After the Great Flood of 1913, the Miami Conservancy District, led by Colonel Edward Deeds and Arthur Morgan, started the process of building dams to prevent future flooding catastrophes in Dayton. Driving along Route 444, you’ve probably glanced over to see the Huffman Dam.
Author Archives: daytonunknown
Happy 226th Birthday, Dayton!
On this date in 1796, Dayton was founded by the Thompson Party! Happy 226th birthday, Dayton!
Dayton historian, Charlotte Reeve Conover put it best in the her book The Story of Dayton:
“The boat party was the first to arrive. Rounding the curve in the river, where for so many years since then it has been flowing under the Dayton View Bridge, the pioneers perceived before their eyes the swift current of Mad River emptying itself into the main channel, just as it had been described, and saying to each other (so we may imagine), ‘Yes this must be the place,’ they tied the pirogue to a tree at the head of St, Clair Street and led by Mrs. Thompson, all clambered ashore.
At that moment, DAYTON came on the map!”
Johann Jacob Coy, Jr.
Born July 27, 1739 in Bavaria, Germany, Johann Jacob Coy, Jr. came to America with his parents and siblings. Unfortunately, both of Jacob’s parents passed away on the voyage over. Jacob’s father had negotiated a labor contract for the cost of the passage, and upon his death, Jacob as the oldest son was now expected to fulfill the contract. The ship’s crew seized all of their belongings and left the Coy children without anything, and upon arrival in Philadelphia in 1757, the siblings were all sold into servitude to work off their debts.
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Benjamin Robbins
Benjamin Robbins is one of the founders of Centerville, along with his brothers-in-law, Benjamin Archer, and Aaron Nutt, Sr..
Robbins was born in New Jersey in 1760 and was a surveyor and farmer. He married Bathsheba Nutt (Aaron’s sister) in 1782. Throughout their marriage, they had a total of 12 children:
- Nancy (1783-1858)
- Richard (1784-1837)
- Abigail (1787-1854)
- Elizabeth (1790-1879)
- Benjamin (1791-1792)
- Rebecca (1793-????)
- Samuel (1795-1862)
- Aaron (1797-1825)
- Levi (1800-1866)
- twins Mary (1803-1833) and John (1803-1805)
- Bathsheba (1806-1845)
Fun Facts about the Van Cleves
One of the first settlers to Dayton and one of the big names as well, how much do you know about Benjamin Van Cleve? Here are some facts about Benjamin, and his son John.
Benjamin Van Cleve (1773 – 1821)
- His marriage to Mary Whitten was the first marriage registered in Dayton. They had one son, John.
- Benjamin accompanied the first party of settlers to Dayton.
- Benjamin established Dayton’s first library, post office, and school, all in his log cabin.
John Van Cleve (1801 – 1858)
- He was a child prodigy. At 16, he was teaching Latin and Greek and translating plays from German and French.
- He contributed collections to Dayton’s first natural history museum
- Helped found Woodland Cemetery
- Was reportedly over 300 pounds and very sensitive about his appearance. He refused to marry and would not sit for portraits or photographs.
August Foerste – This Guy Rocks
Born May 7th, 1862, in Dayton to parents John and Louise, August Foerste (pronounced first-ee) became Dayton’s very own Natural Historian. After attending a lecture by OSU president and geologist Edward Orton in high school, August became interested geology. He graduated from Old Central High School in 1880, then taught at Schoolhouse No. 2 in Centerville until 1883.
During his time teaching, August studied the Allen Quarry tucked away in Centerville (where the Rod & Reel Fishing Club is now), and identified and named the formation there, and discovered a new classification of limestone – which he named the Brassfield limestone. He was also responsible for naming a rock formation the Beavertown Marl at the quarry site at Wilmington Pike and Dorothy Lane. August had found his specialty, and many fossils found in the Centerville area were named by him.
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Fairmont Firebird Symbol
Most Kettering residents have a connection to Kettering Fairmont, whether it’s because they attended or they have children who do/did. For those they can easily remember the blue and white school colors and the beloved mascot, the firebird. For some residents, they can even remember Fairmont East and Fairmont West.
Fairmont was originally opened in September 1906 on Dorothy Lane just west of Far Hills. As the population of Van Buren Township grew, the four-room schoolhouse was quickly becoming too small. A replacement building just east of the original building became the temporary high school until the new building on Far Hills at Storms Avenue (where Van Buren Middle School is now) opened in 1929. The school colors were purple and white, and the mascot was a Dragon.
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Sara was on a Podcast!
Sara was a guest on the local podcast An Hour of Your Life to talk about her book!
An Hour of Your Life was a finalist for the 2019 Best Local Podcast, and Sara had a great time chatting with Steve and Kim Harmon. You can listen to Sara’s episode here.
Check out An Hour of Your Life’s Facebook, or follow them anywhere you can listen to Podcasts – Amazon, Apple, etc..
The Tragic Life of Enos Doolittle and his Doolittle Tavern
In 1820, Enos Doolittle arrived in Centerville, where he quickly rented a building and opened a dry goods store. Two years later, Enos married Bathsheba Robbins, the youngest daughter of one of Centerville’s founders, Benjamin Robbins.
In the same year, Enos started buying several lots of land, and in 1823 he eventually built a two-story stone building and opened the Doolittle Tavern where the current Town Hall stands. According to The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County from 1882, the Doolittle Tavern was known as the best place to stop west of the Allegheny Mountains. Continue reading
Have you bought Sara’s Book yet?
Have you bought Sara’s book yet?
Murder & Mayhem in Dayton and the Miami Valley came out last June, featuring many true crime stories in Dayton from the 1800s and early 1900s.
You can buy an autographed copy directly from Sara here!
Also stay tuned for a post soon with some teasing previews of the stories in the book!
Dayton Unknown 