Category Archives: Local History

The Yellow Spring

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What exactly causes the Yellow Spring to be yellow? In a nutshell, iron.

A spring is defined as water overflowing from an aquifer. In this particular spring, the water underground is clear, but turns yellow when it hits the air. The iron in the water becomes rust when exposed to air, and turns into the well-known yellowish orange color that gave Yellow Springs its name. Experts theorize the water may run through an iron deposit underground (called a vugg) or the geology of the area could just contain excess iron.

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Liberty Tower

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After the flood of 1913, Second Street faced a new frontier. As it had previously been occupied by mansions and apartment buildings, the flood pushed residents away from downtown, moving them to Salem Avenue and Far Hills Avenue. This created the prime opportunity for development.

Planning for the Liberty Tower started in 1929, and construction started the next year. It took 11 months to create what was Dayton’s tallest building at that time. Liberty Tower was the tallest building in Dayton from 1931 until the construction of the Kettering Tower in 1969. The Mutual Home Building, as it was known then, was built out of concrete and steel and 23 stories tall. Attendants manned the garages and state-of-the-art elevators, giving an air of elegance.

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Interesting Street Names

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  • Cline Street – Once known as Zigzag Street because it ran along an open ditch, called Seely’s ditch, but has long since been straightened.
  • Hoover Avenue – Not named for the president, but for local residents and the Hoover Park plat developed in 1917.
  • Demphle Avenue – named for Sebastion Demphle, a local stove dealer.
  • Babbitt Street – A T.S. Babbitt lived at First Street and Bridge Street, later Stratford Lane.
  • Kiefaber Street – named after Warner Harshman Kiefaber Sr, who graduated from St Mary’s Institute class of 1905 and later founded the W.H Kiefaber Company on Keowee Street and Monument Avenue in 1920.

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Water you doing, Dayton?

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In the late 1800s, sinks had 3 faucets. Far left was hot rainwater, far right was cold, and the middle was Holly Water. Also known as drinking water, Holly Water got its name because the first city waterworks used Holly’s Patent Elliptical Rotary Pumps to get water from two wells. The rainwater came from cisterns in people’s yards, collected from roof runoff and brought into the house via pumps.

Before Holly Water, residents drank well water, benefiting from the filtering effects of the porous sub-soil. By the 1860s as more and more people moved into Dayton, those water sources became compromised, with an increasing amount of cesspools infringing on the borders of these wells. This led to the first Board of Health being created in 1868. A Committee was formed to address the issues, ultimately choosing the “Holly System.”

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45th Annual A World A’fair

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To the lady who met Bethany’s mother at the base hospital yesterday: we would love to know who you are, and we thank you for your kind words!

Sara attended the annual A World A’Fair international festival on May 19th, and had a blast! This is one of our favorite events, and we look forward to it every year.

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Lee Lynam

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Note: In honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15th, we decided to share a story about one of Dayton’s own Peace Officers.

January 17, 1880 was a normal day on the beat for Patrolman Lee Lynam. That morning, he arrested a man named John Francis on suspicion of having a gun. Francis was later released and told to “behave.”

But behave, he did not.

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World A’Fair is Coming!

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The World A’Fair is a three-day international festival including food, dancing, music, and cultural exhibits. This year there will be 34 booths, representing countries from all over the world. The theme this year will be Ethnic Attire.

When:

Friday, May 18th: 5pm-11pm
Saturday, May 19th: 11am-11pm
Sunday, May 20th 11am-6pm

Where:

Dayton Convention Center, 22 E Fifth Street, Dayton 45402

Here are some pictures from previous years!

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Oddball Street Names

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A few odd street names in the Greater Dayton Area – some with an explanation, some just explain themselves!

  • Chicken Bristle Road, Farmersville: bristle is short, stiff hair. Chickens have bristle feathers.
  • Rip Rap Road, Huber Heights: Rip Rap is stone used to protect shore lines from erosion.
  • Grinn Drive and Barrett Road, West Chester: make up the intersection “Grinn and Barrett.”
  • Sweet Potato Ridge Road, Brookville
  • Dotcom Drive Troy: Named after the internet term.

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