Dayton, 1870

Dayton was founded by a small group of settlers on April 1, 1796, seven years before Ohio was promoted to state. In the following year, 1797, a road connecting Cincinnati and Dayton was opened, and Dayton became a base for the settlement of Miami Valley. Dayton became a formal town in 1805. The town was named after Jonathan Dayton, one of the authors of the American Constitution, the Captain of the War of Independence, who later became a senator from New Jersey.

In the 1830s, the Miami and Erie Canal, which connects Lake Erie and the Great Miami, was completed, and a commercial route was established to climb up the Great Miami River from Dayton, then up the Great Miami River through the canal to Toledo on the Lake Erie shore, and then up to Lake Erie. They also went down the Great Miami River to Cincinnati near the junction with the Ohio River. For this reason, the waterway through the canal was the main traffic route in West Ohio until the 1850s.

Right Flyer II Flying at Huffman Prairie

On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and the Wright brothers of Orville, who were raised in Dayton and ran a bicycle shop in Dayton, flew the Light Fryer on the sand dunes of Kildeville Hills, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and succeeded in the first manned powered flight of man. After that, the Wright brothers returned to Dayton and in the following year they conducted a flight experiment of Light Flyer II at Huffman Prairie in the northwest. However, the massive flood of the Great Miami River in 1913 damaged the negative that copied the brother's glider flight in Kitty Hawk and the powered flight experiment in Huffman Prairie.

During World War II, Dayton flourished in the munitions industry. The Dayton Plan was promoted in the residential area of Oakwood in the outskirts of Dayton and the outskirts. This was the development of a method by Monsanto Co., Ltd. to industrially produce polonium. The polonium produced in the company was used to bomb an early atomic bomb like a mold dropped on Hiroshima City and Nagasaki City. NCR, headquartered in Dayton, produced aircraft engines, bomb sight units and cryptologists at that time. The company's cryptanalysis works were very useful for deciphering the Nazi German cryptosystem, Enigma.

For a while after World War II, Dayton continued to prosper as an industrial city. In 1960, the peak reached 262,332 people. But after that, Dayton began to decline, like many major cities in the Midwest. This is because the city's central area was hollowed out and population and industry moved from the east and middle west to the southern Sunbelt area. The population continued to decline, and in the 2010 population census, it dropped to 141,527, which was almost half of the peak.

In November 1995, the Dayton Agreement was reached at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton to lead the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict to a ceasefire. The talks took place on the base from Nov. 1 to 21. The ceasefire agreement was signed in Paris on Dec. 14 and ended three and a half years of conflict.

dayton position

Dayton is located at 39 degrees 45 minutes 46 seconds north latitude and 83 degrees 11 minutes 48 seconds west longitude. The city is located in a region called the Miami Valley in western Ohio and is the central city of the region. Indianapolis in the west, Columbus in the east, Cincinnati in the south, and Toledo in the north are located in the west, and Dayton is located near the middle point of the large cities (which, strictly speaking, is closer to Cincinnati). Officially, Dayton is considered to belong to the Midwest of Ohio. The Great Miami River meandering through the center of Dayton's downtown, and three tributaries join the Great Miami River in the city. This area along the Great Miami River basin is called the Miami Valley, but in the local area it is also called the Miami Valley, which is the central city of Dayton.

According to the United States Statistical Bureau, Dayton City has a total area of 146.7km² (56.6mi²). 144.5km² (55.8mi²) is land and 2.2km² (0.9mi²) is water area. The water area accounts for 1.55% of the total area.

The former Dayton-Springfield metropolitan area straddled four counties, including Miami, Clark and Green, in the heart of Montgomery County. In the 2000 census, the Dayton Springfield metropolitan area had a population of 950,558. In 2003, Clark County became independent as a Springfield urban area, and the Dayton urban area was designated as four counties with Preble County added to the remaining three counties. Along with this, the Dayton Springfield metropolitan area was established, combining the new Dayton urban area and the Springfield urban area. The Dayton Springfield Metropolitan Area will count 1,072,891 people in the 2010 census.

urban overview

Montgomery County Old District Court

Dayton is an old town, but a four-lane wide straight road runs as well as a grid in downtown. As a result, Dayton's road has been well worth the traffic, even if cars are the main means of transportation. The reason for the wide width of the street is that Dayton was a marketing and distribution center since the town was built. The road was so wide that a ox-drawn carriage turned somersault over three or four pairs of cattle. In addition, the reason why some of the streets in the city today were once built to fill a canal with sidewalks to pass the barges.

There are many historic buildings in the old town of Dayton. Dayton's District Court was a neoclassical architecture built in 1888 and is still used today in the 21st century. The former District Court, which was used before the current District Court was built, was a building modeled after the Greek temple, and was completed in 1850 and still exists today. In Dayton's nine historic districts, there are not only neoclassical architecture but also buildings of various styles from the 19th to the early 20th century.

The representative skyscrapers of Dayton are the Kettering Tower, which is 124m high, and the Mead Westvaco Tower, which is 117m high. The Kettering Tower used to be called the Winter's Bank, which had its head office, and also called the Winter's Tower. After Bank One merged Winter's Bank, Bill was renamed Virginia Kettering.

climate

downtown Dayton flooded by the 1913 flood

Dayton and its area are located just on the border between warm wet climates (Cfa) and cold wet climates (Dfa), and the amount of rainfall is almost constant throughout the year and the four seasons are clear. The highest temperature in Dayton's history is 38.9°C and the lowest temperature is 31.7°C. In the average year, the highest temperature in summer is 30°C and the lowest temperature in winter is about 7°C below freezing. Annual rainfall is about 950mm.

As in other areas of the Midwest, the area around Dayton is subject to severe weather conditions. Tornado easily occurs from spring to autumn. I sometimes get caught in a heavy thunderstorm. Blizzards blow in the winter. At Dayton, floods are also likely to occur. In 1913, the Great Miami River caused a massive flood, which flooded most of the streets of the town.

Dayton City Hall

Dayton takes the City Manager system. In 1913, Dayton adopted the City Manager system, and the next year, 1914, Dayton was one of the first cities in the United States to adopt the City Manager system. Dayton's City Council consists of five members, one of whom serves as mayor, but the mayor is only one of the five members and only serves as chairman in the City Council. The actual administration is mainly conducted by the City Manager, who was adopted by the city council according to the policy. Prior to the shift to the City Manager system, Dayton was a mayor system and had a city council of seven councilors under the mayor.

The term of office of the Diet members is four years, and two members will be re-elected in a single election. The election is divided into two stages, and the top four people in the first election are promoted to the regular election, and the top two of them are elected. Until 1969, the mayor was also elected as a member of the committee along with other members of the Diet, but since 1970, the mayor has been elected in a different election from the other four members. Unlike the presidential election, the election of Dayton City Assembly members is not subject to political restrictions in principle, but in fact, both the Republican and Democratic Party candidates are running for the election. Since 1976, the Democratic Party of Japan has dominated the Dayton City Assembly.

In addition to the city council, Dayton has a priority committee of seven members. The priority committee was set up by the Dayton City Council in 1975, and it will propose and implement regional policies rather than those handled by the City Council and the City Manager. Specifically, the priority committee plans to develop and redevelop regions and distribute the city's funds to regions, and proposes the plan to the city. The members of the priority committee will be selected from seven regions, one by one, Downtown, FROC, Inner West, Northwest, North East, South East and South West.

As with many other cities in the Midwest, Dayton, mainly manufacturing, declined after the 1960s, and security deteriorated and crime increased. In recent years, although the crime rate has been on a declining trend, it is still high. According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2005, the incidence of murder, rape, robbery, night theft and car theft in Dayton is more than double the national average. A 2005 Morgan Quitno survey reported that Dayton is the 17th most dangerous city in the United States. In past research by Morgan Quitnot, Dayton was a regular of Worst 25 and ranked seventh in 2003, the worst ever. Of the cities in Ohio, Dayton's crime rate is lower than Cleveland, but at a level close to Cincinnati, slightly higher than Toledo and much higher than Columbus.

Although funds for demolition of ruined buildings have been accumulated in recent years, and the redevelopment of these buildings has been progressing, many such buildings still remain in the center of Dayton, where the hollowing-out process has progressed. It is said that these buildings are a hotbed of crime and drug. These ruined buildings are sometimes likened to Detroit, Flint, Gary, and other cities with higher crime rates.

However, because single-family houses are located outside the city in the administrative division, not in the urban area of Dayton, it is not directly connected to the fact that there are many crimes for ordinary people compared to other cities.

Before dawn on August 4, 2019, a shooting incident occurred in downtown. 9 died, 27 injured. The suspect was shot dead by a police officer at the scene of a college student living in the city. The police then searched the suspect's home, but there was no evidence to support racism or political background, and the motive is unknown.

I-70 exit leading to Dayton International Airport

The airport, which serves as the gateway to Dayton, is located about 14km north of the city. Dayton International Airport (IATA: DAY). The airport, which was set up in 1936, used to be one of the hub airports by Piedmont Airlines, but, soon after it was merged with US Airways, it has lost its function as a hub airport and has been confined to one of the Midwest's hub airports to allow for short-distance flights to cities such as Columbus, Indianapolis and Grand Rapids. However, many buses from the hub airport of major airlines still arrive and depart at this station. The airport is accessible through its connection to the I-70 interstate expressway, and because of its low airport charges, residents of neighboring cities such as Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis also use the airport. In 2004, 1,446,673 people used the Dayton International Airport. The terminal building is too large, the rental car parking lot is accessible on foot, and the surrounding road is not crowded so it is a convenient airport for tourists.

The interstate I-75 highway runs north and south in Dayton downtown. I-75 is a trunk line that crosses the Canadian border of Suu St. Marie, Michigan, to the outskirts of Miami, Florida and north and south from the Midwest to the south. This I-75 crosses the I-70 interstate highway, which runs east-west across the continent in the north of the city. From the east to the south of the city, I-675, a branch of I-75, runs along Dayton's circular road. On these expressways there is a Greyhound long-distance bus that connects Cincinnati and Detroit, and a bus that connects Columbus New York and Indianapolis St. Louis stop at a bus terminal in downtown Dayton.

Dayton was once a major city in railway transportation with major stations of Ohio Electric Railway and Cincinnati and Ray Query Railway. However, Amtrak's route does not go through Dayton at present.

Public transportation in and around Dayton City is covered by route buses operated by the Dayton Metropolitan Area Transportation Bureau (Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, ETC). RTA has an electric trolley bus in addition to a regular diesel bus. The Trolley Bus has been operating since 1888 and is the oldest of the existing Trolley Bus systems in five cities in the United States (not including the sightseeing diesel and gasoline engines used in many cities).

Reflecting the history of aviation, airports for general aviation exist in the surrounding area in high density, and small-sized airplanes are actively operated. Because the air infrastructure is in place, many Sky Sports have a large number of people, such as a plane made by oneself, a glider, and a skydive.

Bicycle lanes, including the city center, have been developed.

Dayton University

There are two famous universities in the Dayton metropolitan area. One is Dayton University, which has a campus about 2 km south of downtown and near NCR headquarters. It is often thought to be a state public university from the name of the school, but Dayton University was a Catholic, medium-sized, private university established in 1850. The school has a reputation in the field of law, especially in the field of intellectual property rights such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights. The other is Light State University, located in Fairborn City, the eastern suburb (however, the official postal address of Light State University is Dayton, not Fairborn). The school's name is derived from the Wright brothers, and the official logo also contains the Light Flyer. The school, one of the leading state universities in West Ohio along with Miami University, is a relatively new university that separated and integrated the Dayton branch of Ohio State University and Miami University in 1964, but it has received high marks in the fields of medicine and aviation.

In addition, Dayton has a campus of Kettling Medical School, which awards bachelor and associate degrees in the fields of nursing and health sciences, and St. Clair Community College, which was established as YMCA College in 1887 and is counted as one of the largest community colleges in the United States with about 24,000 students.

Dayton's K-12 course is supported by public schools under the jurisdiction of Dayton Public School District. The Dayton Public School District has 24 elementary schools (14 of them are integrated into junior high school), three junior high schools and seven high schools. These Dayton public schools have a total of 17,000 children and students, the sixth in Ohio. In the 1990s, students at Dayton's public school were at the lowest academic level in Ohio. In the mid-2000s, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out, and the school district recovered from the Academic Emergency (Continuous Improvement) and the school district continued to improve. A school was established, and Dayton's first girls' school was established. The Dayton Public School District is motto of A New Day is Downing. However, on May 8, 2007, the educational administration situation in Dayton was still severe, for example, the tax bill was rejected, resulting in an increase in the number of students in one class and a cut in transportation services such as school buses and gym programs.

Since there are no Japanese schools in the neighborhood, the Ohio West Japanese Language School (supplementary school) in Troy, where there are Japanese Automobile factories, or the Columbus Japanese Language School is the nearest school.

The Dayton Museum of Art opened in 1919 using a mansion in downtown Tokyo, and was moved to its current location across the Great Miami River in 1930. The museum, with over 5,500m² Renaissance-style buildings, was designated as a national historic landmark in 1974. The museum has more than 20,000 collections over 5,000 years. The National Air Force Museum, located within the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, exhibits more than 400 fighter jets and missiles, including replicas of the Military Flyer, developed by the Wright brothers in 1909. Dayton Air Heritage National Historical Park is a 350,000m²-wide historical park built to commemorate the Wright brothers and Paul Lawrence Dumber. Sunwatch Indian Village, located at the southern end of Dayton City, is an open-air museum that recreates the 12th century Native American village and learns about the Native American history and Fort Ancient culture in the Miami Valley. It was excavated from 1971 to 1988, and was later opened to the public. Sunwatch Indian Village is designated as both a national historic site and a historic landmark.

There are several facilities for acting arts. At the Benjamin and Marian Stern Acting Art Center in downtown Tokyo, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dayton Opera are performing, various concerts, lectures and musicals by Broadway are also performing. The Victoria Theater, also located downtown, is a historic building that was built in 1866 as the Turner Opera House. In 1967, it was about to be demolished due to the deteriorating economic condition of Dayton, but it was saved from being destroyed because it was designated as a national historic site. The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dayton Opera were performing here until the Benjamin and Marian Stern Acting Art Center opened in 2003. Today, performances of various plays, musicals and ballet are performed.

• Dayton Museum

• National Air Force Museum

• Sunwatch Indian Village

• Victoria Theater

At the Freyse Pavilion in Kettering City, which is located in the south of Dayton, a concert of musicians well known both at home and abroad will be held. The Dayton University Arena, located at the Great Miami River, south of the downtown area, is used not only for sports events at Dayton University, but also for concerts and various events. The Hara Arena in Trotwood City, which is located west of Dayton, and the Natter Center near the campus of Light State University are also used as sports events and concert venues. In Hara Arena, the Dayton Amateur Radio Association holds the world's most famous amateur radio festival (Dayton Ham Pension) every year, not only the largest radio in North America. The Natter Center is home to the sports team of Light State University, the local professional ice hockey team, the Dayton Bombers.

The National Amateur Trap Shooting Association and the Trap Shooting Museum are located near Dayton International Airport, and some people come to Japan to get their contestants.

urban population

The population of each county that forms the metropolitan area of Dayton and the metropolitan area is as follows (National Census of 2010).

Dayton metropolitan area

Dayton Springfield Greenville metropolitan area

urban population transition

Below is a graph and table showing the population transition from 1850 to 2010 in Dayton City.

Dayton has a sister-city relationship with the following five cities.

• Augsburg, Germany
• Holon (Israel)
• Monrovia (Liberia)
• Oiso-cho (Japan, Kanagawa Prefecture)
• Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

• Official city website (English)
• Dayton Daily News (English)
• Dayton Metro Library (English)
• Dayton History Books Online (English)
• Dayton Public Schools (English)
• Greater Dayton RTA Bus Lines (English)
• History of NCR (English)
• Visitors' information - From Light State University website
• What Dreams We Have, The Wright Brothers and Their Hometown of Dayton, OH (English)
• City-Data.com - Dayton, Ohio
• visit Dayton, Ohio (Dayton's Wright Brothers Historic Site, 1998)
• Dayton, OH (Yahoo!Map map)
• Dayton Flight Historic Site Map (English)