In 1975, Wartinger Park was named for John Wartinger, who served his community in several ways:
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Category Archives: Places & Names
Huffman Dam
Johann Jacob Coy, Jr.
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Benjamin Robbins
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)
Fairmont Firebird Symbol
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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Edith Deeds
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Benjamin Archer
Archer purchased over 500 acres of land near Clyo Road and Alex-Bell Road – which was originally outside of Centerville’s city limits. Archer came back to Ohio in 1798 to settle with his family.
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A Brief History of Spring Valley
By 1860, Spring Valley had a hotel, tannery, two blacksmiths, two cabinetmakers, two physicians, two grocers, and a shoemaker, along with a wool mill and flour mill, started by prominent citizen, George Barrett. Moses Walton also partnered with George Barrett’s son, Isaac, to produce and distribute smoked meats, wool, and flax products nationally.
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Ida Weller
In 1893, At the age of 17, Ida graduated from the Washington Township High School on West Franklin Street. The building still stands today, and until recently, was the Las Piramides Mexican restaurant. Two years later at the age of 19, Ida earned her teaching certificate from Ohio Northern College and from 1895-1897, Ida taught at Schoolhouse Number 8, which was located at McEwen Road and State Route 725.
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More Fun Dayton 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.