Wilder History
Condensed from an article by Jim Reis from Pieces of the
Past, Volume 3, Pages 187-189 and reprinted here with his permission.
Wilder stretches along the Licking River and is home to majestic mansions.
Wilder also features new subdivisions, but they sit on the city's fringe.
Wilder has rural sections and once boasted several dairies, but the dairies are
gone. Wilder includes one of the earliest pioneer sites in Northern
Kentucky, Leitch's Station which dates to 1789.
A state historical marker along the AA Highway, just south of Interstate 275, marks the general location of the settlement. The name comes from David Leitch, born in Glasgow Scotland, who settled in Virginia as a boy and served in the Revolutionary Army. Like many Virginia veterans, Leitch received land in Kentucky as par for his war service. He also purchased land grants from other veterans and his holdings amounted to about 35,000.
Leitch offered 100 acre tracts to those who would settle in and around his station. In 1790 Leitch, who was then 37, married 17 year old Keturah Moss. Four years later Leitch became ill and died. His widow married James Taylor, founder of Newport. Leitch's Station fell into disuse as Newport became the hub for local settlement.
With the demise of Leitch's Station, the Wilder area remained basically farmland. Among the farmers were German families who settled on Johns Hill Road. In 1847 those families built St. John the Baptist Church on the ridge. But on June 24, 1857, a lightning strike started a fire and the building burned. A small cemetery still marks the site. The next year the congregation built a church at the intersection of Johns Hill Road and Licking Pike next to Corpus Christi Cemetery.
The church overlooks the Licking River and during the Civil War, Union troops constructed Wiggins Battery on the ridge south of Three Mile Road near St. John's Church. A second fortification, Holt Battery, was built on the hill behind what is Moock Road and Licking Pike. Wiggins Battery was named for Samuel Wiggins, a Cincinnati banker and developer. Holt Battery was named for Kentucky born Union Brig. General Joseph Holt.
The name "Wilder" apparently dates to the construction of the Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington Railway in the mid-1800s. Its tracks ran south from Newport through what is now Wilder and crossed the Licking River via a bridge adjacent to what is now a city park called Frederick's Land and Public Boat Dock. On Nov 1, 1881, the Kentucky State Journal said another station was added to the list of arriving and departing trains. It was called "Wilders" and was located between the Newport and Milldale stops. An asterisk next to Wilders Station identified it as a telegraph station. Interestingly enough, a James Wilder from Louisville served on the railroad board. Perhaps this is where the name came from.
On the 1883 atlas, in addition to Wilders Station, are the Licking Turnpike, J Hahn's Ice House, and the properties of J Nutter, C Gest and F Graf. The community of Finchtown was south of Newport. Development of Wilder began in earnest in 1895 with the construction of the Queen City Race Track, where Newport Steel now sits. The track fell on hard times, and in 1903 was turned over to receivership. In January 1905, the stables were sold to pay debts.
The Andrews Steel Co. operated there for many years. The plant became Interlake Steel in 1965 and Newport Steel in 1981. The area was also known for dairies, including Jansing Dairy at Licking Pike and Three Mile Road and Feldman Dairy on Licking Pike. The Feldman Dairy Barnnow serves as the Wilder police station and the adjoining property is Carlisle City Park. Moock Road gets its name from the Moock family which operated the Hiland Dairy Co. in Newport.
On February 14, 1935, 35 residents petitioned Judge A M Caldwell to create Wilder. Caldwell signed the papers on March 19, 1935 and the "s" was gone. The city held its first city election November 2, 1937. In December it contracted with the Federal Works Progress Administration to begin construction of sewer lines. Wilder dedicated its current city building October 27, 1957. A firehouse was dedicated October 14, 1967. A public boat ramp build by the Army Corps of Engineers was reopened in July 1984 as a city park named Frederick's Landing.