Corryville was named for William Corry by his heirs after the land which Corry had owned was subdivided and a village laid out in 1843. Because of its inaccessiblity by residents of the Basin area, and due to its relatively level terrain, Corryville became a center of suburban agriculture with dairies, hothouse and truck farms. Eventually, as Corryville was annexed by Cincinnati in 1870 and streetcar lines extended into Corryville along Vine Street, the Basin population did expand into the community, creating a residential neighborhood with a thriving business district. The small lots attracted middle-income buyers who built modest homes, establishing a solid midle-class community and this remained Corryville's character until well into the twentieth century. By mid-century, the tenor of the neighborhood began to change as original families began to move out, more housing was converted to rentals, student population increased and many of the new residnets were poor. Laid out before the advent of the automobile, Corryville's streets became clogged with traffic and the small residential gardens were converted to driveways and garages. Urban renewal and institutional expansion in the mid-sixties saw a realignment of major thoroughfares and the loss of approximately 500 homes. The increase in student population led to renewal of the business district as nontraditional businesses opened to cater to the student market. The remaining housing stock continued to be primarily rentals, but real estate investors slowed deterioration.
Today, Corryville is one of the few "walking" neighborhoods in Cincinnati, with a public library, post office, laundry and drycleaners, grocery stores and other tradtional neighborhood services, in addition to its more regionally-marketed nontraditional businesses, all within walking distance of most residents.