Dan Beard Riverwalk Trail

WELCOME TO THE DAN BEARD 5-MILE RIVERWALK TRAIL

This is one of the National Historic Trails and helps you understand the history, culture, and heritage of scouting in our region. This trail traverses two States, three cities, three unique bridges, and across two major rivers. It is recommended to start in Newport at the L&N Bridge (“Purple People Bridge”) where there is free parking.

The trail takes three to four hours to complete. The Dan Beard Riverwalk Trail is a one-of-a-kind experience in an urban setting. There is a ten-mile version of the hike available on the Dan Beard Council website if you want to explore more, including Paul Brown Stadium, Ted Berry Park, the Millennium Peace Bell, and the Purple People Bridge. The Covington Boy Scout Plaza were dedicated on October 29, 1988, as part of the Cincinnati Bicentennial celebration. At that time, the trail started at Fountain Square. On the dedication day, 3000 Scouts and Scouters, including the BSA Chief Scout Executive Ben Love, took an abbreviated hike on the trail from Fountain Square across the Roebling Bridge to dedicate the new Boy Scout Plaza.

QUIZ QUESTIONS

The Dan Beard Riverwalk Trail patch can be purchased at the Scout Service Centers for any Scout who hikes the entire 5-mile trail and answers the following questions. A hat pin can also be purchased for any Scout who completes the 10-mile trail. Only Scout leaders may purchase patches and hat pins.

(The order form is at the end of this guide).

Dan Beard Scout Achievement Center 10078 Reading Road Evendale, Ohio 45241 Questions

1. How many sides form the base of the flagpole at Taylor Park? __________

2. What is the name of the river that you cross between Newport and Covington? ________________________________

3. At the Boy Scout Plaza, what is Dan Beard’s statue holding in its’ left hand? ________________________________

4. Name the man who operated the Ohio River Ferry from Covington to Cincinnati. (His name is on a plaque in George Rogers Clark Park.) ______________________________________________

5. On what page of the American Boys Handy Book did Dan Beard write about trapping? _________

6. How many flying pig statues are in Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point? _______

I. GETTING STARTED – Be prepared for fun and adventure along the Ohio River! The Dan Beard Riverwalk Trail is a trail of discovery. This guide is not intended to provide every detail of history or explain every interesting sight or activity along the way since that would take the fun out of the hike. Feel free to invent your own side trips to downtown Cincinnati's museums, shops and restaurants, amble along Newport's exciting waterfront area, and take in Covington's interesting riverfront neighborhoods immediately to the south and west of the trail. The 5-Mile Dan Beard Riverwalk Trail includes most of Cincinnati, Newport and Covington’s Bicentennial Riverwalk. Therefore, whenever you see the Riverwalk logos inset in the sidewalk - they’re blue and green wavy lines - you may safely follow them. Since the Dan Beard Riverwalk Trail is longer than the three city’s Bicentennial Riverwalks, there are portions of the hike that won't include the Riverwalk logos. The surest way to complete the trail is to follow the directions in this guide. Free parking for the trail is available on Newport’s Riverboat Row. This is easy to access from I-471 Southbound. If you come from the NORTH across the Daniel Carter Bridge, the first Kentucky exit (Exit 5) will swing around onto Park Avenue NORTHBOUND. If you cross Dave Cowens Drive (KY Route 8) and pass thru the levee gate, a left hand turn to the WEST will take you down towards the parking area under the L&N (“Purple People”) Bridge. JB Fins has agreed to let Scouts use their spaces during daylight hours on non-Bengal and Reds game days if the sign at the end of this file is printed and left on the dashboard of your vehicle. If you are coming from the SOUTH on I-471, take the last Kentucky exit (Exit 5), turn left (WEST) on Dave Cowens Drive (KY Route 8), then right (NORTH) on Park Avenue to pass thru the same levee gate. (See the map below.) On the EAST just inside the Park Avenue levee gate is a plaque honoring Daniel Carter Beard, and naming the big golden arched bridge for him. Dan Beard was a former Covington resident and one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America. Our scout council is also named after him. Before setting out on your hike, be sure that you are prepared with weather appropriate clothing, comfortable footwear, raingear, a water bottle and snack, map and compass, sunscreen, and a first aid kit. If an adult carries a cellphone and dials 911 for an emergency during the hike, be sure to identify which city that you are in. Take the time to read about the next section before you walk the trail. This will teach you some history and help to not miss any of the highlighted areas. A note on compass directions in this guide – a look at the trail map will show that the streets of Cincinnati, Newport and Covington do not follow a true north-south grid due to the curves of the river. Therefore, the compass directions in this guide are approximate, not exact. For simplicity, the directions given are the closest cardinal direction.

II. RIVERBOAT ROW AND NEWPORT RIVERWALK STATIONS After parking on Riverboat Row under the Newport end of the L&N (“Purple People”) Bridge and locking your vehicle, head WEST (downriver) along Riverboat Row. The view across the Ohio River NORTH to Cincinnati is fabulous. Pass under the Taylor-Southgate Bridge and immediately go up the stairs to the SOUTHWEST onto the top of the levee. This Newport section of Riverwalk on the levee top has a number of stations with historical plaques to read, each marked with a different shaped weathervane. Where the levee turns SOUTH to follow the Licking River, descend the steps into Taylor Park to answer Question One and read the historical information surrounding the flagpole base. Look at thepictures from the past taken from this spot to see how Cincinnati looked years ago. Taylor Park is the site of the old Newport Barracks, a military outpost during the French and Indian War. The park is named for General James Taylor, a founder of Newport and one of the two namesakes of the Taylor-Southgate Bridge that you will later cross.

After visiting Taylor Park, climb the stairs back to the top of the levee and head SOUTH. One historical station ahead is dedicated to the Boy Scouts and this trail. At the end of the levee sidewalk, you'll come to a footbridge onto the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Turn WEST at the bridge and cross the river into Covington.

III. BRIDGE TO THE PAST – Veterans Memorial Bridge to the Boy Scout Plaza According to historians, the original Veterans Memorial Bridge, which collapsed shortly after it was built, was the model for the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. The current Memorial Bridge was used for military parades and ceremonies until World War II. Below is the river that you are asked to name in Question Two. Some historians believe that in 1782 a raid led by Simon Kenton successfully recaptured a cannon that had been stolen by Indians from the Bryan Station Garrison near Lexington. It is believed that Kenton's raiders rolled the cannon into the river at this spot. The cannon has never been found. After the bridge, the first intersection is at Garrard Avenue and Fourth Street. Turn NORTH on Garrard and go one full block (don’t take the first alleyway that looks like a street). Turn EAST onto Third Street.

IV. DANIEL BEARD'S HOUSE - The place where Dan Beard played as a child The Boy Scout Plaza and Dan Beard's boyhood home is on the left at the end of East Third Street. The Beard House is now a private residence and is listed on the National Historic Register. You are welcome to explore the Plaza and have your picture taken in front of the statue of Dan Beard with his hand on the shoulder of a Scout. Carefully examine the bronze statue that was sculpted by Kenneth Bradford to see what Dan Beard is holding in his left hand. This is the answer to Question Three. The bronze Scout wears the sculptor’s troop number from when he was a boy – Troop 119 at the Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church. Born in Cincinnati on June 21, 1850, Daniel Carter Beard moved to Covington and this house next to the Licking River when he was a boy. Much later in his life, his “Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone” would become the Boy Scouts of America. As a child Dan played in the woods next to this house and became interested in animals, outdoor games and Indian lore. The youngest of six children, he enjoyed adventures of canoeing, camping and fishing the Licking and Ohio Rivers. The Civil War erupted shortly after the Beard's moved to this big frame house. Young Dan recalled, "...where I had once walked knee deep in the lush blue grass, there were rows of tents and unsightly military shacks and stables. The slopes of the hills were scarred by series of rifle pits. The hilltops were also disfigured by stupendous earthen forts." However, most of Dan's boyhood memories were happy. His experiences would whet his appetite for the outdoors. "As Tom, Harry and I sat on the dry mud banks of the Licking River... we planned a society for the boys of the U.S. - an extension of our little group of Boone Scouts," Beard wrote. As Dan grew to adulthood, he became a civil engineer and surveyor. He made insurance maps until he visited New York and stayed to study art. Beard taught art from 1883-1890. His ability as illustrator was recognized by author Mark Twain who chose Beard to illustrate A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. By 1905, Beard's "Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone" developed into the foundation of the Boy Scouts of America. Today, Scouting's basic values are still strongly reflected in the ideas and interests "Uncle Dan" discovered while living, playing and dreaming at this place. Notice all the engraved bricks paving the Boy Scout Plaza. If your troop or pack, or if you personally, would like to place an engraved brick here, contact the Dan Beard Council Service Center.

V. DOWN TO THE RIVER - Boy Scout Plaza to the Suspension Bridge From Boy Scout Plaza, go NORTH on an unnamed alley for a full block. Turn EAST onto Second Street. The last house on the right on Second Street, the Carneal House, was part of the Underground Railroad. Follow Second Street EAST as it becomes Shelby, named for Kentucky's first Governor Isaac Shelby. Shelby turns NORTH and then WEST as it becomes Riverside Drive. Along Riverside Drive, you'll pass a series of historic homes and landmarks. You'll find life-sized statues of John James Audubon, Indian Chief Little Turtle, James Bradley, Riverboat Capt. Mary Greene, Pioneer Simon Kenton and bridge builder John Roebling. They were placed during Cincinnati's bicentennial in 1988. When you get to George Rogers Clark Park on the SOUTH side of the street, be sure to read the historical plaques. That's where you find the answer to Question Four. (Hint - it’s not at either of the statues or at the fountain.) From George Rogers Clark Park, continue walking WEST on Riverside Drive. Across the Ohio River you can see the Underground Railway Freedom Center and both of the new Cincinnati stadiums. Eventually, Riverside Drive ends and becomes a SIDEWALK. Keep going WEST thru a parking lot and under the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Just past the bridge you will find a series of 18 historical Roebling Murals painted by Robert Daffordon the Covington floodwall. They took 5 years to paint. As you walk WESTWARD, the murals go from oldest to most recent time – look at the top of each for the year depicted. Find the mural that honors Dan Beard and answer Question Five. Notice that Dan is pictured as a boy camping on the Newport bank of the Licking River, and his house is seen on the Covington bank. After viewing the murals, backtrack to the EAST and climb the blue stairs leading up onto the WEST side of the Roebling Bridge. On the bridge, head NORTH across the Ohio River. VI. THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE Enjoy your walk across the world's oldest suspension bridge. Completed in 1865, the 1,057-foot bridge span was then the world's longest. John Roebling designed and built this historic bridge,which he then used to convince the city fathers of New York to let him build the Brooklyn Bridge. Redesigned for the load of heavier traffic in the 1890’s, another set of cables and a wider deck were added. The metal grid roadway makes the bridge sing when traffic crosses. The original cables are the lower ones. This elegant bridge is lighted at night forming graceful arcs marking the bridge's steel cables. Great American Ballpark on your right is home of the Cincinnati Reds. The stadium to the left is Paul Brown Stadium, the home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

VI. STEAMBOAT MEMORIES – Suspension Bridge to Sawyer Point After reaching the Ohio side of the Roebling Bridge, DESCEND the first stairway available. At the BOTTOM of the stairs, head SOUTH towards the river and turn EAST on the sidewalk. Walk EAST on the sidewalk towards the Great American Ballpark, crossing at the light to stay on Mehring Way as it turns NORTH and becomes Main Street. You will come to a large red paddlewheel suspended in the air on the SOUTH side of the ballpark. The National Steamboat Monument is a reminder of the steamboat heritage of Cincinnati and is topped by the original 30-foot diameter paddlewheel of the American Queen, the largest overnight passenger steamboat to be built in the last half century. The paddlewheel was given to the City of Cincinnati when the steamboat was refitted with a slightly smaller one. Beneath the bright red wheel is a whistle grove made of two-dozen stainless steel columns, called torchiers, built to represent smokestacks. Photo sensors set off steam jets that whistle and hiss when you walk past them. At the height of the riverboat era in the mid 1800s, 8,000 riverboats a year, an average of about 22 per day,docked at the Public Landing just down the riverbank from the Monument. After visiting the Steamboat Monument, keep walking EAST on the sidewalk. A series of concrete columns just past the Monument is the Steamboat Hall of Fame. Each column has two plaques that tell the story of historic steamboats from the past. Look for the ironclad warship that once traveled the Ohio River. As you travel EAST under the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, you will notice that the sidewalk contains railroad rails. Follow the rails as they continue EAST into the back of the Yeatman’s Cove area, past the Lytle Tower Fountain / Pool, under the L&N Bridge, and into Sawyer Point. Sawyer Point is named after Charles Sawyer, a Cincinnati politician that donated 1 million dollars to developthis area from an old metal scrap yard. There are restrooms and water fountains in Yeatman’s Cove and Sawyer Point.

VII. RIVER MODELS & FLYING PIGS – The Sawyer Point Area Continue following the railroad tracks into Sawyer Point until you reach a large reddish concrete column on the right topped by Noah’s Ark. The 8o foot line on the column represents the water level in the 1937 flood – the worst recorded Ohio River flood. Turn NORTH here and pass thru a brick representation of one of the Miami and Erie Canal’s locks. This is where the canal to Toledo started, taking 10 locks to raise up to downtown level along what is now Eggleston Avenue ahead of you. Just NORTH of the lock gateway, turn WEST on the sidewalk and read the plaque detailing the features of Bicentennial Commons. If it is open, the nearby parking lot attendant booth just to the NORTH has free maps of the Sawyer Point area. Backtrack EAST along the sidewalk next to the parking lot and climb a set of stairs to the SOUTH just before you go under the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge. At the top of the stairs you will find a scale model of all of the locks and dams on the entire Ohio River from Pittsburgh, PA to Cairo, IL. Follow this model river WEST, stopping at its midpoint at “Cincinnati”. Look up and count the flying pigs to answer Question Six. Continue WEST along the model river to its end and beyond. When the sidewalk nears the parking lot, veer SOUTH to the wide sidewalk that skirts the P&G Pavilion (big white sail covering a stage with a grass lawn in front). Walk EAST on this sidewalk, passing the Noah’s Ark column on the left, going under the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge past a “Stonehenge-like” rock, passing the playground and tennis courts on the left, and coming to the three white poles of the Crusader Carillon, built by Cincinnati’s Verdin Bell Company. Just past the carillon, turn SOUTH and then WEST down a hill to find the Dr. Frederick A. Hauck Geologic Timeline inset in the sidewalk. Each square represents one million years of geologic time. At the bottom of the hill, read about the old Cincinnati Waterworks Front Street pumphouse, whose shell still stands here. Follow the timeline WEST to its end near the Cincinnatus statue. Notice the narrow stainless steel piece at the end of the timeline that represents the whole of the earth’s recorded human history. Take a few minutes to read the historical markers here, and to read about howCincinnati got its name from Cincinnatus on the plaque in front of his statue.

VIII. CLOSEST TO THE OHIO – Yeatman’s Cove and the Public Landing Next, pass WEST through the L&N Bridge Arches. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad Bridge opened in 1872 as the first Ohio River railroad crossing at Cincinnati. It was added on to andreworked many times, and now serves as the “Purple People Bridge”, the only pedestrian-only bridge over the Ohio River. If the river level allows, immediately turn SOUTH down the steps to then walk WEST on the base of the Serpentine Wall thru Yeatman's Cove on to the Public Landing. Yeatman's Cove is the birthplace of Cincinnati, where pioneers first landed in December of 1788. The city's first name was Losantiville. This clever name comes from “L” for Licking River, “os” which is Latin for mouth, “ante” which is Greek for opposite, and “ville” meaning town – or all put together, “the town opposite the mouth of the Licking River”. The Army built Fort Washington on higher ground near present day Lytle Park. The territory across the river was wilderness being explored by Daniel Boone and friends. In 1790, General Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, changed the city's name to Cincinnati. This was to honor the Society of Cincinnati, an organization of Revolutionary War officers to which he belonged. Cincinnati was chartered officially in 1788. The nickname "Porkopolis" arose years later as the region became a center of pork production. As you leave the Serpentine Wall, you enter the broad concrete expanse of the Public Landing. The Showboat Majestic is permanently moored here and is a floating theater. The Public Landing is a working dock where recreational boats can be launched for free, and where the Delta Queen ties up when she returns here to her home port. Keep walking WEST next to the river and on to the cobblestones near the Steamboat Monument. Look up under the Monument to see the steam pipes that make the Whistle Grove come alive. Climb the steps just downriver from the Steamboat Monument NORTH towards the red paddlewheel and carefully cross Mehring Way on the brick crosswalk to the hidden stairway leading up to the Great American Ballpark. Climb up to the Plaza Level of the ballpark, noticing the view into the stadium. At the top of the stairs, head EAST on the river side of the US Bank Arena. Take time to read the historical information along the railing about the navigation dams on the Ohio River.

IX. RECROSSING THE OHIO – The newest bridge On the Plaza Level, walk EAST toward the Taylor-Southgate Bridge. You'll find a set of stairs shaded by a white metal canopy leading down to the WEST sidewalk of the bridge. Turn SOUTH to cross the river and enjoy the 360-degree views. The bridge is named for the families of James Taylor Jr. and Richard Southgate, two important early settlers of Newport. Richard was the father of WilliamWright Southgate, a pre-Civil War Congressman from Northern Kentucky. As you near the SOUTH end of the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, go all the way to the end of the ironwork and take time to read the historical plaque about the bridge’s construction. Backtrack a short distance to the set of concrete stairs that descends to Riverboat Row and take them down.

X. THE HOME STRETCH You’re almost done now. Walk EAST back along Riverboat Row to your vehicle parked under the L&N Bridge. Notice the Newport Aquarium and Newport on the Levee to your SOUTH as you walk. For an optional high-adventure ending to the hike, go up the ramp to Newport on the Levee, continue EAST in front of the Levee buildings to the L&N Bridge, and take the Purple People Bridge Climb across walkways up on the top of the bridge. Special unadvertised rates are available for scoutgroups by calling (859) 261-OVER. You've made it! Two states, two rivers, three cities, and three bridges. What an adventure! If you’re working on your Second Class rank, make sure to get your handbook signed off TODAY.

Special thanks to the following: • Roger Auge' II, Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 133, research, writing; • Stephen Auge', Eagle Scout, Troop 133, on-foot research; •Ron Reynolds, Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 281, 2006 rework of trail; • John Paquette, historic preservation officer, City of Newport, research; • Bruce Privett, supervisor, Cincinnati Recreation Commission, research; • Greg Paeth, The Cincinnati Post, research assistance; • Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, research; • Alan Hancock, Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 133, computer technical assistance; •The 1988 trail designers including Frank Eggen, Rich McGraw, and Dan Croft; •The Cincinnati Bicentennial Commission for its Riverwalk foresight; •Transportation Authority of Northern Kentucky for use of the map; •The original 1988 and new 2006 trailblazers of Troop 281.