Political activist for the common man who worked diligently for a better community. He supported education, parks and recreation and a better quality of life for Miami Valley residents. — — Map (db m240141) HM
Pioneer in the field of library services. She established in Dayton one of the nation's first library training schools, library book catalogs, and bookmobile services to outlying areas. — — Map (db m240101) HM
Humorist and Author whose more than 4,000 syndicated columns and thirteen books (ten New York Best Sellers) made millions laugh. Her hobbies were lost socks and dust. — — Map (db m240104) HM
Educated at Columbia University. MacFarlane became Dayton's first African American Principal. In 1933 he opened the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. He successfully achieved accreditation for the school, luring highly credentialed teachers and had . . . — — Map (db m240112) HM
Member of the "Golden 13," he was one of the first thirteen African American men to receive an officer's commission in the U.S. Navy. Throughout his career with the City of Dayton he inspired citizens to build a better community. — — Map (db m240136) HM
Founder of Cox Enterprises, world wide media empire, two-term U.S. Congressman and three term governor of Ohio. As the 1920 Democratic presidential candidate, his running mate was Franklin Roosevelt. — — Map (db m240120) HM
Dedicated community leader, urban visionary and 20th century bicycling advocate. His accomplishments in Dayton and the Miami Valley enriched the quality of life by linking its rivers and bikeways. — — Map (db m240114) HM
Inventor of the "lifting jack" that was originally used in the railroad industry. His influence is felt today with lifts for the automobile performance stage and even the basketball court. — — Map (db m240157) HM
Promoter of world peace through her international humanitarian involvement with the Friendship Force. She was instrumental in creating lasting monuments to peace in Dayton (unreadable) Ohio and throughout the world. — — Map (db m240128) HM
His liquid crystal alignment invention, discovered while working for NCR, made possible the manufacture of LCD's found in products such as wristwatches, calculators and electronic displays. He continued inventing and has over 47 patents in the . . . — — Map (db m240130) HM
Leader of the Ohio Republican Party and vice chairman of the Republican National Committee. She was a personal advisor to Ohio Justice Robert Taft, Ohio Governor James Rhodes and President Richard Nixon. — — Map (db m240124) HM
A member of the U.S. Olympic Teams in 1956 and 1960, she won a gold medal in 1960 on the women's 4 x 100-meter relay team in Rome, Italy. During her professional career as an educator and coach in the Dayton City Schools, she elevated the status of . . . — — Map (db m240106) HM
One of the first five "Tuskegee Airmen." Pioneered the role of black aviators in World War II. Died in an accident while training over Italy on July 10, 1944. — — Map (db m240135) HM
World War II flying ace with one of the most successful records in aerial warfare. Dubbed "Captain Courageous" by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Maj. Gentile received two USAF Distinguished Flying Crosses. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of . . . — — Map (db m240118) HM
Founder of the Physiological Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Pioneered work in high altitude and supersonic flight helping to make humankind's quest for space flight possible. — — Map (db m240097) HM
Founder of Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm, one of the Midwest's first nature centers. Her generosity and guidance helped develop the Dayton-Montgomery County Park District. — — Map (db m240131) HM
Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist and creator of the popular comic strip Mother Goose and Grimm. He has received many national awards for his career in cartooning and his humanitarian efforts. — — Map (db m240116) HM
Founder of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, he brought scores of notable artists to Dayton, including a performance by Marion Anderson in 1937. He recognized the need to instill a love for classical music in young people through educational . . . — — Map (db m240123) HM
The actual house where the Wright brothers dreamed of flight and the bicycle shop where they built the first airplane can no longer be seen here in West Dayton. But the original buildings still exist, and are well preserved.
In 1936 wealthy . . . — — Map (db m61861) HM
Ralph and Christine Dull have devoted their lives to helping the cause of peace around the world. In the name of international cooperation and diplomacy, they have opened their home to individuals from many other countries. Combining their passions . . . — — Map (db m240132) HM
Member of the first party of settlers to come to the United States from the Society of Mary, Marianists. One of the founders and the first president of the University of Dayton. He provided vision and leadership in higher education in the Miami . . . — — Map (db m240109) HM
His innovative sales practices made Chevrolet the top-selling automobile for General Motors over Ford, beginning in 1927. He later became owner and CEO of Reynolds & Reynolds. — — Map (db m240147) HM
Her strong religious and social conviction, dedication and hard work helped her make a difference in lives of the peoples of the Brazilian communities of the earth's tropical rain forest. She established base Christian Communities with schools, . . . — — Map (db m240153) HM
Founder and artistic director of the Muse Machine, a nationwide program devoted to connecting youth with a variety of experiences in the performing arts. Her vision for the arts community was a catalyst for the creation of the Human Race Theatre . . . — — Map (db m240133) HM
"...the invention [of the airplane] came from such an unexpected quarter. The Wrights had no special training in science or engineering. While both were well educated, neither had completed the formal coursework required for his high school . . . — — Map (db m61866) HM
The Wright brothers were in their twenties when they became interested in aeronautical science. Five adults lived here in the years that Wilbur and Orville debated their ideas about how to develop a flying machine around the dining room table. . . . — — Map (db m61865) HM
By 1900 Dayton’s West Side was a thriving neighborhood of working-class homes and small businesses. Some residents commuted to downtown Dayton by streetcar. Others, like Wilbur and Orville Wright, lived and worked in this community.
The . . . — — Map (db m67584) HM
In the spring of 1895, Wilbur and Orville Wright moved their printing and bicycle shops under one roof in The Wright Cycle Company building you see in front of you. Here the brothers concentrated on designing and building their own custom make of . . . — — Map (db m61856) HM
You can no longer see a plain two-story house standing on Bishop Wright's small lot just ahead. Here on quiet tree-lined Hawthorne Street Orville Wright was born in 1871. Here Wilbur Wright died in 1912. The brothers who would one day create a . . . — — Map (db m61863) HM
(Side A): The first Masonic Lodge in Dayton was founded in 1808, located in the first Montgomery County Courthouse. Various other locations were home to Masons in Dayton, but by World War I, rapid growth of the Masonic community called for . . . — — Map (db m4406) HM
On this site, 319 Central Avenue, Charles F.
Kettering invented the electric ignition and the
self-starter which revolutionized the automobile
industry and in 1909 led to the founding of the
Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company . . . — — Map (db m110321) HM
The Dayton Art Institute, one of the region's premier fine arts museums, was founded in 1919 as the Dayton Museum of Arts. Founding patrons included Orville Wright, members of the Patterson family, and philanthropist Julia Shaw Patterson Carnell, . . . — — Map (db m157038) HM
During the mid 20th century, Modernist Design brought attention to utility and the expression of building materials and structure, in architecture and in engineering. The new design system replaced classical forms preferred by the City Beautiful . . . — — Map (db m199863) HM
The Webster Street, Fifth Street, and Keowee Street Bridges were
the first to be constructed after the Great Flood. They were
also the first to be constructed under the new Council-City Manager
form of government, which Dayton adopted in 1913.
. . . — — Map (db m199856) HM
Raise your sail one foot and get ten feet of wind. -Chinese Proverb
The world's first aircraft were the kites of China. The Chinese military first fashioned bird-shaped, wooden kites that were flown behind enemy lines to drop . . . — — Map (db m29141) HM
The designers of the Helena Street Bridge, built in 1925, followed the principles
of the City Beautiful Movement. Their goal was to bring beauty and order to
cities that had grown rapidly and haphazardly during the Industrial Revolution
of the . . . — — Map (db m199857) HM
After their first successful flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the Wright brothers could no longer afford extended stays so far from home. They needed an isolated field close by. Huffman Prairie was a hundred-acre pasture seven miles east of Dayton - . . . — — Map (db m29516) HM
Here, where the Shawnees were defeated by Clark's 1782 expedition, Dayton was founded, in 1796. Hull's army and other War of 1812 troops were mobilized at this point. — — Map (db m36365) HM
Oh that I had Wings. -Thomas Moore.
Mankind began dreaming of flight long ago in ancient Greece. Greek mythology reveals this dream in the tale of young Icarus. King Minos imprisoned Icarus and his father, Daedalus, on the isle of . . . — — Map (db m29140) HM
In Honor of Don Bassett who organized and conducted the municipal band since 1933 and has provided thirty three years of consecutive summer music programs at the Diehl Municipal Shell. It is the citizens of Dayton who honor him today. — — Map (db m157044) HM
On this site, from July 3 through July 20, 2003, the world focused its attention on Dayton as the Birthplace of Aviation for the one hundredth anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight and as a Signature Event of the Ohio Bicentennial . . . — — Map (db m29097) HM
This plaque is to honor Brad Tillson on behalf of the Greater Dayton community for his leadership in planning, organizing, and implementing the Centennial Celebration of Flight. This ambitious effort, which honored Orville and Wilbur Wright on . . . — — Map (db m200580) HM
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” -William Shakespeare
In the midst of the Cold War, the United States was losing face to the Soviet Union's superior space program. The . . . — — Map (db m29560) HM
Dayton's concrete arch bridges followed the Melan System of bridge
construction. Josef Melan (1853-1941) was an Austrian engineer and
educator who created the system and patented it in 1893. It was widely
used in the United States and Europe in . . . — — Map (db m199862) HM
Katharine Kennedy Brown (1891-1986), born in
Dayton, was a leading figure in local, state, and
national Republican politics. Soon after the 19th
Amendment was passed In 1920, she earned a seat
on the Montgomery County Republican . . . — — Map (db m127225) HM
"The kite and other birds, which beat their wings little, go seeking the course of the wind, and when the wind prevails...they will be seen at a great height." -Leonardo da Vinci
Four hundred years before the Wright Brothers, Leonardo . . . — — Map (db m29507) HM
This field is small. Use it all. -sign at McCook Field
Entering World War I, the United States urgently needed to advance this new field of aeronautics. Thanks to the area's industrial strength, the military chose Dayton as the sight . . . — — Map (db m29554) HM
McCook Field was established as a research and development facility of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Aviation section. 18 October 1917, this Dayton site favorably located within the U.S. industrial complet became the aviation engineering and . . . — — Map (db m75373) HM
Side A:
McCook Field
Cradle of Aviation Innovation
Interest in the new field of aeronautics grew dramatically when the United States entered the World War I in 1917. The army chose Dayton as the site for a research-and-development . . . — — Map (db m116551) HM
The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Joseph and Etíenne de Montgolfier, brothers living . . . — — Map (db m29512) HM
It suddently struck me that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth...I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. -Neil Armstrong
Another Ohio aviator took the final step in the nation's goal to reach the moon. Neil . . . — — Map (db m29562) HM
I feel perfectly confident that we shall be able to transport ourselves and families, and their goods and chattels, more securely by air than by water...." -Sir George Cayley
After the Montgolfier brothers, mankind was ready to move . . . — — Map (db m29514) HM
Where today you see ball fields and green space,
there was once a 254-acre military-industrial complex
dedicated to advancing aviation. Some four dozen
laboratories, hangars, shops, and offices were hurriedly
built here in fall of 1917, the . . . — — Map (db m116695) HM WM
By the late 1800s, a handful of experimenters around the world were closing in on the riddle of powered flight. They could fly a plane into the air, but they still couldn't control it - keep it from pitching forward, turning side to side, or . . . — — Map (db m29136) HM
Old Webster Street Bridge
In the 19th century, Webster Street was an unpaved
mud track. The path was commonly used in summer as a
shortcut to Keowee Street. The track was ultimately paved
and a steel truss bridge was built to carry it across . . . — — Map (db m199858) HM
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings... -John Gillespie Magee
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has led the nation throughout the evolution of U.S. military air superiority. When the . . . — — Map (db m29557) WM
Welcome to the
Ohio Korean War Memorial
and All Veterans' Memorial Walkway
During the 120th General Assembly regular
session 1993-1994, both houses of the
State of Ohio Legislature unanimously
voted Dayton as the official site
of . . . — — Map (db m29596) WM
Known by the trade name henderSon's printing, the business was a mainstay of Dayton's African American community for almost 60 years and became a printer of choice for everything from advertising materials, office forms, and a community . . . — — Map (db m137066) HM
Born on June 7, 1931 in Dayton to Edna and Henry Stang, Dorothy Mae was the fourth of nine children. She attended Julienne High School and entered religious life with the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1948. She professed final vows in 1956 . . . — — Map (db m104544) HM
The land for this memorial was donated by
the City of Dayton and its people in respect
and tribute to the Viet Nam Veteran.
“This is a living memorial…today is a celebration
of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. No
statues of . . . — — Map (db m110029) WM
Cpl. Tony Stein Memorial Bridge
In honor of Cpl. Tony Stein, USMC
Congessional Medal of Honor
WW II Iwo Jima
killed in action
March, 1, 1945
presented by
Kaiser Aluminum 1998 — — Map (db m110380) WM
The Church of the United Brethren in Christ
first opened United Theological Seminary in 1871
on Dayton’s West Side. The school changed
its name in 1909 to Bonebrake Seminary in
honor of six pioneer ministers. The union of
the United Brethren . . . — — Map (db m109449) HM
This property
has been placed on the
National Register
of
Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Originally constructed
1901
The last “horse-drawn” apparatus
firehouse in Dayton, . . . — — Map (db m28099) HM
Early Woodland people, known as the
Adena, incorporated and intensified several
significant lifestyle changes, including the
introduction of pottery, the cultivation of
plants as a primary source of food, and
increasing trade for exotic raw . . . — — Map (db m172087) HM
In 1847, Dayton's first "railroad” was a cart pulled by oxen
along wooden rails to haul the stone used to build downtown's
Old Court House. True rail service began in 1851.
By the 1890s, the railroad was the major transportation link . . . — — Map (db m173765) HM
The canal was used not only for boat traffic. In 1899,
a couple of elephants bathed in the canal during a
street carnival in downtown Dayton.
This building served as the office for the toll collector and the superintendent
of the Southern . . . — — Map (db m173746) HM
Beer was a drink enjoyed by virtually everyone in the 1800s.
The nutritious and sanitary drink provided refreshment all
day long. It was cleaner than water.
In the early 1800s, breweries like this one were beginning to dot the . . . — — Map (db m173707) HM
Carillon Park owes its existence to the
generosity of Col, and Mrs. Edward A. Deeds.
The carillon – built of granite, steel, and
limestone - - reaches skyward for an impressive
151 feet. The gift of Mrs. Deeds, it was
dedicated August 23, . . . — — Map (db m173674) HM
Built in 1902 for NCR, components of this 210-ton Corliss
Engine were pulled from Dayton's freight yards to the
NCR factory by five teams of horses.
This is one of the two steam-powered Corliss Engines NCR used from 1902 to
1948. The . . . — — Map (db m173773) HM
This establishment, donated by the family of Merritt Culp;
connects the present to the past. Beginning in 1902 with
the home bakery of Charlotte and Charles Culp, three
generations of the Culp family provided food service
to appreciative . . . — — Map (db m173710) HM
Originally a sewing machine manufacturer in the 1800s,
by 1977, Dayton-based Huffy Corporation was the largest
producer of bicycles in the world.
In the mid-1800s, the high-wheel bicycle was popular, but dangerous to ride.
Only the young . . . — — Map (db m173763) HM
Cordy Ruse, a friend of the Wright brothers, built Dayton's
first automobile in 1896. Wilbur suggested attaching a sheet
under the car to catch the parts that he thought would fall off.
In the early 20th Century, there were as many as 14 . . . — — Map (db m173769) HM
On October 3, 1920, the Dayton Triangles played the first
game of the National Football League, defeating the
Columbus Panhandles 14-0 at Triangle Park in north Dayton.
In 1916, the Dayton Triangles, an amateur football team, was . . . — — Map (db m173711) HM
Being too busy to change the phonograph record, the men
working in this building listened to the song, “When You and I
Were Young, Maggie” over and over through the night.
This is a replica of the carriage barn that stood behind the . . . — — Map (db m110322) HM
Deeds Carillon
Dedicated 1942
Rededicated 1988
Number of Bells 50
Total Weight of Bells 37,331 Lbs
Diameter of Largest Bell 66 3/4"
Diameter of Smallest Bell7 7/8"
Pitch of Lowest Bell A#2
Height of Tower Above Terrace 151'6" . . . — — Map (db m173688) HM
Erma Fiste was born in Dayton on February 21, 1927. While attending Patterson Cooperative High School, she worked as a copygirl for the Dayton Herald. After graduating from the University of Dayton in 1949, she married Bill Bombeck. She . . . — — Map (db m171352) HM
Robert Patterson, grandfather of future NCR founder John Patterson,
owned several mills on his Dayton homestead. Stonemill and Sawmill
Roads between Main and Brown Streets were named for Patterson's mills.
In the 1800s, water-powered mills . . . — — Map (db m173717) HM
In pioneer villages, mills were among the first structures to be
built. Water-powered mills ground flour, cracked corn and sawed
lumber. An abundant water supply was a boon to the small
community of Dayton. By the winter of 1822-23, there were . . . — — Map (db m173718) HM
Peter Hetzel, his wife Catherine and their five children lived
in the small, white, wooden frame building before you for
about a year while their large farmhouse was being built.
Peter Hetzel was a carpenter and manufactured fanning mills, . . . — — Map (db m173782) HM
The large wooded hill in front of you is a terminal moraine.
It was created by a mile-thick glacier that covered Ohio
more than 19,000 years ago.
The Interpretive Center was one of the original buildings at Carillon Park. It
now shares . . . — — Map (db m173712) HM
In 1870, you could travel the length of Third Street through
downtown Dayton on the city's first horse-drawn streetcar line.
The top speed was six miles per hour.
This building was designed to be reminiscent of Dayton's Union Station
and a . . . — — Map (db m173760) HM
The one- room school was a common sight in rural Ohio
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Locust Grove
No. 12 housed elementary school classes until the late
1920’s on it’s original site; S. Bird Road at E. Possum
Road in Clark County, . . . — — Map (db m218040) HM
Conservationist ~ Educator ~ Philanthropist
Founder of Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm
She taught us to Love, Understand and Protect the Natural World — — Map (db m173752) HM
Standard pay for workers building the canal was
"thirty cents a day and a jigger of whiskey."
A day's work stretched from sunrise to sunset.
In 1829, the Miami Canal opened between Dayton and Cincinnati.
The canal was later extended north . . . — — Map (db m173744) HM
Columbia Bridge Works founder, David H. Morrison, was
Dayton's city engineer. Considered the father of Dayton's
public works, he significantly improved the city's infrastructure.
Most of this bridge's fabrication took place at the Columbia . . . — — Map (db m173751) HM
To make the wood siding look like stone, a popular
treatment was to cut vertical grooves into the boards
and add sand to the paint.
Though there is no record that he ever lived in this Greek Revival-style house,
George Newcom, an early . . . — — Map (db m173781) HM
What Are We Doing?
Carillon Park has begun preservation and
re-interpretation of Dayton’s oldest standing
structure, Newcom Tavern. Using replicated sash-
sawn white oak siding and hand wrought nails,
Carillon Park is now returning much . . . — — Map (db m218041) HM
Colonel Robert Patterson was a Revolutionary War Indian fighter, the founder of Lexington, Kentucky, and co-founder of Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his family settled here south of Dayton in 1804 on the 320-acre Rubicon Farm, named for the nearby creek . . . — — Map (db m104554) HM
A covered bridge was often used for more than just travel.
Robbers and lovers took advantage of the darkness
created by its enclosed sides.
Early wooden bridges were often covered with a roof and siding to protect their
structure from the . . . — — Map (db m173742) HM
Constructed in 1870, St. Mary’s Hall was once the largest building in Dayton. A National Historic Landmark, the building was formerly the main facility of St. Mary’s Institute, now the University of Dayton. Known as Dewberry Farm, the land for the . . . — — Map (db m128632) HM
While riding horseback on the windswept hill of his sugar maple
grove overlooking his NCR factory, John H. Patterson decided that
the grove would be a good place for a training camp for his salesmen.
Originally located at The National Cash . . . — — Map (db m173779) HM
In April, 1943 Col. Edward A. Deeds opened
the residential cabins at Sugar Camp, built
several years earlier as a summer school for
sales personnel, to house the WAVES
(Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency
Service) working in a . . . — — Map (db m173780) HM
The 93rd Regiment
Ohio Volunteer Infantry
was encamped near this point on
the old Patterson farm and
mustered into the service of
the United States August 20th 1862
with 968 men.
Left for the front August 23rd 1862.
Mustered out at . . . — — Map (db m110085) WM
How deep did the water get? The blue line above the front
doors marks the depth of the 1913 flood waters where you
are now standing: 18.2 feet.
On the morning of March 25, 1913, the citizens of Dayton awoke to the sounds
of factory whistles . . . — — Map (db m173766) HM
Her Life | Marie Sturwold Aull | 1897-2002
Marie Aull played a major role in the creation of the Dayton-Montgomery County Park District, now called Five River MetroParks. In 1977, Marie donated her home, her thirty-acre garden and the . . . — — Map (db m173713) HM
The Old River Park Swimming Pool Light Tower
The tower to your left was the centerpiece of a large round swimming pool at Old River
Park, located just off Patterson Boulevard near Carillon Park. The swimming pool could
accommodate 5,000 . . . — — Map (db m173737) HM
The tower to your right was the centerpiece of a large round swimming pool
at Old River Park, located just off Patterson Boulevard near Carillon Park. The
swimming pool could accommodate 5,000 people.
Col. Edward A. Deeds, chairman of the . . . — — Map (db m173738) HM
