Dayton - Ohio - History

General George Rogers Clark began the taming of the wilderness in 1780 with a military expedition from Kentucky. Clark returned to the area two years later with 1,000 men when the Indians resumed raids on the territory. He was successful on November 9, 1782, at the present site of Dayton and the tribes were finally smashed in 1789 by a new army under the command of "Mad Anthony" Wayne. A year later, 35 miles north of where Dayton now stands, Wayne and the leaders of the Six Nations signed a treaty establishing supremacy over the Indians in the Ohio country. Major Benjamin Stites and two associates had visualized a town to be called Venice. In 1795, the land was purchased from John Cleve Symmes, a Revolutionary War soldier to whom Congress had awarded the land.

A surveying team led by Daniel C. Cooper then laid out a town site. The first group of settlers -- the Thompsons, Newcoms, Van Cleves, Hamers, and a few others --poled their way up the Miami River from Cincinnati, landing at the foot of St. Clair Street on April 1, 1796. These original founders and settlers of Dayton were faced with disaster in the winter of 1798-99 when it was discovered that congress had refused to legalize the original sale of the land. The settlers were offered the land at two dollars per acre, but the offer meant financial ruin to the people who had neither money nor prospects of accumulating any.

With the admission of Ohio to the Union in 1803, Montgomery County was formed. The county originally consisted of about 6,300 square miles, now known as the Miami Valley. Dayton itself was incorporated in 1805, with a government of seven trustees acting as council, a supervisor and a Marshall. The first school opened in 1804; the first library society in 1805. The census of 1810 credited Dayton with a population of 383. By 1812 Dayton was a thriving town, complete with a new brick courthouse, five new taverns, grist and sawmills, and frame houses springing up to replace log cabins.

About this time, rumors of Indian outbreaks around Lake Erie circulated. War was declared June 16, 1812 when the Ohio Militia was surrendered to the Indians and British. Within weeks, Montgomery County organized six militia companies under the leadership of William Henry Harrison who succeeded where the original militia had failed. The British and Indians were defeated, and the War of 1812 was over.

A great stir was caused by the first stagecoach arrival on June 4, 1816. The first bridge was built in the city over the Mad River in the vicinity of Taylor Street, replacing the ferry crossing. Work on a Dayton-to-Cincinnati Canal was begun by 1827 and completed in 1829 at a cost of more than half a million dollars. The canal, later extended to Lake Erie, passed through Dayton at what is now Patterson Boulevard.

By 1840, Dayton had 6,000 inhabitants and was granted its city charter on March 8, 1841. For 30 years, the canal was the primary reason for progress and prosperity for the whole Miami Valley until the railroad offered serious competition.

Dayton is home to the Birthplace of Aviation, to powered flight inventors Wilbur and Orville Wright and to many prominent sites, famous people and wonderful innovations. Indeed, Dayton is home to aviation, great attractions and historical sites, fantastic arts venues, a thriving downtown, beautiful parks, a variety of sporting sites and fabulous shopping and dining.

The first public high school was opened in 1857. The first industrial plant to grow in size was the Barney and Smith Car Co. established in 1849. In 1870, the Dayton Malleable Iron Company, National Cash Register, Ohio Rak, Ohmer Fare Register, Aetna Paper, Computing Scale, and Dayton Rubber were all major contributors to growth and prosperity in the region. The Dayton Exchange, was formed in 1873. Later came the Board of Trade, the Boosters Club, and the Commercial Club. All of these organizations merged and became the Dayton Chamber of Commerce in 1907. This became the Greater Dayton Association in 1913. In 1918, it again became the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. The chamber has played an ever-increasing role in promoting the industrial, business and community life in the area

Dayton is also home to C. F. Kettering, who devised the automatic self-starter for the car in 1912. Leland C. Clark, also of Dayton, created the heart-lung machine in 1956. Other notable inventions created by famous Daytonians include the cash register and room air conditioner.

Wilbur and Orville Wright, owners of a bicycle shop on West Third Street, brought worldwide recognition to Dayton when they gave the world the wings to fly shortly after the turn of the century. Success came on December 17, 1903, when they flew the powered aircraft plane in a controlled flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The work of the Wrights was the start of a long record of aviation accomplishments, which has earned Dayton the reputation as the "Birthplace of Aviation." The first parachute jump, first solo instrument landing, night flying advances, world altitude records, and pioneering in aerial photography have all been part of Dayton's heritage of progress in aviation.

The worst flood in Dayton history came in March, 1913 when several days of heavy rain produced a raging torrent that claimed 300-400 lives, and caused one hundred million dollars in damage in just a few hours. The residents of the city raised two million dollars immediately as a contribution to permanent prevention of another such disaster. From this came the Miami Conservancy District, America's first comprehensive flood control project, an engineering undertaking which has protected the Miami Valley since and served as a model for other areas around the country.

In the next few years, following the growing European conflict which involved the U.S. in World War I, Dayton and Montgomery County poured thousands of youth into the armed forces, and many lives were lost. The city hummed with wartime production of planes, tanks, guns, and other war materials.

From the beginning of World War II, Dayton industries turned to the manufacture of defense goods once again. In 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, nearly every industry in the city went on a complete war footing.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base became a great center of activity for the U.S. Army Air Force. The site of the base, as well as its facilities and personnel, were immediately increased. With the end of the war, the base continued as the nerve center of the Air Force. Today, it is one of the largest employers in the area.

The city was named after Revolutionary War hero General Jonathan Dayton, the youngest signer of the U.S. Constitution and one of the first investors in the new town. Dayton was the first large city in America to adopt the Commission-Manager form of government.

The City of Dayton has been rated as an "All-America City" three times - 1951, 1978 and 1991.