Please see the following press release about a wonderful local event. The Roebling Bridge opened at the end of 1866, but had been started in 1859. Money and politics (imagine that!) had caused delays and during the Siege of Cincinnati I've mentioned here often, the lack of a bridge between Cincinnati and Kentucky caused a need for a temporary pontoon bridge to help troops cross the river.
For immediate release
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
NKU to host NKY Regional History Day on Saturday
Event to spotlight 150th anniversary of Roebling Suspension Bridge
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – When the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge opened to pedestrians in December 1866, the fare to cross from Cincinnati to Covington on foot was one penny.
More than 160,000 people paid the penny on the bridge’s opening weekend, becoming the first to walk across what was then the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Nearly 150 years later, the Roebling continues to capture the public’s imagination, and the steel and stone structure will be in the spotlight on Saturday, March 19 at the 23rd annual Northern Kentucky Regional History Day at Northern Kentucky University.
“Northern Kentucky History Day provides us an opportunity to celebrate our region's rich heritage,” said Dr. Paul Tenkotte, Director of NKU’s Center for Public History. “Knowing how we came to be enables us to understand where we are, and what we hope to become.”
Dr. Don Heinrich Tolzmann, historian for the Covington-Cincinnati Suspension Bridge Committee, will discuss Roebling and his bridge during the day’s opening address.
Other workshops will include an historical tour of Covington in 1916; an overview of resources available to research the history of the region’s African-American community; what popular music can tell us about American history; and a presentation about the tragic lives of a 19th century couple as told through the eyes of a descendant who spent a decade researching them.
A display area will also feature artifacts, papers, and more from more than 30 local historical societies, museums, libraries, and publishers.
Northern Kentucky History Day is 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19 at the James C. and Rachel M. Votruba Student Union on NKU’s Highland Heights campus. The cost is $8 in advance or $10 the day-of. Parking is available in Lots K and L on Kenton Drive.
The event is sponsored by NKU’s Department of History & Geography; and the historical Societies and heritage groups of Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Lewis, Mason, Owen, Pendleton and Robertson Counties.
For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/nkhistoryday/.
###NKU###
Contact:
Amanda Nageleisen
Director of Public Relations
nageleisea1@nku.edu
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