

In 1819, Daniel Drake established the Medical College of Ohio, hoping to improve medical care on the frontier.

By early 1795, a spinning wheel manufacturer, a brewer, a chair manufacturer, and a butcher all had opened up businesses. It continued to grow, reaching nearly ten thousand people by 1820.

In 1854, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem, Catawba Wine, to memorialize the city's vineyards, especially those of Nicholas Longworth.

On October 6, 1871, Henry Probasco presented the fountain to the people of Cincinnati as a memorial to his brother-in-law, Tyler Davidson.

The company that would become Cincinnati Bell was founded in 1873, when the City and Suburban Telegraph Association was incorporated in the State of Ohio.

By 1874 the fledgling company had issued stock to raise funds, held its first shareholders' meeting, and selected a president.

In July of 1877 the managers of the City and Suburban Telegraph Association were given a demonstration of a new communication device, the telephone.

Carvings of flowers, birds, and symbols of crafts, arts, and sciences on its gray sandstone trim indicate the many uses for which Music Hall was originally intended when it opened on April 8, 1878.

In May of 1879 Cincinnati's first telephone book appeared, with classified listings of over 500 patrons.

The first class graduated in 1883, and the college became the major training centre for rabbis and teachers of the Reform movement.

Despite these setbacks, by 1885 the system had expanded to include 450 towns surrounding Cincinnati, and an ever-increasing number of customers within city limits.

By 1890, Cincinnati had become the largest city in Ohio with a population of about 300,000.

In 1893, Cincinnati's first long-distance call was put through to the mayor of New York City.

In 1903 the company changed its name, becoming the Cincinnati and Suburban Bell Telephone Company.

In the following year, the first public coin-operated phones were installed, and in 1905 they began appearing on city streets.

Also in 1913 Cincinnati Bell moved into a new headquarters building, lending much-needed room for an additional exchange.

In July of 1919 the first union of Cincinnati Bell employees was formed when the Telephone Employees Association was voted into existence to advocate for higher wages and better working conditions.

By 1923, its fiftieth year, Cincinnati Bell's network incorporated almost 141,000 phones.

On a slightly less grand scale, Cincinnati Bell inaugurated its own submarine cable when it laid wires across the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky, in 1928.

By 1929 Cincinnati Bell boasted a network of nearly 200,000 telephones, and assets worth $38 million.

In 1937 service to 13,000 Cincinnati Bell telephones was knocked out when the Ohio River flooded once again, spilling over its banks and cresting at 80 feet.

In 1941 Cincinnati Bell celebrated the installation of its 100,000th phone.

The city’s population peaked at 504,000 in 1950 and thereafter declined, which was mirrored by steady population growth in the metropolitan area.

By 1952 Cincinnati Bell had attained its goal of converting its entire system to dial service.

In 1968 Cincinnati Bell suffered a strike by the Communications Workers of America; it lasted for two weeks before the company granted workers wage increases.

For its hundredth birthday celebration on October 16, 1971, the Tyler Davidson Fountain was renovated, moved to a new location on Fountain Square Plaza and turned to face west instead of east.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cincinnati Bell reorganized itself as a holding company and entered the software business, forming Cincinnati Bell Information Systems, Inc. in 1983 to sell computer programs for telecommunications systems.