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Gc 977.102 D33c
Gc 977.102 D33c 513609
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
BEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02279 6731
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/storyofdayton00cono
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France. Louis Carvin, Sculptor. Bronze Group presented to the Wright Brothers by the Aero Club of
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The Story of Dayton
BY
CHARLOTTE REEVE CONOVER
Published by THE GREATER DAYTON ASSOCIATION (Dayton's Civic Commercial Organization) Dayton, Ohio, 1917
977.102 D33C
THE OTTERBEIN PRESS Dayton, Ohio
Copyright, 1917 by The Greater Dayton Association Dayton, Ohio
513609
COMMITTEE OF THE GREATER DAYTON ASSOCIATION
Having in charge the preparation of "The Story of Dayton."
A. A. THOMAS, Chairman (deceased), replaced by WILLIAM B. WERTHNER, Steele High School.
E. J. BROWN (deceased), replaced by FRANK W. MILLER, Superintendent Public Schools.
ELECTRA C. DOREN, Public Library.
CHARLOTTE REEVE CONOVER.
FREDERICK H. RIKE, Ex-President The Greater Dayton Association (ex-officio).
J. M. GUILD, Executive Secretary The Greater Dayton Association.
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AUTHORITIES CONSULTED
Diary of Benjamin Van Cleve. Mary Steele's "Early Dayton."
Edgar's "Pioneer Life in Dayton and Vicinity." Drury's "History of Dayton." Howe's "Ohio."
Dayton Newspapers from 1808 to 1916, on file in the Public Library. Old letters wherever available.
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On the Citizens of Dayton
And all who take an interest in our city, but especially to the Boys and Girls who are to carry on its history,
This Book is Dedicated
ix
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
It will be well to emphasize in the beginning that this is not a history but a story of Dayton.
A history contains many facts and dates; a story at- tempts to give an impression of times as they used to be. A history narrates occurrences in strict chronological se- quence ; a story paints pictures of life. A history records the names and services of notable citizens ; the pages of this book are necessarily too few to hold half of them.
The idea of The Greater Dayton Association has been, not to add a mass of facts to those in the voluminous his- tories already published, but to so present the material in hand as to give to present and future generations a clear idea of the tendencies and events of the century in which their forbears lived. Therefore, the audience kept con- stantly in the mental view of the writer, has been an audi- ence of school children, whose minds, impatient of detail, are captured by picturesque narrative.
One difficulty in the compilation of this book, which will be readily appreciated in Dayton at least, is the loss of invaluable historical material through the ravages of the flood. Old books, letters, daguerreotypes, and family relics which might have added to the historical atmosphere or been made the subject of illustration, have disappeared forever. Bound volumes of Dayton newspapers, of which there was in the Public Library a reasonably complete collection since 1808, have lost whole decades from the shelves. Those re- maining are encrusted with mud and only available for pur- poses of research through the laborious efforts of the Library staff.
Another difficulty has been to select with impartiality the names of those who have in the past rendered service to
X1
the city. Because this book started out to be a small one, only the most conspicuous could be included. Also, for obvious reasons and except in rare instances, the names of living citizens have been omitted. Their work for Dayton is well known to all and must be left to a later historian to record.
The writer begs to express her indebtedness to a patient, helpful, and zealous committee, who, by wise suggestion, have one and all materially lessened the difficulties of her task.
Outside of the committee, the following persons have given help and suggestions : Hon. John A. McMahon, Mr. J. H. Patterson, Mr. Charles Wuichet, Dr. F. R. Henry, Dr. E. M. Huston, Mr. Lee Warren James, Mr. Eugene Parrott, Mr. William Wolf ("Billy Wolf"), Miss Leila Ada Thomas, Mr. George B. Smith, Mr. Orville Wright, Miss Katherine Wright, Miss Helen Pearson, Mr. E. C. Hurley of Cincin- nati, Mr. Harvey Conover of Chicago, Mrs. John B. Greene, Miss Martha K. Schauer, and Mr. Frank Hermes.
Acknowledgments are also due to the Photographing and Advertising Departments of the National Cash Register Company for drawings and photographs.
C. R. C., Dayton, June, 1916.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I .- DAYTON PAST
CHAPTER I.
THE PURCHASE OF THE MIAMI LANDS. 1776-1790. The men who bought and began Dayton. Four Generals and a Governor. A map without boundary lines. What the rest of the world was doing. The road to Ohio. .
1
CHAPTER II.
THE CONQUEST OF THE MIAMI LANDS. 1750-1790. How the Indians made war. The "Miami Slaughter House." Who first saw the site of Dayton and what he thought of it. Later visitors and their adventures. Peace at last through Wayne's victory. Dayton is located and surveyed. 12
CHAPTER III.
THE REAL SETTLEMENT. 1796.
The Dayton Settlers start from Cincinnati. The Land party and its adventures. The Water party and its diffi- culties. Ten days of travel and the destination reached. Dayton comes on the map 21
CHAPTER IV.
A PIONEER FAMILY. 1793-1800.
If you were an early Dayton boy. The fireside and the dinner table. Wild turkey, corn-dodgers, hominy and sorghum, venison. How mother made things comfortable. The road to a loaf of bread. 29
CHAPTER V.
HARDSHIPS AND PROGRESS. 1795-1800. Dayton's first experience with hard times. Titles to land wanted and won. Newcom's Tavern becomes the hub of the Miami universe. Dayton builds a church. Ohio at last a State and Montgomery a county. 38
CHAPTER VI.
OUR COMMERCIAL BEGINNINGS. 1805-1811. The Wood-path and the river as avenues of commerce. Dayton a thriving business center. Early stores and their customers. A Public Library. Mud and drops of tallow. Earthquakes and squirrels.
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CHAPTER VII.
SOME OF THE MEN WHO MADE DAYTON. 1807. Our debt to the early citizens. Daniel C. Cooper, the surveyor. Benjamin Van Cleve, the diarist. Robert Patterson, soldier and citizen. Other good names which deserve our appreciation.
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CHAPTER VIII.
THE WAR OF 1812.
Sleepy Dayton wakes up. New troubles with old enemies. Preparations for war. Three regiments and half a Com- mander. The gay departure and the sorry return. Dayton breaks the Sabbath and goes to help. Icicles and blood !. . 69
CHAPTER IX.
EARLY TRANSPORTATION. 1818-1832. A stage route to Cincinnati. Good roads and their benefits. How Dayton celebrated the Fourth of July. Rapid transit at last-the Canal. A fugitive slave on Main Street. 79
CHAPTER X.
MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENTS. 1820-1849. Concerning engines in general. The first Fire Department. "Start her lively boys!" A railroad misses Dayton and then comes to stay. Other things of interest, not improve- ments 91
CHAPTER XI.
PUBLIC EDUCATION. 1820-1850.
The town and the State awaken to their needs. Dayton's first schools. The academy, the Seminary, and the High School. A procession and a graduation. Development of the Public Library. Going to market in 1822 and 1915. Our classic Courthouse 102
CHAPTER XII.
EARLY POLITICS. 1830-1840.
Dayton's part in a Presidential campaign. "My party, right or wrong." Jackson day amenities and a barbecue that failed. The Log Cabin candidates. "Tippecanoe and Tyler too!" Guns, bands, banners, a log cabin, pretty girls and a wolf 114
CHAPTER XIII.
JOURNALISM IN DAYTON. 1808-1890. The "Repertory" comes to town. The Centinel, Watch- man, Republican, Miami Herald, Empire, Ledger, Herald and Empire, Democrat, Journal, News. Subscriptions paid in potatoes. News three weeks old. Bitter politics. Dayton firms in the advertising columns. The war edi- tors
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125
CHAPTER XIV.
MORE MEN WHO HAVE MADE DAYTON. 1830-1870. John W. Van Cleve, engineer, musician, botanist, artist, nature-lover, teacher, geologist. Robert W. Steele, edu- cator, writer, scholar, director, trustee. E. E. Barney, principal of two schools, horticulturist, inspirer, captain of industry. Others we like to remember 139
CHAPTER XV.
WHAT THE CIVIL WAR MEANT TO DAYTON. 1861-1865.
The response to Lincoln's call for troops. "Three cheers for the Red, White and Blue!" The Dayton boys march out. Neighbor against neighbor. "Killed and missing." A telegram and cheers. A telegram and tears. Peace and Union at last. 153
CHAPTER XVI.
OUR HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY. 1865-1896. After the war. Reconstruction and reconciliation. Keep- ing memories alive. "On the virtues of its citizens." Dayton reaches her centenary. Newcom's Tavern finds a new site. Work of the Historical Society. 171
CHAPTER XVII.
THE HOME OF AVIATION. 1896-1915. A boy's workshop. A kite on the seashore. A shed on Huffman's Prairie. "On wings like eagles." Dayton incredulous. "Hail to the Chiefs!" 183
CHAPTER XVIII.
DAYTON'S UNFORGETABLE WEEK. 1913. Flood, Fire, Frost, Starvation, Mud! A hundred thousand hands held out for help! The Federal Government to the rescue. The river resumes its channel. Spades, brooms, shovels, sunshine and handshakes. "Remember the promises made in the attic." Two millions for Flood Prevention. "A bigger and a safer Dayton." 196
PART II .- DAYTON PRESENT
CHAPTER XIX.
COMMERCIAL DAYTON. 1810-1915.
Dayton products and world markets. Shifting of business centers. Change in the nature of industries. Present variety of products. Meeting new demands. Our annual output. "If it's up to Dayton, it's up to date." 206
CHAPTER XX.
OUR NEW CITY GOVERNMENT. 1915. Lessons learned from the flood. The old way and the new. City Government the larger housekeeping. The New Charter. The budget. Buying health and happiness. Will we work it out? 223
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CHAPTER XXI.
THE GREATER DAYTON ASSOCIATION. 1915-1917.
A sense of personal responsibility aroused among the citizens. Organization on non-party lines to support new government. "The Soul of a City." The first year's record. 242
xvi
CHAPTER I.
1776-1790.
The Purchase of the Miami Lands.
The men who bought and began Dayton. Four Generals and a Governor. A map without boundary lines. What the rest of the world was doing. The road to Ohio.
To the Boys and Girls of Dayton:
You want me to tell you the story of Dayton, when our city began and how, its growth and development into the home of which we are so proud? It will be a long story and an interesting one, for many exciting things happened on this spot of ground. Many brave men bore hardships to bring our city into being, and many fine men and women since then have spent their best years to carry it on.
More than a hundred years ago our Dayton began as a mere squatter settlement of rough log cabins, them- selves the successors of an Indian camp of wigwams ; after which we grew into a straggling village up and down each side of Main Street; later to a busy countrified town, and now we are a prosperous city possessing much to make life valuable and pleasant. What Dayton is to become in the future depends upon what her citizens are willing to do for the home which they have inherited.
If you ask for the beginnings of Dayton, they will be found in the names of the principal streets. Ludlow, Wayne, Wilkinson, St. Clair represent to the reader of United States history some of the best blood in the young republic. These four names, together with that of Jona- than Dayton, are written in the proceedings of the First Continental Congress and the Federal Courts, in the move- ments of the Revolutionary army and the records of our Western States. Finally they are written up at the corners
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The Story of Dayton
of our own streets to remind us that as a city we began well.
1
General Jonathan Dayton, New Jersey, 1760-1824, signer of the Constitution of the United States. From a miniature owned by Miss Mary B. Spencer, Elizabeth, N. J.
General Jonathan Dayton, whose namesake our city is, was a distinguished lawyer, senator, and soldier of New Jersey, equally good at all three professions. As states- man, he helped draw up the Constitution of the United
3
The Purchase of the Miami Lands
States ; as Speaker of the House and counselor in important litigation, he proved himself a master jurist ; as officer under Lafayette, a brave and distinguished soldier.
The errand which brought Colonel Israel Ludlow to the far frontier was the fixing of boundary lines on a govern- ment survey in the Northwestern Territory, and this experi- ence brought out his practical efficiency and made him a valuable colleague. Deeply interested in the possibilities of the great West, he made a study of its characteristics. No one so well as Ludlow knew the varieties of soil and timber, the direction of streams, Indian trails, and the "lay of the land" in general. It was he who utilized the natural advantages of the site of Dayton and gave us our first city plan.
A remarkably able and bril- liant member of this group was General Arthur St. Clair; too able a man and too brave a sol- dier to have his name forever coupled with a dreadful military mistake which was more his mis- fortune than his fault. If it had General Arthur St. Clair. been otherwise he would not have been appointed by President Washington as Governor of the whole Northwestern Terri- tory.
When we reach the name of Wilkinson, there is a dif- ferent story to tell. General James Wilkinson came, it is true, of fine family stock ; he was a patrician and a soldier ; serving under Washington in the East, and under Wayne in the West. In fact, no more prominent man than General Wilkinson had a share in our early history. His talents took him, in the course of time, to the governorship of Louisiana and the command of the whole army. Yet, had certain letters come to light ten years earlier than they did,
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The Story of Dayton
Wilkinson Street would have had some other name. For, without a shadow of a doubt, Wilkinson, while apparently diligent in the service of his country, was really playing into the hands of Spain in a most treacherous way.
General Anthony Wayne had no direct connection with the founding of Dayton except that his splendid and de- cisive victory over the Indians in 1794 made the settlement here safe and possible. Wayne Avenue is named after him to keep green the memory of one who contributed even indirectly to our city.
If we would understand the entire transaction governing the purchase of the Dayton land, we must unmake, temporarily, the map of the United States. In the latter years of the eighteenth century, there were no bound- aries west of the thirteen original States; no Ohio, Indiana, Illi- nois, Michigan, nor Wisconsin. That whole area was called, from its situation in relation to the Ohio River, the "Northwest Territory."
General Anthony Wayne. In order to develop these five million acres and open up sites for homes, the Ohio Land Company was formed in the sum- mer of 1786. Active in the management of this enterprise, was a prominent lawyer of New Jersey, named John Cleves Symmes, who foresaw clearly that in order to make the United States prosperous, the West, as well as the sea- board, should be developed. People were pushing toward the setting sun in search of new homes, and their demand should be met. Two things were imperative-to offer the land at a low price and to make it safe from the depredations of Indians. Therefore, while Generals St.
5
The Purchase of the Miami Lands
Clair, Harmar, George Rogers Clarke, and Anthony Wayne were conducting military operations, with more or less suc- cess, against the savages, Symmes was planning a vast real estate transaction which promised to open up and populate the region west of the Alleghanies.
His first move was to petition the United States Govern- ment for a grant of two million acres of land, to be paid for at the rate of sixty-six and two-thirds cents an acre. His second and unfortunate move was to begin selling por- tions of this land before it was surveyed, a mistake which led to endless difficulties and kept the courts busy in the years which followed. That Symmes was not as good a land specula- tor as he thought himself to be is the worst that can be laid at his door. As time passed his obligation to the Government could not be met, and this failure affected Dayton's property titles most unfortunately. His claim, or a part of it, reverted by de- fault to the United States, leav- ing two hundred and forty-eight thousand acres of the original John Cleves Symmes. two million in his possession.
Naturally, purchasers were wanted. Symmes and Gen- eral Dayton were friends, and they drew Wilkinson and St. Clair into a plan to share between them the territory in question and to develop it to meet the needs of home- steaders. Ludlow was added to the company as the prac- tical man familiar with the country. These four men agreed to pay Symmes eighty-three cents an acre for that part of his purchase known as the "Miami Lands," and to make a settlement at the mouth of Mad River.
Once more a glance at the map, this time the map of Ohio, where you will find, down in the southwest corner, a
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The Story of Dayton
long tract of land lying between the Little Miami on the east, and the Great Miami on the west, and the Ohio on the south. The two rivers are thirty miles apart at their mouths, but at the northern end, they approach to within a few miles. These boundaries enclosed, in surveyors' terms, the seventh and eighth ranges, or, as the pioneers called them, the "Miami Lands," all of which, comprising sixty thousand acres, became the property of Generals Dayton, St. Clair, and Wilkinson, and Col- onel Israel Ludlow.
But Dayton was not yet on the map. It had to wait until the Indians got off. That is a longer story and belongs in the next chapter. Until we come to it we shall find interest in looking over the field of history to see what was going on at that early day in other parts of the world.
In England, George the Third occupied the throne, using its prestige to his own selfish ends, not unlike a political "trickster" of a later day. He had been mak- An Indian Treaty, following Wayne's Victory. ing, as you know, all the trouble possible for the little colony over sea, until what with stamp taxes and tea taxes and no Americans allowed in Parliament, the colonists rebelled and settled it once for all, in the Declaration of Independence, that they were hereafter to be a separate nation known as the United States of America.
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The Purchase of the Miami Lands
France, across the channel, had been seeing bloody times. The French Revolution was just at an end. Having be- headed their king and queen in order to rid themselves of tyrants, the French nation was coming under the spell of a military instead of an hereditary despot. Napoleon was carrying things before him in that series of wars which rocked all Europe.
In the meantime the eyes of these older nations were upon us, the youngest and weakest of them all, great only
L.ERIE Cleveland
CONGRESS
WESTERN RESERVE 1806 1796
LAND'S
TREATY
1786
LANDS
SYMMEST3
VIRGINIA
MILITARY BOUNTY
CONGRESS
MPANY
OHIO
1788
Cincinnati
Map of the John Cleves Symmes Purchase, 1788
in the extraordinary experiment we were attempting to carry out, the experiment of a practical democracy. We were very small, very poor, with an empty treasury and no credit, not much of a government, and no army to speak of. We were, however, rich in men. George Washington was our President, and John Adams, our Vice-President. They and the other patriots of that day made the great future of
SEVEN RANGES
WAYNE'S CONGRESS
R.
MILITARY BOUNTY 1795
OPURCHASEDI Miami
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The Story of Dayton
the United States possible by holding to the highest ideals and giving all their efforts to attain them.
The thirteen original States of the Union were spread irregularly along the Atlantic seaboard. Boston, a small, countrified town, consisted of a series of crooked streets running at all angles around the "Common." New York was not much larger. Where now tall skyscrapers huddle together in central Manhattan, there were, in 1795, stretches of green pasture crossed by cow paths. Philadelphia, the seat of the new government, had a population of only thirty thousand. Aside from these large towns with scattered villages between, there was small promise of the nation we have since become.
So much for the East. Westward for three thousand miles stretched an unbroken wilderness of forest and moun- tain. Fort Pitt, at the junction of the three rivers marked the beginning of Pittsburgh, and Fort Washington the be- ginning of Cincinnati. Detroit was a mere stockade owned by the British, while at distant points in the Mississippi Valley the French had established trading posts. But these scattered settlements were needles in the haystack of the vast, unbounded West.
When you left New Jersey on horseback or in wagon, as you must if you would reach the unknown Ohio territory, you plunged into the woods, and in the woods you kept, following a bridle-path or the deep wheel tracks cut by wagons of other travelers-day after day, week after week, sometimes into months, through the Pennsylvania wilder- ness, until you came in sight of the yellow Ohio River, at once the gateway and the highway to all that lay beyond.
All who came out to Ohio in those early days were obliged to take that journey. When woods were green and days mild, the long wagon trip was full of interest and de- light. Old people whose tombstones you will find in Wood- land Cemetery, and who, when they were alive, used to love to talk of the early days, have left testimony to the charm of those woodland journeys. They told how the father,
The Ohio River, the first avenue of travel and commerce, from East to West.
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The Story of Dayton
carrying his gun, walked at the head of the horses, while the mother and younger children rode in the wagon, al- ready loaded with all their home possessions. The older brother drove the cow, the family dog trotting on ahead, nosing out woodchucks and squirrels. At night they camped, and whatever game had been brought down that day by the father's gun, was roasted over the coals, an appetizing and sufficient meal.
These descriptions of the forest, with close-growing trees, with birds and deer and strange, new flowers; the soft woods-road on which the horses' hoofs fell silently, the odor of broiled game and the pungent smoke of a wood fire, the appetites sharpened by hard work and fresh air- all this makes us feel that we have missed something fine out of life.
The approach of frost, however, made a different story. How they longed to reach a roof and shelter! How the chil- dren suffered with stiff fingers and chilblains! And they were never sure that Indians were not following them, step by step, ready to attack.
Pausing at Fort Pitt to lay in supplies, the pioneers built or rented a "pirogue" for the down-river journey. Upon this craft, a sort of rude flatboat with low sides and a covered space at the back for the women and children, the emigrant father embarked his family, his cattle, and his household goods. Then began the long water trip, perhaps more dangerous than the land journey. Day after day they floated with the sullen current, keeping well to midstream to avoid the arrows of hidden savages. If they dared, the party landed at night and built a fire, but if warned of the presence of red-skins, they kept right on.
Some of these river parties were bound for Marietta, the first settlement in Ohio; others stopped at Maysville, on the Kentucky side. Those in which we are most interested, came on to Fort Washington, now Cincinnati, in those days the farthest and most important frontier post. In the sev- enteen seventies and eighties Cincinnati consisted of a
3 1833 02279 6731
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The Purchase of the Miami Lands
stockade fort and several parallel streets running north- ward from the river, the whole settlement sheltering not more than seven hundred inhabitants. The chief interests in their lives were real estate and Indians. It was becom- ing quite plain that the first could not be secured until the second were disposed of.
The story of how a handful of white settlers conquered this whole State, taking it away from ten tribes of jealous and warlike savages, making it a safe place to live in for us, their future descendants, will be more interesting than the transactions of land speculators, as you shall presently see.
CHAPTER II. 1750-1790.
The Conquest of the Miami Lands.
How Indians made war. The "Miami Slaughter House." Who first saw the site of Dayton, and what he thought of it. Later visitors and their adventures. Peace at last through Wayne's victory. Dayton is located and surveyed.
The real reason for the founding of Dayton, the reason back of the contract and purchase, was nothing more or less than the rich, black earth that crops out along the Miami River channel. Because of this fertile soil, the grass was thicker here than elsewhere and the shrubs greener ; because of this rich pasturage, large herds of buffaloes and elk roamed and grazed; because of the presence of this game, Indians came to hunt it. Good hunting for the red-skins was good hunting for the white man. Both wanted it; both fought to keep it.
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