Broderick, Isaacs, and Darlington ride their horses through this building in an attempt to follow some criminals undetected. I had a lot of fun imagining the reactions of those inside and how they would maneuver their horses through.

Picture Citation:

Through my research, I discovered that the local field office of the Secret Service was located on the upper floor of the downtown Cincinnati post office. I honestly can’t remember if I specifically mentioned that in the book, but I thought it might be neat to take a look at the building where Broderick met Andrew Darlington for the first time.

Picture Citation:

Spring Grove Cemetery plays an important part in the beginning of Counterfeit Love. Not only is it the place where Theresa’s family is buried, it is where she discovers her grandfather is hiding secrets even more dangerous than Vincent Drake, the money monger determined to get his money back. We get our first glimpse of Spring Grove Cemetery when Theresa arrives at the entrance to find the gate locked. If you squint a little, you can see the fence to the left of the gatehouse where Edward would have lifted Theresa over. (Or you can hop over to my video to watch a tour there.)

Just so you have an idea of just how big Spring Grove is, here is a map from the time period of the cemetery. Toward the bottom, middle-right is the entrance, and Theresa would have had to run all the way to the back of the first section of graves across from Dexter Mausoleum.

Speaking of Dexter Mausoleum, that gothic cathedral-looking mausoleum is probably one of my favorite places in the cemetery. Broderick and Theresa shared their first kiss on those steps, Theresa runs into trouble with Fitz and Grimm, and then Broderick appears like a ghost from the past all at this location. 

Photo Credits:

Entrance: Detroit Publishing Co., Publisher. Entrance to Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio. United States Ohio Cincinnati, ca. 1900. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016808707/.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

Map: Robert Clarke & Co, M. & R. Burgheim, and A.M. Photo-Lithogr. Co. Map of Spring Grove Cemetery, adjoining Cincinnati: showing all burial lots with their numbers and sections, as laid out to date, together with aboutnames of owners of the largest sized lots, and location of a number of the principal monuments, etc. Cincinnati, Ohio: Robert Clarke & Co.: M. & R. Burgheim, 1883. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012586630/.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

Dexter Mausoleum: Crystal Caudill, October 2021

Burnet Wood doesn’t get a lot of page space in the book, but this was a park where Broderick and Theresa would secretly meet when they were younger. It started as 170 acres when it opened in 1874, but 74 acres were lost when purchased by the University of Cincinnati in 1882. Since then, it has shrunk to 90 acres but remains a beautiful wooded location in the city’s center. A man-made fishing lake was added in 1875, and it was near that lake that I envisioned Broderick and Theresa would have met.

There is also a darker history to Burnet Woods that I did not mention in my book. It was unfortunately known as a place where people went to die. I’ll not go into details, but if you are fascinated by that sort of thing, you can check out the article from Cincinnati Magazine here.

Photo Credits: 

Black & White: Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. A Driveway in Burnet Woods, Cincinnati, Ohio. United States Ohio Cincinnati, ca. 1906. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016805962/.

Color Photos: Crystal Caudill, October 2021

The Roebling Suspension Bridge was known as the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge at the time of my story. During the 1884 Flood, many would hire boats to be taken to the bridge where the river raged below just to get a better view of the city’s destruction. It was not advised, but many people did it anyway, and some companies profited by this unexpected entertainment venture. You can still cross the bridge today by car and foot. (Although at the time of this writing, the Bridge is closed for restoration.) During the flood, the waters rose to within a couple dozen feet of the bottom. By looking at the pictures, you can get an idea of just how devastating that flood was.

You can tell in this photograph just how high the river was in comparison to the bridge.

Photo Credits:

Double Photo: Cincinnati and Covington suspension bridge, taken from the Covington side of the river. Ohio Cincinnati, None. [Cincinnati, oh,: e. mendenhall, publisher, between 1866 and 1880] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015646063/.

Engraving: Cincinnati bridge / Engraved on wood by Jos. A. Williams, 128 W. 4th St. Cincinnati, O. John A. Roebling Bridge Ohio Covington Cincinnati Kentucky, ca. 1868. Cincinnati O.: Jos. A. Williams, 128 W. 4th St. Cincinnati, O., Mar. 11. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2003681626/.

Flood Photo: Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, The Great Flood of 1884. https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll11/id/2989/rec/6

The area in which Theresa lives is known as Clifton. Once home to grand mansions, it is now the home of multiple hospitals. At the time of my story, it was completely residential with no stores, groceries, mechanics, or saloons. Below are the images of two mansions I used as an inspiration point for Plane Manor. Off Clifton Avenue is Burnet Woods, the park where Broderick and Theresa would meet when they were younger. It was really a beautiful, scenic area. While hospitals and parking garages have stolen much of the beauty from the area, you can still find remnant mansions and beautiful homes that harken back to a day when Cincinnati was just beginning its expansion into and beyond the Seven Hills.

Photo Credit: Kenny, Daniel J.. Cincinnati Illustrated: A Pictorial Guide to Cincinnati and the Suburbs. United States: Robert Clarke & Company, 1879.

Second Image: Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library. 3645 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll80/id/12/rec/26

On February 15, 1883, the Ohio River crested at 66.3 feet in what residents hoped to be a once-in-a-lifetime flood. However, almost exactly one year to the day, a second worse flood occurred. On February 14, 1884, the river crested at 71 feet 3/4 inches. Entire towns were wiped out and millions of people all along the Ohio River Valley were devasted. Below are a few pictures of the flood collected from the Cincinnati Library. 

I love the bravado on the face of the young man at the front. 

These were the types of boats you would have seen on the water.

This is the gas works, which had a similar distance from the river as the printshop. As you can guess, with the gasworks under water, people were without power and heat for quite a while. There was also a severe cold snap during the flood and people struggled to get needed coal and wood to meet their needs.

This was the public landing where Josiah would meet with the other police officers.

Photo Credits: Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library

Photo 1: https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll11/id/2984/rec/1

Photo 2: https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll11/id/2997/rec/14

Photo 3: https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll11/id/2986/rec/3

Photo 4: https://digital.cincinnatilibrary.org/digital/collection/p16998coll11/id/2990/rec/7

While this isn’t a great replica of the house I used as a model for Edward’s home, this does give a good idea of the size, how the steps were, and the fenced-in drop-off on either side. I know that might be a little hard to envision for those who aren’t surrounded by homes with this kind of setup.