Why Seven Hills?

Why Seven Hills?

“Words have meaning and names have power.” - Author Unknown 

There is a lot in a name. 

When we set out to create Seven Hills Outfitters, one of the biggest decisions was choosing the name. From a marketing and branding standpoint, you always want something that will translate to a logo, to a website address, and a variety of other things. However, we wanted our name to have meaning and power. 

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We knew that we wanted to pay homage to our hometown of Cincinnati. We knew that we wanted something that captured the aesthetic, history, and strength of the American Midwest. It was both a gift and a challenge that our native Cincinnati has so many nicknames; 

  • The Queen City 
  • Queen of the West 
  • Cincy 
  • The Nati 
  • The City of Seven Hills 

And, yes... even ‘Porkopolis.’ 

Since we aren’t looking to make bacon or chops, Porkopolis went off the list pretty early. 

After hours of mockups, meetings, and mood-boards, we landed on Seven Hills, or 7H for short. 

In June 1853, the West American Review published “Article III—Cincinnati: Its Relations to the West and South” in which the seven hills of Cincinnati are described. They are as follows; 

  • Mount Adams 
  • Walnut Hills 
  • Mount Auburn 
  • Vine Street Hill 
  • College Hill 
  • Fairmont (now Fairmount) 
  • Mount Harrison (now known as Price Hill) 

These hills form a crescent around the city, and are still major landmarks for Cincinnatians. 

From its settlement in 1788 (originally named “Losantiville”) Cincinnati positioned itself as a gateway city. It’s hard to imagine now that Ohio itself was considered a western state, part of the Northwest Territory (1787-1803). But, to our young country, this was a vast and untapped land of resources and settlement opportunities. 

From the Ohio River bringing steamboats to the landing, to the introduction of the canal system, railroads, and more, there has always been a sense of trade and commerce in our city. Cincinnati is a city that brings together a multitude of states, peoples, and opportunities. It is uniquely American, and distinctly midwestern. 

Although the transporting of goods and services has evolved a great deal since the days of the Northwest Territory, Cincinnati is still a crown jewel in the heart of the USA for commerce. 

Our goal is to bring that historic resonance of Cincinnati and the Midwest to the world of lifestyle eCommerce. We may not be unloading steamboats at the Public Landing here at 7H, but we hope to capture that same magic with our curated goods and stories. 

With the name Seven Hills, we pay homage to our home. We pay homage to the people who worked the landings, the streetcars, canals, and railroads bringing trade and goods to the people of the Midwest and beyond. We pay homage to the industries, people, and organizations that put Cincinnati on the map. 

We hope that every product we offer up to you would be the type of product that would make our city and history proud.