1 I N T R O D U C T I O N Cincinnati in the mid-1800s hummed with people and industry. Tens of thousands of newly arriving immigrants and longer-term residents made lives for themselves in the city. Construction crews built new homes, churches, hospitals, and civic buildings by the thousands. Iron production and the meatpacking trades were swift. The Ohio River and railroads brought traffic and travelers to the citys taverns and inns. Situated in a basin surrounded by steep hills, Cincinnati was bursting at the seams. To escape the turmoil, prosperous Cincinnatians took to the hills, building homes in Walnut Hills, Mt. Auburn, and Mt. Adams. Owning horses and carriages made the trek from loftier neighborhoods to the citys commercial center easy. Then, in 1872, the Mt. Auburn Incline, the first of the citys five inclines, opened, connecting the lower basin to the hilltop suburbs of Mt. Auburn, Corryville, and other communities north of the city. The number of riders and goods transported by incline increased but the system wasnt perfectit couldnt carry people on horseback, livestock, or vehicles. Joseph Earnshaw, a surveyor and civil engineer stepped in with soon-to-be-patented improvements to the incline carriages. He envisioned an additional compartment for the incline car that could handle freightbut could be easily converted for use with passengers when needed. Earnshaws contribution to the incline represents just a tiny fraction of the impact he, his family, and his company would ultimately make on Cincinnatiand the nation. T H E S T A R T O F A L O N G T R A D I T I O NThe secret to longevity and success for a company is simple, but difficult to achieve: Stay true to its founding principles while evolving to meet the needs of a changing market and society. 8