During the early years of these two cities, as the only method for crossing the Ohio River, riverboat ferries provided passage between Cincinnati Ohio and Covington Kentucky.
Of the several companies that provided passage, the Cincinnati & Covington Ferry Company was in existence for the longest time; approximately 53 years. Begun around the time when Covington was established in 1814, its ownership spanned three generations.
The ferry company thrived, and was extremely successful in its operations for the majority of the company's life.
Pictured alongside the bridge are two passenger steamers.
It wasn't until the construction of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, which opened on December 1, 1866, that the company's ferry service became irrelevant. Only four months later, on March 31, 1867, the line shut down.
Below please find a Cincinnati & Covington Ferry Co token that I recently obtained for my cabinet. I estimate that the specimen is in Choice Very Fine grade. It was photographed using an axial lighting setup with glass angled at 45 degrees.
Note that there exists two catalog numbers for this token. Given that it is a transportation token, its Atwood-Coffee number is OH-166-A. Given that it is a Civil War Token, its Fuld number is OH-165-1a.
- Cheetah
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Sources:
'Let Us Cross Over the River,' John H. White, Timeline: A Publication of the Ohio Historical Society, Volume 23, Issue 1, The Ohio Historical Society, (c)2006
History of Butler County, Ohio, 1803-1889: excerpted from the Centennial history of Ohio, 1898 edition of Howe's Historical collections of Ohio