Dayton, Ohio, USA
1854 - Dayton

Dayton, a flourishing city, capital of Montgomery county, Ohio, is situated on the left or E. bank of the Great Miami, at the mouth of the Mad river, and on the line of the Miami canal, 52 miles N. N. E. from Cincinnati, 07 miles W. by S. from Columbus, and 400 miles from Washington. Lat. 39° 44' N. ; Ion. 84° ll'W. This is the fourth city of Ohio in respect to population and wealth, and surpasses all other Western towns of equal size in the variety and extent of its manufactures. It is the terminus of six railway lines, viz. the Mad River and Lake Erie, the Dayton and Cincinnati, the Dayton and Western, the Greenville and Miami, the Dayton and Xenia, and the Dayton and Michigan, leading to Toledo. All of these are completed except the last. A continuous line of railroad is under contract from the Ohio river at Wheeling, to the Mississippi opposite St. Louis, on which Dayton is one of the principal points. Nine Macadamized or hard gravelled roads radiate in all directions from Dayton, with an aggregate length of more than 250 miles. The town is laid out with streets 100 feet wide, crossing each other at right angles. The public buildings are remarkably splendid, and excellent taste is displayed in the construction of the private residences, and in the embellishment of the adjoining grounds. The county court house, built of compact, white marble, quarried in the vicinity, is perhaps the most elegant edifice of its class in the Western States. The style of architecture is that of the Parthenon, with slight modifications. The dimensions are 127 feet in length, by 62 in breadth. It cost about $100,000. Dayton contains about 15 churches, a public library, 3 banks, 2 market houses, n well-organized free schools, and the Cooper Female Academy, a large and flourishing institution, and 7 or 8 newspaper offices. The streets, stores, and public buildings are lighted with gas. Quarries of excellent lime- none are worked in the vicinity, and furnish material for the finest buildings of Cincinnati. The abundant water-power which Dayton possesses is one of the chief elements of its prosperity. In 1845 an hydraulic canal was made, by which the water of Mad river is brought through the city. It is the seat of extensive manufactories of railroad cars, of wrapping and printing paper, and of stoves and hollow ware. The annual products of these three branches are valued at $500,000. It also contains several cotton factories, woollen factories, oil mills, and flouring mills. Day ton was first settled in 1700, and incorporated in 1805. In 1820 the Miami canal was opened from Cincinnati to this point, from which event its prosperity may be dated. It contained in 1830, 2954 inhabitants; in 18410, 6067; in 1850, 10,070. and according to the census just taken, (in 1853.) 16,502.

A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.

Visit Dayton, Ohio, USA
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.