Category Archives: Local Businesses

The Tragic Life of Enos Doolittle and his Doolittle Tavern

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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 →

Edith Deeds

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Edith Deeds was born in Spring Valley in 1869, to Samuel and Mary Walton, and was the older sister of William Walton. In her early life, Edith studied music, painting, and languages at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Though her father Samuel was a Quaker, the family attended the First Baptist Church after moving to Dayton. It was there that Edith met Colonel Edward Deeds. Edith and Edward married on June 5, 1900. Throughout their marriage, Edith assisted her innovative husband and the infamous Barn Gang by performing office work and participating in the development of the automobile self-starter.
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Upcoming Holiday Bazaars and Craft Shows

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So many of our favorite events have been cancelled over the past year or two, but there are still so many events going on for the holidays!

    • Old Fashioned Holiday Bazaar
      When:
      Saturday, November 6
      9am-3pm
      Where:
      Holy Trinity Church
      Trinity Center
      266 Bainbridge Street
      Dayton, Ohio 45402
    • Holiday Arts & Craft Show
      When:
      Saturday, November 13th
      9am-4pm
      Where:
      Kettering Recreation Complex
      2900 Glengarry Drive
      Kettering, Ohio 45420
    • St. Helen Christmas Bazaar
      When:
      Saturday, December 4th
      9am-3pm
      Where:
      St. Helen Catholic School
      5086 Burkhart Road
      Riverside, Ohio 45431

More Fun Dayton Facts

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Here are some more Dayton fun facts!

  • In 1920, Dayton had no unsolved murders.
  • During WWII, Lieutenant Harry Zavakos was reported MIA and presumed dead after his plane was shot down over China. He was actually found by the Chinese and slowly moved across the country to be returned to his unit. During the time the Chinese transported Zavakos, they continually fed him fried chicken.
  • Flight personnel gave Dayton the moniker “The Popcorn City” due to the popcorn sold at Wileswood Country Store. Some ground crews would refuse to work on aircrafts if the flight crews did not return from a trip to Dayton with “Dayton popcorn.”
  • In 1979, while excavating for the Gem Savings headquarters, the skeleton of an adult male was discovered. The site was originally the location of Dayton’s first cemetery. Since the bodies had never been moved from the location, one theory is that this particular skeleton was John Davis, an early Dayton pioneer.
  • Dayton’s most successful professional sports team was the Dayton Gems, a hockey team that played in Dayton from 1964 to 1977.
  • Electricity was introduced in Dayton in 1882, when the first electric light turned on in the Dayton Morning Journal office.
  • Ponderosa Steakhouse, which was founded in Indiana, moved its headquarters to Dayton in 1968, where it flourished for decades.
  • During WWII, there was such a drastic labor shortage in Dayton, that a job draft was considered to fill the positions.

Oktoberfest is back for 2021!

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The Dayton Art Institute’s Oktoberfest is back for 2021! This year Oktoberfest is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. The DAI Oktoberfest was started in 1971 and is the largest annual fundraiser for the Dayton Art Institute.

Lunch and Preview Party
Friday, September 24th
Advance Tickets
– $55 for DAI members
– $75 for non-members
At the gate: $95.

Oktoberfest –
Saturday, September 25th, 12pm-11:30pm
Sunday September 26 12pm-7pm
Advanced Tickets:
– Adults: $8
– Seniors (60+) and Ages 7-18: $5
– Children under 6: Free
At the Gate:
– Adults: $10
– Seniors (60+) and Ages 7-18: $7
– Children under 6: Free

Where:
Dayton Art Institute
456 Belmonte Park North
Dayton, OH 45405

Please Note: The DAI does not allow pets (except service dogs), backpacks and large bags, or weapons of any kind.

Lewis Kemp and the Oldest House in Dayton

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Lewis and Elizabeth Kemp and their family of eight children moved from Frederick, Maryland to Mad River Township in 1806. Kemp bought 822 acres of land at $10 an acre, and settled on a piece of land that looks out over the modern-day Huffman Prairie. Shortly after their arrival in 1806, Kemp built a brick and limestone house with a stone foundation. A brick addition was added around 1832.

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First Friday Book Sale & Signing!

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Sara had her second Author Talk, and it was another success! We loved meeting everyone at the Winters-Bellbrook Community Library (Greene County Public Library) last night. The crowd was small, but it was a great discussion!

Don’t forget to come out to Heart Mercantile tonight during First Friday to see us!

When:
Friday, September 3rd, 5pm – 8pm
Where:
Heart Mercantile
438 East 5th Street
Dayton, OH 45402

Sara is having another Author Talk!

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Sara is having another Author Talk next Thursday! Join us to buy the book, hear a little bit about the content and process, and ask any questions you have!

When:
Thursday, September 2nd, 6pm – 7pm
Where:
Winters-Bellbrook Community Library
57 West Franklin Street
Bellbrook, OH 45305

Sara also has another Sale & Signing on Friday in the Oregon District if you can’t make it to the Author Talk!

When:
Friday, September 3rd, 5pm – 8pm
Where:
Heart Mercantile
438 East 5th Street
Dayton, OH 45402

Aaron Nutt, Sr.

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Aaron Nutt, Sr. was born on July 17th, 1758 in New Jersey to Quaker parents Levi and Ann Ivens Nutt. At age 14, Aaron’s mother sold him to be an indentured servant for a local tailor, John Lippencott. Through his period of service, Aaron became a skilled tailor.

Aaron served in the New Jersey Militia in Lippencott’s place after Lippencott was drafted in 1777. Aaron was assigned non-combat duties, due to his Quaker beliefs, and served as a spy and a teamster (a person who drove a team of animals pulling a wagon). Even though he never saw combat, Aaron was not allowed membership in the Quaker Society of Friends, since he participated in the war.

At the age of 20, Aaron married Mary Archer on May 4th, 1779. During their 17-year marriage, Aaron and Mary had nine children. Aaron and his family moved to Kentucky in 1788, along with his brother-in-law Benjamin Archer, then they all moved to Ohio in 1799. A brother-in-law already settled in the area, Benjamin Robbins, offered to store Aaron’s family’s possessions and let them stay with them while they built their home, but Aaron responded with, “I am not going to unpack until I enter my own cabin” and with help, built his new home in just one day.
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Fun Dayton Facts

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Here are a few more interesting facts about Dayton!

  • Of the original purchasers of the land for Dayton, Jonathan Dayton’s name was chosen because it was considered the most pleasing name to grace the township.
  • Dayton’s first hanging took place on a gallows east of the river, where Sinclair Community College is now located. This fact is the basis for the storied hauntings of the campus.
  • Dayton’s flood of 1866 cost the city a quarter of a million dollars and left only the corn crops standing in its wake.
  • Dayton born Daniel Denison Bickham pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in 1886 for one game. He returned to Dayton when his father called him home because he felt baseball was “not a gentlemanly sport.”
  • Charles Bickham, Daniel’s brother, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1904 because he “crossed a fire-swept field, in close range of the enemy and bought a wounded soldier to a place of shelter.“
  • Father to Daniel and Charles Bickham, William Bickham, was Dayton’s leading newspaper editor. After the riot that burned the office of the Dayton Journal, Bickham arrived to revive the paper and return it to financial stability.
  • The Wright brothers built their first glider for about $15.