If you grew up on Main Street or in the hills above East State Road, this map of Cleves has your block on it. It's a modern aerial view of Cleves in Hamilton County, Ohio, made from modern data and given a vintage look. The old village streets sit in a tight grid near the Cleves Municipal Building. Newer streets curl up into the green hills to the east. A wide blue river bends across the upper left corner.
Ohio's first canal tunnel, near South Miami Avenue
On this map you'll find Main Street, North Miami Avenue, South Miami Avenue, Hamilton Cleves Road, East State Road, Bridgetown Road, the Cleves Municipal Building, Symmes Street, Wamsley Avenue, Ridge Avenue, Laurelwood Drive, Western Ridge Drive, Lower River Road, and more. Each red shape is a building, so zoom in on the preview and look for yours.
How the canal tunnel got built
In 1837, Cincinnati merchants planned a branch canal. It would join the Whitewater Canal at West Harrison, Indiana. The goal was to bring in trade from Indiana's Whitewater Valley. But a ridge between North Bend and Cleves stood in the way. So engineer Darius Lapham designed a tunnel right through it. It ran 1,782 feet. Workers lined it with brick they made on the spot. It was 24 feet wide and 20 and a half feet high. The Ohio History Connection marker says it was the first canal tunnel in Ohio.
The work came at a cost. Six workers died building it. The canal opened in 1843. By 1856 it was abandoned, after repeated floods ruined the main Whitewater Canal. The tunnel found a second life, though. Trains ran through it from 1863 until 1888. It joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The marker stands where South Miami Avenue meets Ridge Avenue, near the bottom of the map, with Wamsley Avenue close by.
Main Street and the hills of Cleves
Created by KNOWOL in 2026, this print shows Cleves over shaded green hills, with red buildings, pale streets and a blue river winding past. The title panel reads Aerial View of Cleves, Ohio, with the coordinates 39°10' North 84°45' West.
It suits a living room, a hallway or a home office. It's a good gift for anyone who grew up near the Cleves Municipal Building, and for family who moved away and miss the view from these hills. Open the preview and find your street. See sizes and frames for the Cleves map.
