Dayton, Indiana, is a small town with a long history.
Native peoples preceded the white settlers, building a town called the
Wyandott village at a site a few miles to the south in the center of
Richardville
Reserve.
European settlement began in the early 1820s. At the time of white
settlement, a trading post was located at the Wyandott village. After a
mill was built, a settlement sprang up that was eventually platted as
Wyandott.
The first settlers came to Dayton from the
Connorsville-Noblesville-Strawtown area of Indiana in 1825. William Bush
divided part of his land into lots about 1827. Bush and Dr. Timothy Horram
filed adjoining town plats on the same day in 1829. Then a few years later
David Gregory filed a third plat, and the combined town took the name of
Dayton after the principal town in the area of southern Ohio from which
many of the settlers came. Gregory donated a lot for a town school.
The town probably began as a market place for the people on the surrounding
farms. Storekeepers were among the earliest settlers. Very quickly,
however, the town acquired a number of small industries. A sawmill and then
a gristmill were built. Coopers, broommakers, and chairmakers settled here.
Wagon makers set up shop. After the Civil War, artisans arrived from
Pennsylvania who set up a carriage factory that became one of the principal
employers in town. The business carried on until the early 1900s, and for a
time a car dealership operated. Then in the 1970s in the fields west of
town a car plant was built, the modern incarnation of the transportation
industry that has made its home in the town all these years. Today most
people work in Lafayette or elsewhere.
There were four churches in town: Presbyterian, Methodist, United Brethren,
and Universalist. For a time the Baptists met in the Presbyterian church
building. Two churches remain: the United Methodist church south of town
and the Presbyterian church on Walnut Street.
Education was important to the early settlers, who soon opened schools in
their homes. In the 1820s and 1830s one-room district schools began to
operate. In 1859, Dayton Union Seminary (later Dayton ME Academy) opened
its doors. It closed in 1872 when the township high school was built. In
1966 that school became an elementary school, and high school students and,
later,
junior high students were bussed to the schools of Tippecanoe County School
Corporation south of town.
One of the first undertakers in the state began an undertaking business in
Dayton about 1850.
There were two hotels and a livery stable in town, and several restaurants
at various times. Folks from Lafayette used to travel to Dayton to spend a
day in the country. In the winter they could come in a sleigh known as the
Red Bird.
At the time of Civil War, many of the men joined the 72nd Rgt. Ind. Vol.
Inf. (later part of
Wilder's Lightning Brigade of Mounted Infantry). Others fought with Company
A of the 40th Rgt. Ind. Vol. Inf., and several died at Kennesaw Mountain.
Still others formed part of the 10th, 86th, 150th, and other regiments of
infantry, and the 10th and 18th Batteries Light Artillery. Many of those
left at home rushed to Indianapolis when word of Morgan's raid across
southern Indiana came, leaving the women and neighbors to harvest their
crops. One day townsfolk whispered a rumor that Morgan had reached Romney
and was headed this way, but it turned out to be only that.
Transportation to the area in the earliest days was by overland trail or
water. Later, roads were built and gradually improved. In 1875 the railroad
came to town with a flourish, welcomed by the townsfolk with a parade, a
band, and a community dinner.
The town has always been near the north-south route from Chicago to
Cincinnati or Louisville and points south. The exact location has shifted as
new roads were built, but the direction has remained the same.
In 1823 the north-south route was the trail that would eventually
be named the Newcastle Road, leading from Strawtown
to Lafayette. Then it was the Indianapolis-Lafayette Pike,
which was eventually paved and named US 52. Now it is Interstate 65, which
arrived in the 1970s and passes through the west edge of town on its way
from Indianapolis to Chicago.
The Wildcat Valley to the east and Wildcat Prairie to the west provided all
the necessities for a town to grow. When eventually a church with a steeple
was built, the sound of the bell could be heard far out across the prairie.
The cardinal, the state bird, is a frequent visitor at backyard
feeders in town. It must have been here to greet the first settlers,
whether Native Americans or Europeans. The grove of walnut trees on the
site of Dayton would have been as welcome a refuge in 1825 as it is today.
Comments and corrections are welcome.
Susan Y. Clawson clawsons(a)purdue.edu
Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures OFFICE (765) 494-3843
1359 Stanley Coulter Hall FAX (765) 496-1700
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1359 HOME (765) 296-3121
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