Dayton, Ohio's Changing Landscape

Upstart for the Buckeye State’s City in the Miami Valley

Jul 6, 2009

Dayton is one of Ohio's historical cities located in the Miami Valley, an area rich with history and opportunity for new growth.

Founded in 1796, Dayton, Ohio is the home of aviation. Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright are credited as being the first people to successfully build and fly an airplane. The brothers, born in Dayton in 1871 and 1876 respectively, started to build and fly aviation gliders as early as 1901.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is named after the siblings. The military installation is the fifth largest employer in the state. Each year approximately 1.3 million people visit the air force base’s museum so that they can take pictures and learn more about the Orville and Wilbur Wright’s flight attempts and monumental achievements.

Dayton, Ohio’s Rich History

Dayton is also home to the country’s first internationally recognized and honored African American poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar. The house that the artist lived in prior to his death in 1906 is located at 219 North Paul Laurence Dunbar Street. Colonel John Patterson, founder of the National Cash Register (NCR), and his wife Elizabeth Lindsey’s home is another of the city’s historic locations that receives hundreds and thousands of visitors each year.

It is undeniable. Dayton, Ohio’s history is rich. There is the Kettering Moraine Museum, Hawthorne Hill and Carillon Park. Furthermore, who can forget Edwin Moses’ four world records and his string of 122 consecutive unbeaten hurdle competitions?

Musicians like the Ohio Players, Roger Troutman, Ce Ce Peniston and Dottie Pebbles; writers Erma Bombeck and Denise Turney; actors and actresses Dorian Harewood, Mel Epstein, Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe; comedian Katt Williams; business leaders Nancy Lynn, James Ritty and James Cox; and athletes and other achievers like John Paxson, Mike Schmidt, Roger Clemens, Timothy Keating and Paul Iams are Daytonians who went on to do well on national and international levels.

Following the downsizings of General Motors plants and the move of National Cash Register (NCR) to Georgia, Dayton works to bring new growth to the area. Trotwood has mentioned plans to rebuild the Salem Mall, current home to major national chains like Sears and the Home Depot.

The city has plenty of schools and medical care facilities. Healthcare organizations are amongst the largest employers in the city with Miami Valley Hospital, Good Samaritan, St. Elizabeth’s and Kettering Network hospitals being amongst the largest. Other major employers in the city include WalMart, Kroger, Meijer and of course, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Some of the major schools in the city include Belmont, Dunbar (named after the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar) and Meadowdale High Schools and Strivers School for the Arts.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for the city was at 11.2% as of May 2009. Out of 372 cities ranked by unemployment in the report, Dayton earned the 304th spot.

According to the Dayton and Montgomery County Visitors Bureau, nearly 1.6 million people live in Dayton and its surrounding suburbs. CNN Money’s 2006 “Best Places to Live” report revealed that the median family income for the city was $36,491 in 2006. The job growth level was at -3.86% at the time of the report.

The copyright of the article Dayton, Ohio's Changing Landscape in American Affairs is owned by Rhonda Campbell. Permission to republish Dayton, Ohio's Changing Landscape in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.