History of MainStrasse
When the City of Covington was founded in 1815, the area now known as the West Side-MainStrasse district was a farm owned by James Riddle. In 1820, Riddle proposed a plan to subdivide his land between the city and Willow Run Creek (now I-75), in hopes of forming a new town that he would call Hibernia. A bank scare in the 1820s, however, thwarted his plan, and Riddle deeded both his property and his Main Street ferry to the Bank of the United States. By 1832, the Main Street area was annexed by the City of Covington, and was initially used as a recreational area for the circus when in town. The West Side did not begin to develop until the 1840s, when Covington experienced a major influx of German immigrants. Advertisements citing the similarities in topography between the Rhine and Ohio River Valleys enticed the eager Germans to this area, at a rate of up to 200 a day. For over a century, the neighborhood was primarily populated by these families of German origin, whose habits, taste and institutions determined the character and landscape of this unique community.
The majority of the buildings in this area was built by the late 1870s and illustrates this district’s development as an urban residential neighborhood. Out of the approximately 800 buildings in this district, most are residences. These post-Civil War townhouses are distinguished by their variety of ornament, from the simple Greek Revival to the elaborate Gothic Revival applied to the same basic vernacular townhouse building type. It is this sense of continuity that graces the MainStrasse Historic District with some of the most picturesque streets in the country.
Points around MainStrasse
The Carroll Chimes Bell Tower
At the western end of the village stands the glockenspiel Carroll Chimes Bell Tower. In an effort to see Northern Kentucky grow as a vital tourist area, funding was appropriated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to develop the area of Main Strasse. Some of the monies were allotted to construct the tower. Architect Addison Clipson was commissioned to design the tower and worked with partner Bill Batson.
Completed in 1979, the tower was named in honor of the then governor of Kentucky, Julian Carroll.
The Goose Girl Fountain
Located in the center of the village is the bronze Goose Girl Fountain. The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitor's Bureau commissioned the noted Greek sculptor Elefcherious Karkadoulias to do the piece. Using his daughter as a model, he worked over one and a half years and cast the Goose Girl using the "lost wax" method. The fountain was erected and unveiled in October of 1980.
At one time, farmers raised geese in the Covington area. Thus, the German Grimm's fairy tale entitled the Goose Girl was the inspiration for the theme to represent the culture of the area.
Legend has it that a queen gave her daughter a magic handkerchief to protect her on her journey to be wed to a prince in a far away land. When stopping at a stream to water the horses, the princess dropped the handkerchief in the water. The evil handmaiden, finding her powerless, took over the princess's horse and gown.
When they arrived at the castle, the fake princess sent the real princess to a farmer saying she was a goose girl. Each day she would herd geese and at the end of the day the goose girl would unbraid her hair and cry. One day the farmer heard the crying and found out the truth.
The farmer took the goose girl to the king and told the whole truth. The prince and the real princess were married and lived happily with their geese the rest of their days. The fake princess was imprisoned.
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