In 1807, Evan Price, a wealthy Welsh merchant, came to the area and began investing in land west of the Mill Creek. His son, General Rees E. Price, married in 1824 and began developing the Price Hill area. It soon became known as Price's Hill, and later shortened to Price Hill. He built a brickyard, a sawmill, and laid out a subdivision. As the bustling inner city had become noisy and polluted with commerce and industry, many wealthier residents were attracted to this early suburb. A little farther west, a neighborhood called Warsaw cropped up near where Seton High School is now. Eventually Warsaw grew and merged with Price Hill.
With the expansion of Price Hill and the difficulty of accessing the western hilltop enclaves, hills reaching as high as 860 feet above sea level, so in 1874 John and William Price (Price’s sons) built a cable railway with funds provided by their father.
The incline became a continuation of 8th Street and climbed 350 feet over the top of the hill. Once in operation the incline brought thousands of new residents to Price Hill, many of them German or Irish Catholic. Unlike most of the other City owned inclines the no alcohol was served at the top of the incline due to the fear of accidents gaining the nickname “Buttermilk Mountain”. In 1876 a freight line was built making it the only one in the Cincinnati area, allowing heavier freight. Once atop horse drawn cars would carry the goods away. The incline house became known for its entertainment and dining, ot to mention the view of the skyline. In 1928 the original steam engines were replaced with electric and were the chief means of transportation till 1943 when it broke down. You can still see the track locations nearby this cache site.
