Photo courtesy of Warren LeMay, Flickr.
The Thomas Carneal House
By Julia Olson
Assistant Editor
Rockdale Temple Baby Boomers group will take a walking tour of the Licking Riverside neighborhood in Covington on Sunday, August 11, at 3:15 p.m. Kirsten Dilger, public historian and local history programmer for Kenton County Public Library, will take participants through the historic neighborhood. Dilger received her BA in history from Ohio University and her Master’s degree in Public History from Wright State University.
The Licking Riverside neighborhood in Covington is on the National register of Historic Places. The area preserves important architectural styles from the nineteenth century.
Famous buildings include a home owned by the parents of U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant. Grant sent his family to live there during the American Civil War. The school that Grant’s children attended in Covington is preserved in the neighborhood as well. The first brick house ever built in Covington, the Thomas Carneal house, is also in the historic district. Carneal was one of the founders of the city. Construction of the home began in 1815. The home was visited by the famous Revolutionary war hero the Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette led Revolutionary troops in the battle at Yorktown, an event that ended with British surrender and American independence.
The Carneal home also features a tunnel in its basement which was used to assist the escape of enslaved people from the Confederate south to the free north.
According to Rockdale’s website, the tour will include a surprise Jewish connection as well.
The tour begins promptly at 3:30, so attendees are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes early to the Kenton County Public Library Covington Branch. An optional dinner at Blinkers Tavern will follow the tour. Those interested in the tour should RSVP by August 8. More information as well as a form for RSVP can be found on the Rockdale Temple website.
