- 1880
Norwood's population is estimated at 423 persons.
- 1881 (March)
George Hafer donates the land for Norwood Hall. The deed requires that the town hall be built within two years. (The donation may have occurred on March 4.)
Mr. Hafer is a prominent Cincinnati businessman, resident of Avondale and the last mayor of that village, when it was annexed by Cincinnati with Hafer's encouragement.
- 1881
The Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern (C.L.&N.) Railroad is built, connecting Norwood with Cincinnati, to the south, and Lebanon and Dayton, to the north. Passenger services were provided until 1933.
- 1881
L. C. Hopkins develops his East Norwood Subdivision from 46 acres fronting Harris Avenue. He acquired the property from the Charles Woolley heirs. The location of the C., L. & N. R. R. may have influenced Hopkins to build here. The subdivision is later turned over to L. G. Hopkins.
- 1881
H.A. & K.B. Ford's 1881 book, History of Hamilton County, includes a map titled "Outline - Township Map of Hamilton County, Ohio." On it are four names that are to become the village and city of Norwood: "East Norwood", "Sharpsburg", "Norwood", and "Norwood Heights."
- 1882
The Cincinnati & Eastern Railway begins running passenger trains on its narrow gauge tracks. The rail service runs from a downtown terminal at Court and Gilbert Streets to Norwood's Cleneay Station at the southern edge of Norwood, and then to Hyde Park's nearby Mornington Station at or near Wasson Avenue, which parallels the tracks. (Note: At the time the area later known as Hyde Park is called Mornington.)
The other names for this railroad are the Cincinnati, Portsmouth and Virginia Railroad and, later, the Norfolk & Western Railroad.
- 1882 (May 22)
Adolph C. Strobel pays Lewis G. Hopkins $2,500 for four lots (numbers 26, 27, 28 and 29) of L. C. Hopkins Subdivision of East Norwood. In December, Strobel buys adjacent lot 24 for $625. The lots are located between Highland and Harper Avenues, across from Pine Street. With these lots and lot 25, he builts a home for his family. His brother-in-law, Henry F. Farny, the artist, lives with them soon after. (The house still stands on Harper Avenue, at the end of Pine Street.)
- 1882 (November 6)
Over a year and a half after George Hafer donated the land for Norwood Town Hall, the first meeting of the Norwood Hall Association's Board of Directors is held in the newly constructed hall. The hall immediately becomes a center for religious, civic and business meetings. In 1890, the village bought the site and hall.
- 1882 (November 14)
The Norwood Building and Loan Company is organized.
- 1883
The McFarlan Lumber Company opens a lumber outlet in Norwood. At the turn of the century the name is changed to The Dexter Lumber Company. Its location is at today's Frisch's.
- 1883
The first phone in Norwood is installed at The McFarlan Lumber Company by The City & Suburban Telephone Association.
- 1884
Adolph Charles Strobel and his wife Marguerite (nee Farny) move from Cincinnati to their new home on Harper Avenue, opposite Pine Street in East Norwood. (The year may have been 1883, but 1884 is the first directory listing.)
- 1884 (August 31)
A group of Catholic men meet at the home of J. Stephen Bokenkotter on Allison Avenue in order to promote the building of a church. The foundation for that church is laid at the end of October on land donated by real estate developers Mills & Kline. The church, St. Elizabeth, is not completed until the end of September 1886.
- 1884 (late)
Construction begins on replacing the Sharpsburg School District's 2-room school house with a 4-room building. At some point, it would take the name of "Central School."
- 1884
John Thomas Lloyd, son of John Uri Lloyd, is born in Norwood, Ohio.
- 1885
Henry Farny, the artist, moves to live with his sister and brother-in-law, Marguerite and A. C. Strobel, at their Harper Avenue home in East Norwood. He probably travels to his studio in downtown Cincinnati by riding the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railroad passenger trains from the East Norwood Station located three blocks down Pine Street.
- 1885 (summer)
According to Ren Mulford, Jr.'s 1887 column, this is when the first "new" homes are built in South Norwood, i.e. the first homes built in the subdivisions of South Norwood — any homes built before this are before the developers acquired the land.
- 1886 (September)
The new four-room school house is opened.
- 1886 (October 3)
St. Elizabeth's first church, at Mills and Carter Avenues, is dedicated.
- 1887
One estimate for the combined population of South Norwood, East Norwood and "old" Norwood is over 3,000.
- 1887
The Norwood Central School is enlarged from four to eight rooms. Since the new four-room school was built a year ago, the number of students has doubled.
- 1887 (May 1)
The Norwood Presbyterian Church is organized with twenty-four members. Thirteen come from the Third Presbyterian, one from a Kentucky church, and the others from the Pleasant Ridge Church and the First of Walnut Hills. The church has services at Norwood Town Hall.
- 1887 (October 31, Monday)
Ren Mulford, Jr., moves into his East Norwood home on the west side of Beech Avenue, north of Norwood Avenue. This sportswriter also reports on the community affairs and development of early Norwood.
- 1887 (November)
The East Norwood Improvement Society places 18 street lamps about the suburb, paid for by 50¢ monthly subscription dues from residential members and donations from businesses, such as the real estate developers — Bofinger & Hopkins gives a check for $100 and promised $15 for every $100 collected, while Moessinger, Fritsch & Co. donates $25 in cash and $75 in three quarterly installments. They are lit for the first time on the evening of November 3, 1887.
Since the Cincinnati suburbs' street lights are gasoline, it is reasonable to assume that the Norwood lights are gasoline versions, also.
- 1887 (November 11)
The South Norwood Musical and Literary Society meets for the first time this evening, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George W. Gale. This may be an organizational meeting, since no record of entertainment is found. The social club plans to have semi-monthly meetings this winter.
- 1887 (November 17)
It is reported that 71 trains passed through Norwood on the Cincinnati, Washington and Baltimore and the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern tracks today—possibly a record.
- 1887 (November 25)
The South Norwood Literary and Musical Society meet for the second time, at Robert Leslie's Floral Avenue home. This is probably the first time there was entertainment, which is provided by quartets, duets and solo singers, and a couple of recitations.
- 1887 (December 2)
The Ladies' Circle of the Norwood Presbyterian Church holds a bazaar at the Norwood Town Hall. Even though there is a cold rain, the hall is crowded (a list of names indicates there are at least 80 attendees) and at least $190 is collected for the cause.
- 1887 (December 9)
The South Norwood Musical and Literary Society meet for what is said to be the second time (for entertainment), at Mr. & Mrs. Jackson Slane's. Over 60 people attend for a full evening of entertainment, which consists of readings and music for piano, trombone, and vocals.
- 1887 (December 12-19)
A plank walk is laid about the school house, by order of the School Board.
- 1887 (December 16)
While visiting Norwood relatives, the William Wallace family, from near Gallipolis, miss the East Norwood station and have to walk in the dark from the tracks at Highland Avenue. Mr. Wallace stumbles into a railroad guard and breaks his leg.
- 1887 (December 22)
Sometime between 6:40 a. m. and 7:00 a. m., about 100 feet north of the railroad trestle crossing at Bloody Run (Victory Parkway) between the Idlewild and Avondale Stations, a southbound Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern "Montgomery Accomodation," with four cars containing many East and South Norwood residents, collides with a northbound Ohio & Northwestern train caring one passenger headed to the Mornington Station (Hyde Park). Both engines come off the tracks, but the cars stay on the tracks. No one is critically hurt. A miscommunications with the Avondale operator, both trains running late, and no operator at Idlewild are considered factors in the accident.
- 1888 (January 10)
The South Norwood Fire Brigade is organized at a meeting of citizens. This is the first record of a fire brigade in the Norwoods. The elected officers are F. A. Zimmerman, Captain, Dr. H. P. Hopkins, First Lieutenant, and J. H. Bosse, Second Lieutenant. Other members recorded at that first meeting were R. Thompson, Caspar H. Rowe, F. McHugh, H. P. Smith, C. E. Slane, Morris Wickersham, J. McQueety, E. Frick, W. E. Wichgar, C. F. Rust, R. M. Wickersham, Richard Evans and A. R. Kruse.
- 1888 (January 16)
Only six days after its creation, the South Norwood Fire Brigade was called to action by a gasoline fire in the basement of the Floral Avenue home of Robert Leslie. The members were alerted by Charles E. Slane firing his revolver four times as an alarm call. Using buckets of water, the brigade extinguished the fire, saving Mr. Leslie's residence, which survives today.
- 1888 (February 1)
A petition, signed by Casper H. Rowe and 116 others, requests the incorporation of the Village of Norwood. A Hamilton County Plat Book contains the signed petition with a map of the area of incorporation, which was Section 34 of Columbia Township. On that map there are several differences in street names compared to today. For example, Slane Avenue is marked Maple Street, Williams Avenue (at least the part in Section 34) is Locust Avenue, Forest Avenue from Harris Avenue north is Locust Street, and Ash Avenue is named Forest Street. There are no streets between Harris Avenue and Smith Road.
- 1888 (February 2)
Twenty-five citizens of Norwood and property-holders in the vicinity and abutting on Montgomery Pike meet at 2:00 PM at the office of Hill & Stricker, United Bank Building, Cincinnati, to discuss the building of an electric road through Norwood. The plan is to connect to Kerper's road and run up the (Montgomery) pike, for which exclusive right for railroad purposes have been acquired, then onto Ashland avenue to the C. W. and B. R. R.
- 1888 (March 5)
The petition for the incorporation of Norwood is presented to the County Commissioners. The hearing is set for May 9.
- 1888 (May 9)
A resolution is adopted by the Hamilton County Commissioners requesting sealed proposals for the construction and operation of a street railroad beginning at the north corporation line of the city of Cincinnati, on the Montgomery Pike, to a point in Norwood where the pike intersects the Cincinnati, Washington and Baltimore Railroad. The line is to be a double track and can be powered by horse, cable, electricity or other improved motive power. Also required is the rates for a single cash fare, the number of tickets sold as a package for one dollar, 50¢ and 25¢. The bids are to be received by 12 o'clock noon, on Saturday, June 2, 1888.
- 1888 (May 10)
The Village of Norwood is incorporated with V. C. Tidball and Casper H. Rowe named as agents. The village initially encompasses only Section 34 of Columbia Township. It is said that a main incentive for incorporation was to provide public street lighting, but this is probably only one of many reasons for incorporation. The election for village officials has to wait at least two months, as required by state law.
The incorporation was probably overshadowed by Cincinnati's centennial celebrations, which included the biggest exposition in that city's history — the Cincinnati Centennial Exposition of 1888. One of the celebrations that year was a large parade through Cincinnati streets. A drawing of the Grand Procession of the Order of Cincinnatus, in that parade, was made by Norwood resident Henry Farny.
- 1888 (August 6)
The first municipal election is held in Norwood with 199 votes cast. Dr. John C. Weyer is elected the village's first mayor.
- 1889
The first electric interlocking switch employing dynamic indication, invented by John D. Taylor, is installed at East Norwood, Ohio, at the crossing of the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern RR and the Cincinnati & Northern RR. (According to "American Railway Signaling Principals and Practices, Chapter 1, Association of American Railroads, Signal Section," 1954.)
- 1889 (January 12)
The South Norwood Musical and Literary Society meets at the home of Mr. R. M. Wickersham. For a newspaper account of the party and a description of the participants click here.
- 1889 (February 13)
The Elsmere Syndicate purchases the old Cavagna farm for $320,000. It is said that the only things on the 160 acres property are "many handsome forest trees, four rustic-appearing dairy barns and a 13-room brick house of ancient architecture." The property is developed as the Elsmere Subdivision. Five days later Norwood Council passes an ordinance to annex the northern part of this development.
- 1889 (February 18)
The village council passes Ordinance No. 26 to petition its first annexation. This expands Norwood to include "all that part of Sharpsburg School District ... not now within the Village of Norwood ..." Actually, this description is not considered accurate, so a very detailed description of the territory is given to the County Commissioners. That section north of Hudson Avenue of the recently acquired Cavagna Farm being developed as Elsmere Subdivision is part of this annexation.
- 1889 (March 29)
The Musical and Literary Society of South Norwood holds its tenth regular meeting. Miss Alice Mills, Miss Alice McQueety and C. F. Rust make up the committee. The entertainment consists of a choral presentation, recitation, violin solo, reading and a vocal solo followed by an intermission. Afterwards the entertainment continues with a piano and violin duet, cornet solo, piano solo and a vocal solo—all, it appears, performed by members of the society.
- 1889 (April 12)
A welcome rain fell this Friday evening, providing a needed replenishment of the Norwood cisterns. It is reported that 1.26 inches had fallen at the weather station in Cincinnati, and for 2½ minutes the rain fell at the rate of 6 inches/hour. The station also reported that the temperature was 83° at 2 p.m., but had fallen to 48° by the next morning — "a pretty good fall."
- 1889 (summer)
The Platting Commission is established to try to correct the problems created by uncontrolled real estate development.
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