Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, Cincinnati is located north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. In the early 19th century, Cincinnati was the first American boomtown in the heart of the country to rival the larger coastal cities in size and wealth. As the first major inland city in the country, it is sometimes thought of as the first purely American city. It developed initially without as much recent European immigration or influence as took place in eastern cities. However, by the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads, Cincinnati's growth had slowed considerably and the city became surpassed in population by many other inland Midwest cities, especially Chicago.