Vintage Dayton: August 30, 2024

A statue of William McKinley was dedicated to his memory Sept. 17, 1910. Photo from Dayton History Books Online

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In 1910, the William McKinley statue in Cooper Park became one of the first public monuments erected in Dayton.

McKinley was the 25th president of the United States, a former governor of Ohio, Ohio representative in Congress and a soldier in the Union Army.

He was assassinated during his second term as president in 1901. Dayton leaders moved to create a monument.

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For this edition of Vintage Dayton, we went into the archives for the story of the statue and why leaders wanted it in Dayton.

• TODAY’S FEATURED STORY: Why is there a statue of William McKinley in Dayton?

More on Dayton monuments

8 historical figures with statues in the Dayton region

The Dayton soldiers monument that stands over downtown has a fascinating history

Dayton’s Goddess of Liberty, once a downtown relic, stood over Fifth and Main for 90 years


Did you know?

Here are a few great Dayton history facts we’ve learned from our stories:

• One of the most dominant power lifters ever was area man Larry Pacifico

We found an interview with him in 1977, when he was seeking his seventh world championship.

• From the late 1920s to the early 1940s, Dayton Flyers football was “the hottest ticket in town”

That’s just one of the things we learn in a new documentary about the history of UD football, which Tom Archdeacon previewed this week.

• When the grand Dayton-Biltmore Hotel opened, 1,000 people came to the party

The new 500-room hotel on Main Street had recently been completed and was deemed the “outstanding structure of 1929″ in a Dayton Daily News headline.

• In the early 1900s, at least 10 separate Dayton factories turned out dozens of models of cars

Ohio ranked third to Michigan and Indiana, with 39 separate makes being manufactured in the state. Here’s a look at that auto manufacturing history.

Stoddard Dayton car show advertisement Dayton Herald 1912

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We want your help!

Do you have any requests or ideas that you would like to see us cover in this history newsletter?

What about cool old photos or stories of your own?

Let us know and we’ll include them in future newsletters.

We received a note this week from a reader who remembered it was this week in 2008 that John McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his running mate on the Republican ticket at the Nutter Center at Wright State. We went back to our photos from that day.

• Click here for our photo gallery: Sarah Palin introduced as John McCain’s running mate at Wright State on this day in 2008

And if you like what you’re getting each week in the Vintage Dayton newsletter, please consider subscribing to the Dayton Daily News for as little as 99 cents.

Thank you for reading.

John McCain and his just-named vice presidential selection, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin stand together at the podium before the crowd on Friday, Aug. 29, 2008, at the Nutter Center in Fairborn, Ohio. Staff photo by Jim Witmer

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