• Stivers School for the Arts was named for Civil War Veteran, Captain Charles Bryan Stivers, who later became a school principal.
• Hedgeapple plants (aka Osage orange trees) were planted in the 1820s in Bellbrook as fences. A salesman came to Bellbrook and sold them to the farmers and pioneers, touting their ability to keep the cattle in and the hardness of the wood to make wheel spokes.
• Middletown was named because its founder, Daniel Doty, estimated it was roughly equidistant between Cincinnati and Dayton.
• Bellbrook Magnetic Springs was once considered to be a magic spot. Legend is that the native Americans believed the water was medicinal and came from all around to drink it. A similar legend holds in Yellow Springs, and it is believed the Yellow Spring water attracts supernatural energy. Maybe that’s why Bellbrook has so many hauntings?
• The oldest known grave in Miami Valley is Henry Stettler, who died January 28, 1791.

More Street Names:

• Broadwell — Silas Broadwell, a town marshal.
• Chickahominy and Chickamauga Avenues — both are named for Civil War battles.
• Master Avenue – Named for the Master Electric Company
• The popular angel monument at Woodland is the grave of Asa McMillan, who operated a wool manufacturing company. The McMillAn Angel base and cross were carved from Dayton Limestone and the angel was sculpted in Italy from Carerra Marble. The right arm is resting on a stone slab and a rag in her left hand to symbolize wiping a slate clean after death and past sins are forgiven.
• During excavation at Research Park for a DP&L building, the remains of two people were discovered. The coroner and an archeological firm were called out to investigate. An estimated 75 bodies were buried at the location, which is believed to be the site of a 19th century Shaker cemetery, as the Shakers once lived on that section of land.