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Dayton’s 225th Anniversary

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“April 1, 1796. Landed at Dayton, after a passage of ten days, William Gahagan and myself having come with Thompson’s and McClure’s families in a large pirogue.”

– Benjamin Van Cleve, in his journal.

“The boat party was the first to arrive. Rounding the curve in the river, where for so many years since then it has been flowing under the Dayton View bridge, the pioneers perceived before their eyes the swift current of Mad River emptying itself into the main channel, just as it had been described, and saying to each other (so we may imagine), ‘Yes, this must be the place,’ they tied the pirogue to a tree at the head of St. Clair Street and led by Mrs. Thompson, all clambered ashore.

At that moment DAYTON came on the map!”

– Charlotte Reeve Conover, The Story of Dayton.

imageFounder’s Point at Riverscape. Underneath the canopy, there are some footprints in the concrete simulating the steps of the settlers. Also, there is an etching stating, “On April 1st, 1796, the first settlers of Dayton, led by Samuel Thompson, came ashore near this spot. The party included the first Daytonian, Benjamin Van Cleve. According to one account, the first person to set foot on shore was Catherine Van Cleve Thompson, great-great-grandmother of the Wright brothers.”

Happy 224th Birthday, Dayton!

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April 1st, 1796, Dayton was founded by the Thompson Party. They disembarked from their boats at approximately the place where Founders Point is at Riverscape.

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As our favorite Dayton historian, Charlotte Reeve Conover put it in the beloved book The Story of Dayton:

“The boat party was the first to arrive. Rounding the curve in the river, where for so many years since then it has been flowing under the Dayton View Bridge, the pioneers perceived before their eyes the swift current of Mad River emptying itself into the main channel, just as it had been described, and saying to each other (so we may imagine), ‘Yes this must be the place,’ they tied the pirogue to a tree at the head of St, Clair Street and led by Mrs. Thompson, all clambered ashore.

At that moment, DAYTON came on the map!”

Charlotte Reeve Conover – Dayton Historian

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“Mrs. Conover was Dayton’s outstanding historian. Her manifold writings about Dayton and its people have place on bookshelves far and wide…” —Dayton Daily News, September 1940.

Charlotte was born to Doctor John Charles and Emma Reeve in 1855. She was given a stellar education from the start, even traveling to Geneva, Switzerland after completing high school. Marrying Frank Conover and raising 4 children did not stop Charlotte from traveling, studying, or writing.

In 1900, her first book, Some Dayton Saints and Prophets, was published. After that her writing didn’t stop. Charlotte also contributed writing to Ladies Home Journal, Atlantic Monthly, and Harper’s. She also became a French scholar, specializing in lectures about Molière.

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