BlockBefore
Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Dayton, Ohio

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 1996. It stands in Dayton City. It lies in ZIP code area 45402. It stands on Mad River. The Survey maps it on the Dayton North quadrangle. 137,644 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 738 feet above sea level.

Research this city

This curated hub for Montgomery County, Ohio brings together the page's documented record links, visible map or image evidence where published, and routes to related local records.

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Dayton within Montgomery County

Population over time

2 figures

Dayton fell from 141,527 to 137,644 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010141,527
2020137,644-3,883 (-3%)

Then and now

1904 to 1996

The same ground, surveyed 92 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Dayton, surveyed 1996
Topographic sheet of Dayton, surveyed 1904

Compare 1904 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Dayton city, The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County;, published 1882 - Dayton City

Con Tents

A Typical Frontier Vavern - Daytou Contained Nine Dwellings in 1799- - Several Roads Opened--Monument Avenue Cleared--Main Street a Narrow Wagon Road - Settlements Few and Far Between - Hardships of Pioneer Life--Tidian War Apprehended - Block House Built - Schooi Opened in the Block House- - First Distillery Started - Cooper's Saw Mill - Corn Cracker - Hogs Introduced - Feed on Mast - Attacked by Wild Animals--First Flat Boat Launched-Sheep Introduced - Cost of Groceries at Cinciunati - Little Money jin Circulation - Business Conducted by Barter - Value of Diffsrent Kinds of Skins--Cut Money - McDougal's Store - Trade with the Indians - First Child Boro in Dayton - Taxation in 1800 - First Wedding - Census in 1801 - First Miuister - - Methodists - Presbyterians--Log Meeting House - First Grave Yard - - Jobn W.

Read the rest of this passage

In the county-history sources

783,752 words on this township

The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County;, published 1882 names this settlement in its chapter on Dayton City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

During the winter of 1796-97, Dayton Township and other township, were formed, making eleven in all in the county, viz., Cincinnati, Columbi; Miami, Anderson. Iron Ridge, South Bend, Colerain, Springfield, Fairfiel Deerfield and Dayton. Fairfield Township included the territory east of tl Big Miami, now in Butler County. Deerfield Township included the territoi west of the Little Miami, now in Warren County, and that part of Montgon irj County between the Miami Rivers south of the north line of the fifth range )f" townships. Dayton Township was bounded as follows: Beginning at a point >n the east bank of the Big Miami, where it was intersected by the north line )f the fifth range of townships; thence up that river in all its meanderings to he Indian boundary-lino, at a point where said river crossed the said Indian boundary -line, in Section 18, Township 2, in the fom-teenth range of townships, between the Miamis; thence along said line to Ludlow's line, and down that ine to the southeast corner of Section 5, Township 6, in the eighth range of townships between the Miamis, where was a branch of the Little Miami River; hence down the river to the north line of the fifth range of townships; thence (vest with said line to the place of beginning. The township thus described infiuded within its limits territory that now forms portions of the counties of Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clark, Champaign, Logan and Shelby. All of Wayne, Mad River and Van Buren, with parts of Washington, Dayton and Miimi Townships, of Montgomery County, as at present formed, were in Dayton Township.

Passage source: The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County;, published 1882.

The Commissioners of Hamilton County, on the 10th of June, 1797, at a neeting held at the Mansion House, of Seth Cutter's, in Cincinnati, appointed Assessors and Collectors for the several townships. James Brady was made Issessor, and John Kitchell, Collector, of Dayton Township. John Kitchell, 'ailing to qualify, Calvin Morrill, was, on the 25th of August, appointed in his lead, and Cyrus Osborn was appointed Constable of Dayton Township. Constables made returns of persons and property to the Assessors, who made the iists and assessments, that were placed in the hands of the Township Collectors for collection. The Commissioners and Assessors jointly controlled the disbursenents, making regular reports to the County Court. The reports of assessments ind collections for Dayton Township for this year, were lost in transit, between Dayton and Cincinnati ; the Clerk was ordered to forward duplicates, and Collector Morrill was directed to make return by the 15th of January, 1798. There vere sixteen delinquents in the township, and the Collector made final return, fight of them non est, seven satisfied and one lost. After the lists were returned each year, the Commissioners and Assessors met as a Court of Appeals, to hear appeals against assessments. The following orders show the amount of fees paid to these first officers.

Passage source: The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County;, published 1882.

Sir - You will pay James Brady Five Dollars and Twenty Cents, out of the first monies that come into your hands, the same being his perquisites in full as Assessor for the Township of Dayton for the year 1797, and this shall be your warrant for so doing.

Passage source: The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County;, published 1882.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Dayton City - it names this place 43 more 43 times.

Photographs

8 photographs, 1936 to 2019

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Conversion. Cash registers to gun magazines. A multiple drill press operation in the making of Oerliken magazines for 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The converted cash register manufacturing plant doing the work adapted many of its regular workers and machines to the new job. National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio
Conversion. Cash registers to gun magazines. A multiple drill press operation in the making of Oerliken magazines for 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The converted cash register manufacturing plant doing the work adapted many of its regular workers and machines to the new job. National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio
Palmer, Alfred T., photographer, 1942. Library of Congress
Artist Jerome B. Meadows's 1991 sculpture, "A Celebration of Bicycling," stands on the grounds of Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio, that contains historic buildings and exhibits concerning the history of technology and the history of Dayton
Artist Jerome B. Meadows's 1991 sculpture, "A Celebration of Bicycling," stands on the grounds of Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio, that contains historic buildings and exhibits concerning the history of technology and the history of Dayton
Highsmith, Carol M, 2016. Library of Congress
Display of classic Packard automobiles at America's Packard Museum, an automotive museum located in the former Citizens Motorcar Company auto-dealership building where Packards were sold beginning in 1908 in Dayton, Ohio
Display of classic Packard automobiles at America's Packard Museum, an automotive museum located in the former Citizens Motorcar Company auto-dealership building where Packards were sold beginning in 1908 in Dayton, Ohio
Highsmith, Carol M, 2016. Library of Congress
The Walter H. Rice Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Dayton, Ohio
The Walter H. Rice Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Dayton, Ohio
Highsmith, Carol M, 2019. Library of Congress
Greek temple-style mausoleum at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, in Dayton, Ohio, one of the oldest "garden" cemeteries in the United States
Greek temple-style mausoleum at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, in Dayton, Ohio, one of the oldest "garden" cemeteries in the United States
Highsmith, Carol M, 2016. Library of Congress
A block in West Third Street's old "Miami City" neighborhood, across the Great Miami River from downtown Dayton, Ohio, where the Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, operated a print shop and later a cycle shop
A block in West Third Street's old "Miami City" neighborhood, across the Great Miami River from downtown Dayton, Ohio, where the Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, operated a print shop and later a cycle shop
Highsmith, Carol M, 2016. Library of Congress
Production of 20mm fuses is speeded by a multiple spindle automatic screw machine in a converted cash register factory. National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio
Production of 20mm fuses is speeded by a multiple spindle automatic screw machine in a converted cash register factory. National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio
Palmer, Alfred T., photographer, 1942. Library of Congress
Farm near Dayton, Ohio
Farm near Dayton, Ohio
Lange, Dorothea, photographer, 1936. Library of Congress

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 1,009 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,009 specimens collected within 10 miles of Dayton between 1835 and 1975: 848 Animalia, 90 Plantae, 59 Fungi, 4 Protozoa, 4 Unrecorded, 4 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A JOHN, A JOHN AND W E DUELLMAN, A. E. Foeerste and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.1881Foerste AF
Specimen of Geaster limbatus Fr.Geaster limbatus Fr.1883A. E. FoeersteDayton
Specimen of Hypoxylon cohaerens (Pers.) Fr.Hypoxylon cohaerens (Pers.) Fr.1897H. W. Anderson
A photograph of the species Botrypus virginianus, not of this specimenBotrypus virginianus (L.) Michx.1835Joseph C. FrankOhio, Miami [County]
A photograph of the species Platanthera leucophaea, not of this specimenPlatanthera leucophaea (Nutt.) Lindl.1836C. W. ShortDayton
A photograph of the species Erythronium americanum, not of this specimenErythronium americanum Ker Gawl.1837van Cleve, John W.3 mi. north of Dayton
A photograph of the species Hydrophyllum macrophyllum, not of this specimenHydrophyllum macrophyllum Nutt.1838J. W. Van CleveDayton
A photograph of the species Allium canadense, not of this specimenAllium canadense L.1839not recordedDayton. 1 mi. northeast.
A photograph of the species Cardamine L., not of this specimenCardamine L.1839Sanders, Alfred; J.J. Nagel, J.G. Haupt.Dayton. 1 mile east.
A photograph of the species Cassia marilandica, not of this specimenCassia marilandica L.1839Sanders, AlfredDayton
A photograph of the species Cynoglossum officinale, not of this specimenCynoglossum officinale L.1839not recordedDayton. Suburbs E.
A photograph of the species Iris versicolor, not of this specimenIris versicolor L.1839not recordedDayton. 2 mi. south

All 1,009 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Dayton: 10 past producers, 5 producers. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Broadway Sand and Gravel IncSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Broadway Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
East River Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
East River Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Jackson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Jackson Sand Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Moraine Materials Pit No 5Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Moraine Materials Sand & GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
South Dayton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Southern Hills Supply, Inc. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Montgomery County

Storms near this place

60 of 74 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dayton in 74 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 41 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 8 flash flood, 7 flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2015LightningDayton1 hurtA University of Dayton student, Sean Ferguson, 23 of Pittsburgh, was struck by lightning as he ran across university parking lot C. The student was hospitalized with serious burns and a broken jaw.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindDayton$200,000Thunderstorms winds measured by spotters as high as 72 mph downed numerous trees, many of which fell on cars and blew on to and into homes. A construction trailer was severely damaged and some businesses received damage.
June 2001LightningDayton$100,000Lightning struck a building causing it to catch on fire.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindDayton$50,000Trees were downed. A large propane tank was blown over near Dayton. Large hail fell over the western part of Dayton.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindDayton$30,000A roof was blown off of a residence in East Dayton as well as several utility poles that were snapped in half. Numerous trees were down in the vicinity of Glenrock Road and East Fifth Street. Several trees landed on parked automobiles and garages.
August 2021Flash FloodDayton$10,000A few motorists were stranded in high water near downtown Dayton.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindDayton$10,000Large limbs were downed at Patterson and River Park due to thunderstorm winds. Two large trees were also downed in the area. One tree fell on a house.
June 2014FloodDayton$10,000High standing water under an overpass trapped a man on top of a car near Linden Avenue and Livingston Avenue.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindDayton$10,000Large tree limbs were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds. One of these tree limbs crushed a car.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindDayton$10,000Several trees were blown down.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindDayton$8,000Large tree limbs were downed. A tree fell on a house in Oakwood, causing minor structural damage.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindDayton$8,000Several large trees were downed across the southern Dayton metro area. An eight-foot diameter tree fell on a house.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindDayton$7,000Several trees were blown down in Butler Township.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindDayton$6,000Several trees were downed, some across power lines. Eight-three people were without power for a short period of time.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindDayton$5,000A tree was downed onto a house on 5 Oaks Avenue.
March 2011FloodDayton$5,000Several roads were flooded due to heavy rainfall.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindDayton$5,000Several trees were downed in the city.
June 2001Flash FloodDayton$5,000Two feet of water on roadways across eastern part of county
August 2000Thunderstorm WindDayton$5,000Trees knocked down in the southwestern part of the city. A wind gust of 62 mph was reported at the Dayton Dailey News building in downtown.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindDayton$5,000Trees knocked down.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindDayton$5,000Trees knocked down.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindDayton$4,000A tree fell onto some power lines.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindDayton$4,000Several trees and power lines reported down
February 2024Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000Some wires were downed on Green Street.
February 2024Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000Wires were downed on Drummer Avenue.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000A few trees were downed in the city of Dayton.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000Large limbs were reported broken. A large tree was uprooted. Numerous large tree limbs were down in the road. These occurrences were due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000Large tree limbs were downed.
May 2008HailDayton$3,000A few large tree limbs were also knocked down.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000Large tree limbs were downed.
March 2007FloodDayton$3,000A few roads were flooded and closed throughout the Dayton metro area.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000Trees and powerlines were downed.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000Large trees were downed, some across city streets.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindDayton$3,000no account filed
January 2008Thunderstorm WindDayton$2,000Large tree limbs were knocked down.
March 2022Thunderstorm WindDayton$1,000A tree was downed onto Fountain Avenue.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindDayton$1,000A large tree was blown down.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindDayton$1,000A large limb was downed on Wyoming Street due to thunderstorm winds.
December 2013Flash FloodDayton$1,000Multiple roads were closed countywide due to high water caused by heavy rainfall.
January 2012FloodDayton$1,000Several roads in the area were reported closed due to high water caused by heavy rain.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindDayton$1,000Multiple large tree limbs were downed due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindDayton$1,000A tree was down across a road due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindDayton$1,000A large tree was uprooted due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDayton$1,000Large tree limbs were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindDayton$1,000Several large branches were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
June 2008FloodDayton$1,000A foot to a foot and a half of water was standing on South Patterson between Apple and Stewart Roads.
April 2008HailDayton$1,000no account filed
June 2020Thunderstorm WindDayton$500A large limb was knocked down into the parking lot of the downtown Dayton YMCA parking lot.
July 2016Flash FloodDayton$500A car was stranded on Keowee Street under State Route 4 due to high water. Three feet of water was also reported on Webster Street at the underpass of State Route 4.
June 2025Flash FloodDayton-Several inches of water were flowing across the roadway near the intersection of Wilfred and St Charles Avenues.
June 2025Flash FloodDayton-Several inches of water were flowing across Carlisle Avenue and Tacoma Street.
August 2020FloodDayton-Street flooding was reported on U.S. 35 and I-75.
April 2017Thunderstorm WindDayton-Dime size hail was reported as well.
June 2017HailDayton-Hail size was estimated from social media photo.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindDayton-Winds were estimated by a trained spotter.
June 2015Heavy RainDayton-Water was covering a road at the University of Dayton.
April 2015HailDayton-In addition to the hail, small limbs were knocked down by estimated 60 MPH winds.
May 2014FloodDayton-A car was stalled in standing water beneath a railroad overpass due to heavy rainfall.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindDayton-The spotter estimated the speed of the wind gust.
September 2002Flash FloodDayton-Numerous roads were flooded throughout the Dayton metropolitan area. A man had to be rescued when he drove his car into a flooded retention pond near the Dayton Mall.

Every storm recorded in Montgomery County

Newspapers printed here

0 digitised pages

8 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 0 issues, 0 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

NewspaperPublished
The Daily Bulletin1942 to 1946
The Dayton Forum1913 to 1949
Dayton Union News1940 to 1944
Dayton Daily Empire1850 to 1865
The Daily Express1950 to 1955
The Ohio Daily-Express1946 to 1950
The Daily Empire1865 to 1867
The Dayton Citizen1950 to 19??

What the paper printed

20,930 words

Front pages of the local paper, read from the Library of Congress scans: 26 issues spread across its run from 1859 to 1951, 20,930 words in total. Each is reproduced on its own page, exactly as the recogniser returned it.

These pages read less well than anything else here, and the number is worth stating: about three words in four come through cleanly, against nine in ten for the building records. An 1896 broadsheet sets eight-point type in seven columns on microfilm, which is the hardest thing in this archive to read by machine. We tested our own recognisers against the Library's and they were not better, so the Library's text is what appears, with the wholly unreadable columns removed. Read it as a guide to what the paper covered, and follow the link to the scan before quoting anything.

IssuePaper Length
1944-09-27The Daily Bulletin800 words
1944-10-21The Daily Bulletin876 words
1944-11-15The Daily Bulletin489 words
1944-12-09The Daily Bulletin356 words
1918-06-07The Dayton Forum545 words
1946-10-31The Dayton Forum233 words
1940-12-19Dayton Union News413 words
1943-11-25Dayton Union News645 words
1859-04-05Dayton Daily Empire2,450 words
1859-05-21Dayton Daily Empire2,818 words
1859-07-14Dayton Daily Empire1,618 words
1859-11-04Dayton Daily Empire481 words
1950-02-25The Dayton Citizen917 words
1950-05-20The Dayton Citizen595 words
1950-10-21The Dayton Citizen259 words
1951-06-23The Dayton Citizen562 words
1950-11-16The Daily Express431 words
1950-12-04The Daily Express372 words
1950-12-12The Daily Express466 words
1950-12-16The Daily Express646 words
1947-11-04The Ohio Daily-Express830 words
1947-11-18The Ohio Daily-Express638 words
1947-11-28The Ohio Daily-Express671 words
1865-12-16The Daily Empire562 words
1865-12-23The Daily Empire1,573 words
1867-07-09The Daily Empire684 words

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Riverdale0.8 miles16
Edgemont1.0 miles14
Daytonview1.2 miles16
West Side1.5 miles14
Walnut Hills1.6 miles14
Patterson2.1 miles14
Ohmer Park2.4 miles14
East Dayton2.4 miles16

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on DaytonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q34739The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064514. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.