Bridging past and present, The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky offers a groundbreaking examination of the people, places, and events of Northern Kentucky. With information spanning the eleven counties of Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Mason, Owen, Pendleton, and Robertson, this encyclopedia will appeal to casual readers and serious scholars alike.<BR>Seeing an opportunity to enrich historical understanding of the state, editors Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool gathered more than 2,100 entries written by more than three hundred authors to chronicle the historical, geographical, social, cultural, religious, political, and economic history of the Northern Kentucky area. The result of their efforts is a detailed portrait of a fiercely independent region, eager to secure a collective identity and looking forward to a future of purposeful growth as part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the nation.<BR>Long before the racetrack was laid at Churchill Downs or farmers began to till the tobacco fields, Kentucky was a raw land full of promise. When pioneers like Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton roamed its hills and valleys, Northern Kentucky represented a crucial gateway for the westward expansion of the United States. The banks of the Ohio River in Maysville served as a point of departure for settlers looking for opportunity and adventure.<BR>With the coming of the abolitionist movement, Northern Kentucky was a hotbed of interaction between the North and the South. Slaves along the Underground Railroad often concealed themselves in the basements and cupboards of welcoming citizens in Maysville, Covington, and Newport. The area was marked by danger, as hunters tracked slaves who were attempting their final escape across the Ohio River. One such slave, Margaret Garner, chose to murder her daughter rather than endure her daughter's return to slavery; her dramatic story inspired author Toni Morrison to write the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved. Northern Kentucky was also the site of a key confrontation in the Civil War. While encamped in the area in September 1862, the Union Army posted an impenetrable defense against the approaching Confederate forces, turning the tide of the war.<BR>With the coming of the twentieth century, the people of Northern Kentucky grew increasingly restless. Factions calling for reform battled proponents of a more agrarian, conservative state. Intolerable working conditions and wages provoked strikes, urban conflict, and a marked growth of the Socialist Party. In the 1940s, the diverse population of Northern Kentucky grew to include a large number of Appalachians, many of whom were employed in the swiftly growing industrial sector.<BR>Currently, Northern Kentucky is home to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, as well as major corporations like Ashland, Omnicare, and Toyota North America. The stabilizing influence that companies like these exerted on the economy helped the area regain its sense of unity. Today, Northern Kentucky forms one point of a new triangle: the "Golden Triangle" of Northern Kentucky, Louisville, and Lexington, which is the most economically prosperous area in the state. Northern Kentucky is thriving, and its varied, intriguing history is documented in this book, linking the region to the history of the greater Commonwealth.