In
Part One we left off in the summer of 1949, when Fairfax residents voted down
incorporation. Let us proceed with our story.
In
1951, the City of Cincinnati made another attempt at annexing part of Fairfax
and the stakes were high. What had changed in the eight years since their last
attempt? A new Ford automatic transmission plant on Red Bank Road on a site
included in Fairfax’s failed 1949 incorporation attempt. The Ford plant was in
the area where Walmart now stands.
So,
Cincinnati wanted to annex the Red Bank industrial area of Fairfax to nab those
big tax dollars. They weren’t interested in all of Fairfax this time. Their
argument was that Cincinnati provided water, fire protection, labor, and even
on-street employee parking for Ford and, therefore, it made perfect sense for
Ford to be within the city. In addition, the opinion of Cincinnati officials
and local newspaper editors was that Ford, as a good corporate citizen, should want
to reward the city by supporting annexation. As far as Fairfax was concerned,
the Cincinnati Post opined that another local government shouldn’t be formed every
time a new factory opened on the outskirts of Cincinnati.
The
Fairfax Welfare Association launched a new campaign for incorporation, which
would include the Red Bank area. Fairfax saw the opportunity to take advantage
of those Ford tax dollars to establish municipal services like police and fire departments.
Citizens started to feel more comfortable with the prospects of incorporation.
There was even talk of changing the community’s name to Fordville.
In
June 1951, the city filed a petition signed by all resident freeholders in the
Red Bank industrial area asking for annexation. So, like me, you may not have
ever heard of a “freeholder.” As I understand it, a resident freeholder is
someone who owns their property and lives on it. Of note, there was only one
resident freeholder in the area to be annexed. In July 1951, Fairfax petitioned
the Columbia Township trustees to permit a vote on incorporation. The City of
Cincinnati filed a lawsuit to keep the election from proceeding. Two subsequent
annexation petitions were filed by the city, one signed by the resident
freeholder, her daughter and two people who weren’t property owners, and a
final petition signed by the freeholder and her daughter.
In
May 1952, H. W. Wagner of the Fairfax Welfare Association, admitted that an
incorporated Fairfax would get “easy money” from the Ford plant, but so would
Cincinnati. He pointed out that the city was only seeking to annex the Red Bank
industrial area, which in 1949 (and prior to the existence of the Ford plant)
was part of the failed Fairfax incorporation vote. Wagner also disputed two
frequent claims by incorporation opponents that annexation would be less
expensive for residents and that local bookies were supporting incorporation so
they wouldn’t have to deal with Cincinnati police.
In
June 1952, the Ohio Supreme Court refused to review Cincinnati’s action to
prohibit the incorporation of Fairfax and the Red Bank industrial area into one
municipality.
In
September 1953, Hamilton County Commissioners signed a resolution to annex the
Red Bank industrial area to Cincinnati, granting the June 1951 petition. In
October, Ford filed lawsuits opposing annexation of the area to Cincinnati and
supporting Fairfax’s incorporation efforts. Cincinnati city councilman Douglass
Adams was an especially vocal opponent of Ford’s desire for the “wholly
synthetic incorporation” of Fairfax and believed that Ford owed allegiance to
the City of Cincinnati due to the services it was providing. In November, Adams
went so far as to send a letter to Henry Ford II, president and CEO of Ford
Motor Company and Adams’ former classmate at Yale, advising him that it would
be in Ford’s best interest to be within Cincinnati and that Ford's water rates might
quadruple if the company was outside of the city. The Cincinnati Post sent
an open telegram to Henry Ford II to try to convince him to support annexation
of the Red Bank industrial area to Cincinnati. Mr. Ford responded that he
agreed with the actions taken by local Ford management, was opposed to
annexation to Cincinnati, and supported the incorporation of Fairfax.
In
May 1954, a Common Pleas court judge heard Ford’s injunction against the
Hamilton County Commission’s decision allowing the Red Bank industrial area to
be annexed to Cincinnati. Ultimately,
it came down to a procedural issue and “first come, first served.” Of the three
annexation petitions filed by the city, the first petition was the only one
granted by the Hamilton County Commission. The city’s final petition was filed
after the petition for incorporation of Fairfax. So, the city’s petition for
annexation was denied because it was filed after Fairfax’s petition for
incorporation.
Is
your head spinning yet? Well, I’ll wrap this up quickly. The city appealed, but
the Court of Appeals upheld the decision. The city appealed to the Ohio Supreme
Court, which, in March 1955, refused to review the decision. Who says you can’t
fight city hall? Of course, it helps to have one of the largest corporations in
the country (and their deep pockets) on your side.
Fairfax
moved quickly and a vote for incorporation was set for April 28, 1955. The vote
was overwhelmingly in favor of incorporation.
In
a 1931 meeting of the Fairfax Welfare Association, Mayor Harry Baker of Norwood
told those assembled, “The closer you bring government to your people, the
better government you will have.” No town is perfect and Fairfax is no
exception. However, we have a watchful and responsive police department, fine maintenance
department that keeps our streets and parks clean and safe, and fire and EMT
services located centrally in the village. It was a long road to incorporation,
but the outcome was certainly worthwhile.
Sources
Cincinnati
Commercial Tribune,
August 28, 1922 – February 14, 1923 (online Newspaper Archive)
Cincinnati
Enquirer,
December 9, 1931 – April 29, 1955 (online ProQuest)
Cincinnati
Post,
August 28, 1922 – April 14, 1955 (online NewsBank)
(Specific
article citations available upon request.)
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