We pay our respects to history of Dayton with a walk in Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum has a lot of hills and dales in the quiet sanctuary of Dayton’s oldest cemetery.
Erma Bombeck would often sit on this rock in Arizona making notes. The rock was shipped here and marks her gravesite, there are no other markers.
The Wright brothers are probably the most visited gravesite. It is surprising simple, they lie here with their sister Katherine and parents, Susan and Milton.
Oriville Wright helped arrange to have his high school classmate and friend Paul Laurence Dunbar interned near the Wright family plot. Dunbar is a world famous poet and author. Fran and I went to tour his home which is now a National Historic Site, but alas it is open only 2 days a week and the day we were there was not one of them. His early works were printed by Wright and Wright Printing – the Wright brothers first career.
There are many interesting monuments at Woodland. The Peirce family is marked by a Cross and Tablets (no relation it is spelled Peirce not Pierce). The McMillan is marked by a beautiful angel.
With over 100,000 monuments at Woodland none commands more respect than ‘The Boy and Dog’. The youngest son of a cobbler Johnny Morehouse would play along the canal next to the house with his constant canine companion. A
The legend has it although his dog was able to pull Johnny from the water, he had already drowned. For several days after the burial his dog remained his constant companion standing vigil both day and night.
Adam Schantz made his fame as a brewer in the mid 1800’s. I tried a flight at Carillon Brewing, which makes their beers in the same manner when I was at Carillon last week. The Mead family (Mead Paper) has a single obelisk to mark their territory.
Lookout Point is located on the highest point in Dayton, it is an exact replica of the lookout tower that was here in the early 1900s.
John Patterson is founder of NCR and a Dayton native. His grandfather ran a grist mill, which is replicated in Carillon Park. There are a lot of Patterson members on the slopes of the hill. It’s a bit of a hike to reach the Patterson plots.
While climbing the hill I noticed the Brown family, which looks like a columbarium, but have found no information on it. It’s interesting as Brown is an original settler and within lie bodies of 76 unknown other original settlers. Perhaps this is Dayton’s version of the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Settler’.
Originally from Ireland George Newcom opened his tavern in 1796, Dayton’s first tavern, the building also served as the first courthouse. The Newcom Tavern has been relocated to Carillon Park.
Col. Edward Deeds founded DELCO with Charles Kettering, as the head of WWI aviation program he became friends with Orville Wright. As an entrepreneur and philanthropist he made Carillon Historical Park possible.
Altho not at Woodland, Fran’s family can be found nearby. In addition to paying our respects, I wanted to let her mother know the albino squirrels are still hanging around.
Today's Ohio fun fact: The nations first concrete street is in Bellefontain OH.
With that we say 'until next time' to Dayton. There's a eclipse that will not wait for us.
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