Fort Thomas, Kentucky
Postcard of the Fort in 1909
Nickname: Caketown
Motto: City of Beautiful Homes
Coordinates: 39°4′34″N 84°27′5″W / 39.07611, -84.45139
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Campbell
Settled	c. 1855
Incorporated	1867
Government
- Mayor	Mary H. Brown
- City Administrative Officer	Don Martin
- City Treasure	Fred W. Ewall
Area
- City	km²  ( sq mi)
- Land	km² ( sq mi)
- Water	km² ( sq mi)  0.7%
Elevation	m ( ft)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/km² (/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP	41075
Area code(s)	859
FIPS code	21-28594
GNIS feature ID	0492357
Website: http://www.ftthomas.org

Fort Thomas is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, along the Ohio River. The population was 16,495 at the 2000 census. The current mayor is Mary H. Brown. The city's official nickname is The City of Beautiful Homes and is known unofficially as Cake Town.

Geography

Fort Thomas is located at 39°4′34″N, 84°27′5″W (39.076011, -84.451273).¹

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.7 km² (6.4 mi²). 14.7 km² (5.7 mi²) of it is land and 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (11.82%) is water.

Climate

Fort Thomas is located within a climatic transition zone at the extreme northern limit of the humid subtropical climate. The local climate is a basically a blend of the subtropics to the south and the humid continental climate to the north. There are several "micro-climates" found in Fort Thomas which produce warmer than usual or cooler than usual "pockets". In the warmer niches it is not at all uncommon to find such "subtropical" novelties as the common Wall lizard, the Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), and even the rare Needle palm; Blue spruce and Salamander tend to occur in the cooler and shaded niches. Moderating variables for the overall climate of Fort Thomas include: the Ohio River, the region's relatively large hills and valleys, and an urban heat influence due to the proximity of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (Covington, Newport, etc) metropolitan area. Fort Thomas is located within the Bluegrass region of Kentucky and Southern Ohio and is also situated within the northern periphery of the Upland South.

History

General George Thomas, for whom the city was named.

Evidence suggests that on or around 1749, prior to settlement by Europeans, a large battle occurred between a band of Cherokee Native Americans and victorious Miami tribe and Shawnee tribe Native Americans in what is now the city of Fort Thomas. As many as 600 graves of slain warriors have been unearthed by archeologists there; although the battleground area has been thoroughly combed for artifacts and remains over the years, it is still not uncommon to find arrowheads and other artifacts from the past while gardening or hiking the woods and streambeds throughout the City.

In 1887, a site was needed to house a United States Army post to replace Newport Barracks. Newport Barracks was located in the adjoining city of Newport, Kentucky. Built in 1803, Newport Barracks replaced the smaller Fort Washington, which was located just across the river in Cincinnati, Ohio. Post Newport was in Newport's lower westend at the point where the Licking River meets the Ohio River. Prone to flooding, a higher location for a post was desired.

The area has many remnants of this era with a 102 foot high Stone Water Tower as a familiar landmark which stands at the entrance to Tower Park. It was the 16th structure built on the grounds of the Military Reservation. It encloses a standpipe which has a capacity of 100,000 gallons, pumped from the Water District reservoirs just across South Fort Thomas Avenue. In 1890 when the military base was established, such provisions for water supply was necessary as there was no other water tower in this area. Cannons that were captured in Cuba’s Havana Harbor during the Spanish-American War rest on stone platforms in front of the Tower. The dates marked on these cannons, reflecting the date they were made in Barcelona, Spain, are "1768" and "1769."

General Philip Sheridan personally selected 11 acres of the city and dubbed the area the Highlands, predicting it to become the "West Point of the West." The new post was named Fort Thomas in honor of General George Henry Thomas.

The U.S. 6th Infantry Regiment moved to Fort Thomas, where it remained until called to action again in June 1898, in the Spanish-American War.

On February 25, 1937, Paul Tibbets enlisted here as a flying cadet in the United States Army Air Corps. During the last days of World War II, Paul became known as the pilot that dropped the first Atomic Bomb on August 6, 1945.

Information on the history is based primarily from the city's official website.

Schools

Fort Thomas has an independent public school district with 3 elementary schools (Robert D. Johnson Elementary, Ruth Moyer Elementary, and Samuel Woodfill Elementary), Highlands Middle School, and Highlands High School, which are consistently ranked among the top in the country. Highlands High School is the only public high school in the state with a Cum Laude chapter.^[1]

Highlands High School is ranked in the top 1000 in the United States by US News & World Report.

The mascot for Highlands is the bluebird. According to local legend, in the early twentieth century the original mascot for the school was the Highlands Blue Devil. A local clergyman objected to the association of the community to the devil. At the time, the boys' track team had an exceptionally good year and it was remarked that they "flew like birds." This gave rise to the new and current mascot.

The Highlands football program is one of the most storied in all of Kentucky. Highlands has won 16 official state football championships and three "mythical" state titles prior to Kentucky instituting a statewide playoff system. The Bluebirds currently rank second in the state and fifth in the entire nation in total number of wins. More information about the football program is available at 'Birds Words, the football program's website (http://www.highlands-bluebirds.com). Current New York Giants backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen starred in football at Highlands. He signed as a free-agent with the Giants after attending the University of Kentucky.

The school has twice won three consecutive girls' cross country championships in 1978-1980 and 2002-2004 and has won back to back girls' soccer championships (2005-2006).

The Highland's band has also received recognition. The marching band placed sixth in the KMEA State quarterfinals competition in 2005. In May of 2007, the concert band received a distinguished rating, the highest, in the Kentucky State Concert Band Festival at the University of Louisville.

There are two Catholic private schools in the city, Saint Thomas Elementary and Saint Catherine Elementary.

Cake Town

Custom has it that a large cake is prepared after state championship victory for the Highlands High School football team. This custom has lent itself to the people of Fort Thomas becoming known colloquially as Cake Eaters, and the city of Ft. Thomas as Cake Town. Though positive in origin, these terms are often used derogatorily by people outside of Ft. Thomas in the spirit of Marie Antoinette's legendary, "Let them eat cake," - alluding to the slightly higher per capita incomes of Ft. Thomas residents over the surrounding areas. Frequently Highland High School Cheerleaders have a fight song that can be heard as "C--A--K--E-- C-A-K-E (clap clap)".

Media

Fort Thomas is situated on the southern border of the Ohio River, directly opposite of Cincinnati, Ohio. Therefore the major media market for the city is Cincinnati. Fort Thomas then uses Cincinnati's television and radio outlets.

• Television:
  • WLWT (NBC), Channel 5
  • WCPO (ABC), Channel 9
  • WKRC (CBS), Channel 12
  • WXIX (FOX), Channel 19
  • WCET (PBS), Channel 48
  • WCVN (PBS), Channel 54 (Broadcast from Covington, Kentucky).
  • WSTR (MyNetworkTV), Channel 64
• Print Media:
  • Daily Papers
    • The Kentucky Enquirer (morning), the Northern Kentucky edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer)
    • The Kentucky Post (evening), the Northern Kentucky edition of [The Cincinnati Post)
  • Weekly Paper
    • The Fort Thomas Recorder, a special edition of The Campbell County Recorder, delivered free to the city's residence but donation is suggested with the majority of the proceeds going to the delivery boy or girl.
  • Monthly Paper
    • Inside Fort Thomas, available free at newsstands and sent to every home in Fort Thomas.
  • Magazine
    • Fort Thomas Living, a monthly magazine sent through the mail as a free subscription to residents of Fort Thomas. FTL is also available at local newsstands.

Churches

Several denominations are represented in the city. The following is a complete list of the city's churches:

• Christ Church, United Church of Christ
• First Baptist Church of Fort Thomas, Southern Baptist Convention
• First Christian Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• First Presbyterian Church of Fort Thomas, Presbyterian Church (USA)
• Fort Thomas City Church, Emergent Church
• Highland Avenue Baptist Tabernacle, Southern Baptist Convention
• Highland Hills Church, Southern Baptist Convention
• Highland United Methodist Church
• Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
• Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church in the United States of America
• Saint Catherine of Siena Church, Roman Catholic
• Saint Paul's Church, United Church of Christ
• Saint Thomas' Church Roman Catholic

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 16,495 people, 6,742 households, and 4,335 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,123.2/km² (2,909.8/mi²). There were 7,028 housing units at an average density of 478.6/km² (1,239.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.61% White, 0.73% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 6,742 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,575, and the median income for a family was $63,006. Males had a median income of $43,733 versus $30,209 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,657. About 2.8% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Residents

• Jim Bunning, Republican Senator who early in his political career served on the city council
• Cris Collinsworth, former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and national sports broadcaster
• Merril Hoge, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back and national sports broadcaster
• Jared Lorenzen , New York Giants backup quarterback
• Katie Stine, State Senate Pro Tempore

See also

• List of cities and towns along the Ohio River

Daniel Coats, TE for the Cincinnati Bengals

Notes

1. ^ http://cumlaudesociety.org/members.html

External links

• Historical Images and Texts of Fort Thomas, Kentucky

• 'Birds Words - Highlands Football Website

Coordinates: 39.076011° N 84.451273° W

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