Asahel Wright

Posted on September 18, 2020 by daytonunknown

While driving through downtown Centerville, you may have noticed a little sign on the side of the road denoting the Asahel Wright Museum.

Asahel Wright was born in 1786 in New Hampshire and moved to Centerville with his parents in 1814. In November of 1814, Asahel leased a farm of seven acres of land from Aaron Nutt, located near the southeast corner of Far Hills and Alex-Bell Road. Later, in August of 1816, he then purchased a portion of Lot # 3 of the Nutt Platt for $150, making the first recorded purchase of the property.

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The Night Run starring Dion McElrath

Posted on September 11, 2020 by daytonunknown

Another Late Night show is coming to Dayton! The Night Run starring Dion McElrath will be premiering soon on DATV!

We had a chance to sit down with the host, Dion McElrath, to talk about the show. Born and raised in Dayton, Dion is a long-time lover of all things Late Night, and during our chat, he regaled us with many interesting trivia facts about all of the Late Night greats. And now with The Night Run starring Dion McElrath, Dion hopes to join those names with his vibrant young energy, and he wants us to know that he won’t be the run-of-the-mill Late Night host.

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Dan the Hermit

Posted on September 4, 2020 by daytonunknown

During the course of our research here at Dayton Unknown, we come across many authors over and over again, leading us to search their writings for more information and idea for future posts. One such author is a <em>Dayton Daily News</em> reporter from the 1930s, Howard Burba. Burba was always able to weave an interesting story, including this one about Daniel the Hermit.

The following is an excerpt of an article written by Howard Burba, which appeared in the Dayton Daily News on March 4, 1934.

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Just Another Saturday by Matt Penny

Posted on August 21, 2020 by daytonunknown

Released today, Matt Penny’s third album is his best one yet! Although his title is Just Another Saturday, this is not just another album! Support our local music scene and check him out! You can find his music on Amazon Music, Spotify, YouTube, etc..

In Matt’s words:

JUST ANOTHER SATURDAY was sort of a unique project for me. On my first two ventures, REALIGN and THE SECOND STORY REVIVAL, I would just write songs, and if I thought they were good enough, I put them on the record. It didn’t matter what style/genre they were.

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Matt Penny – The Second Story Revival

Posted on August 14, 2020 by daytonunknown

While we were busy back in January restarting our year and focusing on New Year resolutions, Matt Penny was also busy, releasing his second instrumental album, The Second Story Revival. We caught up with Matt and asked him for a description of his second album:

The Second Story Revival

After people responded so kindly to my first EP, REALIGN, I was so hyped that I pretty quickly started working on the follow up – which would become “The Second Story Revival”.

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The Murder of Jesse Kelsey, Jr.

Posted on August 7, 2020 by daytonunknown

Born in 1829 to one of Centerville’s most prosperous farmers, Jesse Kelsey Sr., Jesse Kelsey Jr. was the 9th of 12 children. He married Unity Stokes on September 4th, 1856, and lived on a farm in Centerville on the southwest corner of what is now Spring Valley Pike and Dayton-Lebanon Pike, near the Kroger Marketplace. In September of 1862, Jesse Jr. and Unity were expecting their first child.

On the night of September 7th, 1862, just 3 days after celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary, Unity woke up to see a man standing over her and Jesse Jr. while they slept. She woke Jesse Jr. up, and he shouted at the man, who then fired a pistol at him. Jesse Jr. rushed Unity out of the room to safety and was struck by another pistol shot, and fell to the ground, dead.

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8.4.2019 – One Year Later

Posted on July 31, 2020 by daytonunknown

One year ago, tragedy struck Dayton in a way that will remain in our memories forever. Over the past year, we have watched the city heal and rally together in the midst of a lot of trials.Today we would like to honor the victims of the shooting that took place in the Oregon District on August 4th, 2019.

Megan Betts, age 22
Nicholas Cumer, age 25
Thomas “Teejay” McNichols, age 25
Lois “Lola” Oglesby, age 27
Logan Turner, age 30
Beatrice “Nicole” Warren-Curtis, age 36
Saheed Saleh, age 38
Monica Brickhouse, age 39
Derrick Fudge, age 57

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Philip Zenni – Mr. Titanic

Posted on July 24, 2020 by daytonunknown

During the icy, dark night hours of April 15, 1912, terrified passengers were crowding the deck aboard the R.M.S. Titanic, attempting to get into lifeboats as they were being lowered, under capacity, into the water. Men were being pushed back from the lifeboats, as the general rule was “women and children first.” Phillip Zenni, a passenger from Syria and the only known passenger heading to Dayton, Ohio, wasn’t buying it. Everyone should get a chance to get off this boat, he thought. Zenni waited until the officer keeping passengers back had turned his back, and once he was clear, Zenni jumped onto Lifeboat 6, made famous by the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown.

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Hamilton the Musical & Dayton

Posted on July 17, 2020 by daytonunknown

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton. But did you know the story of Alexander Hamilton has ties to Dayton?

The plot of Hamilton follows the life of Alexander Hamilton, which ended after a duel (or affair of honor)with politician Aaron Burr. Burr was later implicated in traitorous plots against America, along with one of Dayton’s founders, James Wilkinson, who was also Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army at New Orleans. Burr and Wilkinson conspired to commit treason by using their positions and working with both France and Spain at different times to take land for themselves to establish a separate country.

In 1806, Burr wrote Wilkinson a “cipher letter,” and Wilkinson panicked, double-crossed Burr, and sent a letter to President Jefferson, telling him of Burr’s activities. This letter led to Burr’s arrest for Treason. Wilkinson then testified in court, heavily emphasizing Burr’s role in the acts of Treason. Burr was later acquitted of the crimes.