Ohio has a fascinating history and reputation that precedes it. While Ohio is best known as The Birthplace of Presidents and its role in the Underground Railroad, there’s much more to discover in the Buckeye State. For instance, the small town of Mt. Healthy is home to just under 7,000 residents and is, by all appearances, a sleepy inner-ring suburb of Cincinnati. But it wasn’t always that way; when the cholera epidemic struck Ohio in 1849, Mt. Healthy became a refuge and haven for the healthy.
When the country grappled with the mounting realities of COVID-19 in 2020, there was a small town in Ohio that braved the pandemic with the calm confidence that can only come from experience.
City of Mt. Healthy, OH/Facebook
When the cholera epidemic struck Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849, many residents fled north to Mt. Healthy – nee Mt. Pleasant – which had proven to be a sanctuary from the disease due to the lack of urban crowding and its distance from the Ohio River, two factors that had caused its rapid proliferation in Cincinnati.
elycefeliz/Flickr
For this reason (and due to another Ohio town of the same name), Mt. Pleasant was renamed Mt. Healthy, a moniker that reflects its history as a safe haven during the cholera epidemic of the 1800s.
Mt.Healthy Historical Society/Facebook
Mt. Healthy’s history as a safe haven is multifaceted, in fact. During the Civil War, many homes in Mt. Healthy served as stations on the Underground Railroad, and the city was quite involved in the abolitionist movement.
Mt.Healthy Historical Society/Facebook
Today, Mt. Healthy’s history is an extricable part of the town’s identity, and the Mt. Healthy Historical Society proudly documents and displays artifacts and totems from times long ago.
Mt.Healthy Historical Society/Facebook
Mt. Healthy was eventually incorporated as a village in 1893 and an official city in 1951, when the population finally exceeded 5,000.
Mt.Healthy Historical Society/Facebook Today, Mt. Healthy continues to be a refuge for families and folks looking for a slice of small-town life just a stone’s throw from one of the state’s largest cities.
Did you know the role Mt. Healthy played in the Ohio cholera epidemic? What a fascinating part of Ohio history!
City of Mt. Healthy, OH/Facebook
elycefeliz/Flickr
Mt.Healthy Historical Society/Facebook
Today, Mt. Healthy continues to be a refuge for families and folks looking for a slice of small-town life just a stone’s throw from one of the state’s largest cities.
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Address: Mount Healthy, Mt Healthy, OH 45231, USA
