Dayton Paranormal-Historical Project
history of our town -- Dayton, Ohio: during the latter half of the 18th century, the area which is now dayton was the site of almost constant warfare between the French and Native
Americans. British colonists, soon to be "Americans", lent aid to the Mother Country and helped to conquer the French pioneers and military in this area just before the revolutionary war.
general george
rogers clark began the taming of the wilderness in 1780 with a military expedition from Kentucky. when Natives began raids to protect their fertile hunting grounds, clark returned to the area two years later with 1,000 men to
begin the extermination of the Native population. His efforts were marginally successful, but the power of the Native tribes was completely smashed by 1789 by a new army under the command of "mad anthony" wayne (he
is honored with roads and high schools).
35 miles north of where dayton now stands, wayne and the leaders of the Six Nations signed a treaty establishing supremacy over the Natives of the Ohio country. the initial plan
to settle the area in 1789 ran into difficulties over land costs and had to be abandoned.
in 1795, the land was purchased from john cleve symmes, a revolutionary war soldier to whom congress had gifted the land right out
from underneath the Native population.
the eventual purchasers (which would have made john symmes even more rich) were general arthur st.clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, general jonathan dayton, general james
wilkinson, and colonel israel ludlow. a town site was then laid out by a surveying team led by daniel c. cooper. the plan for central dayton was to name streets for each of the three.
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 no money.
daniel cooper became the city's first benefactor when he offered to purchase more than 3,000 acres of the land, including the site of the city, from the government. clear
titles were passed to the individuals who settled here and the first taxes, totaling $29.74, were collected from the 22 original settlers in 1798, effectively turning them into indentured servants.
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, supervisors, and police. 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 old log cabins. a nail factory, dyeing plant, weaving mill, and tannery were all in operation at this
time in 1812. also about this time rumors of Native insurgent outbreaks around Lake Erie circulated. the rumors were true and war was declared June 16, 1812. when the Ohio Militia was surrendered to the comination
force of Natives and British within weeks, montgomery county organized six militia companies under the leadership of william henry harrison, the winner of the battle of tippecanoe. harrison succeeded where the original
militia had failed and the British and Natives were defeated ending the War of 1812.
a canal, was extended to Lake Erie, passing through dayton at what is now patterson boulevard. dayton abounded in industrial growth
and many industries began the manufacture of goods in the dayton area during this period. by 1829, guns, hats, cotton, iron, plows, silk, wool, flour, paper, machinery, furniture, stoves, carpets, clocks and pianos were all
flowing from dayton's busy factories. by 1840, dayton had 6,000 inhabitants and was granted a 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. the community had remained largely unaffected by the spread of the railways for almost 20 years. the lines at first stopped only at xenia and
springfield. in this 20 year period the population only grew by another 8,000 people. the next 20 years, however, with the railroads' ability for easy and care-free transportation, dayton gained 23,000 more people -- a
65% increase, up from 25%.
dayton contributed more than 6,000 soldiers to the north in the civil war. when the war was over, the nation created military homes for the disabled. the central branch of these homes
was built in the hills of west dayton. since then the present Veteran's Administration Center, and now VA hospital, has been in constant operation and is a national and local treasure. many soldiers with PTSD were there.
the 50 or so stores of 1829 multiplied quickly after the canal opened. soon after that, rike-kumler and elder and johnson began their climb to popularity. industry, trade and financial operations have been
stimulated in dayton by a succession of organizations. the first of these, the masonic order, was always present where a city would be founded, the second, the dayton exchange, was formed in 1873. later came the board
of trade, the boosters club, and others. all of these organizations merged and became the Dayton chamber of commerce in 1907.