- J.P. Wolf & Sons, Tobacco Merchants
- E. Bimm & Sons, Grocers
- Benedicts & Co, Cigar Manufacturers
- The Dayton Paper Novelty Company
The Big Four Freight depot was located in the back, and had minimal damage. The office building was destroyed, but the slate roof prevented the rest of the company from more damage. There was an estimated $500,000 in damages to the district.
It took 3 hours for the flames to be under control, and there were many injuries:
- Night Watchman Snedecker was overcome by smoke and later found unconscious by other firemen.
- Another fireman, Louis Swaneger, was taken to his home, badly frozen.
- Three firemen, George Coy, George Nienaber, and George Griesheimer were buried when the east wall of the J.P. Wolf & Sons building collapsed. Nienaber and Griesheimer were not badly injured.
- Many other firefighters and volunteers were treated at a makeshift hospital located in a nearby home.
Clemens “Clemmy” Focke
Clemmy and his mother had just left early mass and headed to his grandmother’s house for a visit. When they arrived, Clemmy joined his younger brother Edward outside while their mother and grandmother headed into the house. The boys played outside for a bit and some other boys from the neighborhood joined them. It was hot outside and one of the boys suggested they go take a swim.
Continue reading
1936 “Treasure Hunt” for Dayton History Facts
- Presiding Judge: Hon Francis Dunley
- Associate Judges: Isaac Spinning, Benjamin Archer, John Ewing
- Officers:
- George Newcom, Sheriff
- Benjamin Van Cleve, clerk
- James Miller, coroner
The court opened July 27, 1803, but there were no cases, so court adjourned that evening. Most of the male population of Dayton had turned out for the opening, and it was met with great excitement. The judges and lawyers slept in one room of the tavern overnight and left together the next morning to open court in Xenia. The next session of court was not held until November 22, 1803, and it was held until a tree behind the tavern. Sheriff Newcom was needed to control the crown gathering to listen to testimony from witnesses and jury deliberation.
2. Dayton was almost called Venice. Before Dayton was settled in 1796, Maj Benjamin Stites, John Stites Gano, and William Goforth had made plans for a settlement to be named Venice. It was located at the mouth of the “Tiber”, as they called Mad River at the time. They had agreed to purchase the land from John Cleves Symmers for 83 cents an acre and a contract was signed. Unfortunately for the men, Symmes had some issues with the government and the Native Americans in the area and the troubles forced them to abandon the plan for Venice.
3. The first town election was held on the first Monday in May 1805. The select council of the town was comprised of the seven trustees, with the president also serving as the mayor.
4. The first county election was held in 1802. Jerome Holt, County Sheriff, gave notice to Daytonians to convene at Newcom’s on April 1, then elect by ballot a chairman, a town clerk, three or more trustees, two or more overseers of the poor, three fence viewers, two appraisers of houses, a lister of taxable property, a sufficient number of supervisors of roads, and one or more constables.
Happy 2026!
As always, if you have any questions or story suggestions, please don’t hesitate to send them our way through the Contact Us page!
2025 Holiday Hiatus
As Dayton Unknown does every year for the holidays, we are going to take a break for the rest of the year to enjoy time with our families.
We are always accessible through the Contact Us page, Dayton Unknown on Facebook, and by email – daytonunknown@hotmail.com. Don’t forget to check out our Instagram as well, at @daytonunknown!!
We’ll see you all in 2026!
Looking for Something to Do in Spooky Season?
Haunted Garage – Tipp City
Friday and Saturday Evenings from 7-10 pm
7373 Bard Road, Tipp City
The event is free, but donations for Multiple Sclerosis are accepted. Turn into the driveway for parking guidance and enjoy the friendly atmosphere and spooky delights.
Sara’s Appearance on WYSO Book Nook
To listen to her interview: Book Nook: ‘Murder in Victorian Dayton: The Tragic Story of Bessie Little’ by Sara Kaushal
Holiday Hiatus 2024
Terrorizing Catholics, Jews and Immigrants: The Ku Klux Klan in 1920s Dayton
Per the event website, the event is “a public humanities event featuring a public talk and roundtable on the Ku Klux Klan in 1920s Dayton and the state of the fight against hate in Ohio today. Keynote address by UD Historian and Religious Studies faculty member William Trollinger on the KKK in 1920’s Dayton and the University of Dayton’s response, followed by a roundtable of civil rights leaders from across the state, including Kelly Fishman of the ADL’s Cleveland Office, David Whitehead, VP of the Cincinnati NAACP and Fr. Satish Joseph of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The discussion will be moderated by Natalie Hudson, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton. Reception to follow.
See the Facebook Event Page for additional information.
Another Titanic Voyage
“I want to show people worldwide that while the ocean is extremely powerful, it can be wonderful and enjoyable and really kind of life-changing if you go about it the right way,” Connor told reporters with the Wall Street Journal.
Conner told the Wall Street Journal he is confident the $20 million vessel, the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, can make the voyage multiple times.
“Patrick has been thinking about and designing this for over a decade. But we didn’t have the materials and technology. You couldn’t have built this sub five years ago,” Connor told the publication.
“You know, what we need to do is build a sub that can dive to (Titanic-level depths) repeatedly and safely and demonstrate to the world that you guys can do that, and that Titan was a contraption,” Lahey told the Wall Street Journal.
Lahey was a critic who declared the OceanGate’s approach predatory. Many whistleblowers in the industry came forward with concerns over the sub’s ability to handle the voyage, as the company opted to skip many safety steps, including certification through the American Bureau of Shipping or Europe’s Det Norske Vertas.
Connor did not specify a date for when the voyage would take place.
Dayton Unknown 