But expansion was inevitable. In May 1815, Daniel C. Cooper, a Dayton surveyor, laid out the original outlots to the east, including the area that would become the Oregon District.
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For this edition of Vintage Dayton, we went into the archives to learn more about how the Oregon District was founded and how it grew.
• TODAY’S FEATURED STORY: ‘That part of the city known as Oregon’: The early history of the Oregon District in Dayton
More on downtown history
• The Home Store: Downtown Dayton’s retail giant at Third and Main for 97 years
• The Old Montgomery County Courthouse is central to Dayton’s history
• 5 things we miss that once dominated Dayton’s downtown skyline
Did you know?
Here are a few great Dayton history facts we’ve learned from our stories:
• Dayton residents once predicted helicopters would be a main mode of travel in the city by 2000
That prediction came in 1962, when the Dayton Daily News asked residents and officials for their thoughts on what life would be like by the turn of the century.
• The Dayton Triangles pro football team had roots at the University of Dayton
The first game of what would become the NFL was played in Dayton between the Triangles and Columbus Panhandles on Oct. 3, 1920. The team largely started as the St. Mary’s Cadets before that.
• Wright State first opened as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State
It gained independent status on Oct. 1, 1967.
Credit: Jim Witmer
Credit: Jim Witmer
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.
A reader told us they recently heard a story that one of the country’s most famous circus clowns was from Dayton. That’s true, and the story also has a darker side, which we told in a piece last year on Paul Jung.
• Click here for our story: Dayton’s circus clown tragedy: Paul Jung rose to national fame before his murder in New York
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Thank you for reading.