Saturday, April 08, 2000
Another sad chapter in Hamilton
BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — Peck's Addition is in the news again, and, typically, the news isn't good.
City officials say illegal dumping at the 80-acre site, just east of the Great Miami River, has left it in its worst condition.
I suppose worst is a relative term, for only 20 years ago the place was an island of rural Appalachia inside a moderncity.
Today, a smaller version of Peck's Addition is vacant land with shoulder-high trees and brush. City officials say they will remove the cover to discourage people from dumping.
That might end the Peck's Addition story.
The area — named for local banker-inventor John Pascal Paoli Peck in the 1800s — was a strange little community circumscribed by the river and the city dump. Mention of its name provoked strong opinions.
In 1980, television and print stories surfaced across the state about the area's poverty, outside toilets and general disarray. One print journalist described the place as Hamilton's dark secret.
Even then, Peck's Addition had no sewer or water connections. Junk piled up. Life went along at its own pace.
Ironically, two of the city's more valued and attractive institutions, Miami University-Hamilton and Champion International offices, stand on a part of old Peck's Addition. The university's student newspaper, which I once wrote for, was called Peck's Edition. Many students didn't understood why, even though they studied across the street.
Years ago, the city dump was in Peck's Addition. It rose like a giant burial mound near the river. Neighbors told about “great big roaring fires” that blew ashes and burnt pieces of paper onto their lawns every morning. In tough times, people went to the dump for food.
Geographically, Peck's Addition lies between Neilan Boulevard on the west and Peck Boulevard on the east. Culturally and historically, it remains in the hollows.
As late as 1980, Peck's Addition still had its shacks, a few small, nice homes and big gardens. Then, slowly, they were torn down. A couple of new offices were built on the site, and the city used federal grants to pay residents to relocate.
My 89-year-old uncle, who worked nearby, remembers the old Peck's Addition. He said it was a stopping place for the circus, which once a year set up camp there for a week.
He said the thing he remembers most is the water. When heavy rains occurred, big streams flooded the place.
These days, however, the name Peck's Addition is rarely spoken in town. When I heard about the latest problem, I asked three or four people if they had ever heard of the place. They said no.
Only the brush remains.
OHIO SAMPLER: A sampler seminar, “Ohio Is My Dwelling Place — Old Favorites and New Discoveries in Schoolgirl Embroideries,” will be held April 29 at the Warren County Historical Society, 105 S. Broadway.
Sue Studebaker, researcher and author, will discuss her latest findings and revisit Ohio samplers.
A free continental breakfast will be served from 9-10 a.m., followed by the seminar. Admission is $11 for society members, $14 for nonmembers. Reservations are required.
In addition, a sampler exhibit will begin April 29 and run through May 21. It may be seen from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for children, kindergarten through grade 12.
For more information, call the historical society museum at 932-1817.
Randy McNutt's column runs on Saturday. Call him at (513) 860-7118 or write to The Cincinnati Enquirer, 4820 Business Center Way, Cincinnati45246.
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