By Kevin Aldridge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Four Cincinnati neighborhoods will reach their centennial over the next four days.

Bond Hill, Hyde Park, Winton Place and Evanston - all small turn-of-the century towns and villages - were annexed by the city of Cincinnati in November 1903. Centennials are often a reason for residents to gather and celebrate, but leaders in these communities said they would usher in their 100 years without fanfare.

There will be no festivities today in Bond Hill, which was annexed to the city on this day in 1903. But, community leaders are putting together a video documenting the neighborhood's history and profiling community touchstones to commemorate the centennial. Bond Hill residents applied for several grants to pay for the filming of the video, which leaders hope to complete in about six weeks.

"We've been working on this for some time," said Sam Malone, city councilman-elect and president of the Bond Hill Community Council. "We had no idea Bond Hill had the history it does. We are looking forward to it."

The village of Bond Hill was incorporated in 1886 after railroads and streetcars created easy access to downtown. By the turn of the 20th century, the area had only 800 inhabitants. Today, Bond Hill is home to about 10,000 people.

Ron Perry, president of the Winton Place Community Council, said the historic date crept up on him and other neighborhood leaders. The town of Winton Place, population 1,500, was incorporated in June 1882 and annexed to Cincinnati on Nov. 18, 1903.

"Unfortunately, we aren't doing much of anything," Perry said. "I wish we'd been more prepared."

Hyde Park will mark its centennial on Tuesday and Evanston on Wednesday . Community leaders there reported no plans for activities.

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E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com