If you’ve gone through the main gates at Woodland Cemetery, you’ve seen the life size bronze statue of a man sitting in a chair, watching you as you enter.
But who is he?
Category Archives: Local History
Interesting Street Names
- 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.
Water you doing, Dayton?
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.”
45th Annual A World A’fair
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.
Lee Lynam
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.
World A’Fair is Coming!
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!
Oddball Street Names
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.
Happy birthday, Dayton!
Footprints in the cement at Founder’s Point at Riverscape Metropark to remember the first settlers of Dayton.
Farmersville Bottle Farm
“I would live by my wits while my brothers live by the sweat of their brows.”– Winter Zellar (Zero) Swartsel, Grandfather of Pop Art
Tired of the hard-working routine of Farmersville, Zero and a friend decided to bike first to New York City, head west, then travel the world, collecting items along the way. Later, his home in Farmersville and also his yard would be decorated extensively with these items. His twenty-two acre farm soon became a canvas for his art, using glass he collected from “wasteful” people.
Source: Remarkable Ohio
Going Out With a Bang: My God, I’ve Shot Myself
Clement Vallandigham (July 29, 1820 – June 17, 1871)
It was going to be the biggest case of his life. Fifty year old Dayton Attorney Clement Vallandigham was to defend Thomas McGehan, who was charged with murder for a barroom brawl turned deadly in Hamilton, Ohio. Having been unable to find a jury un-swayed by newspaper reports in Hamilton, the trial moved to Lebanon.
Vallandigham and his partner, Daniel Haynes, formed a practice that had become “one of the best and ablest in the West”, with stories of Vallandigham making final pleas so persuasive that the jury was left in tears. Nobody researched more than he did, and he was adept at anticipating the rebuttal arguments of the opposing lawyers.
