The Cutoff passed through downtown Dayton on Third Street and, west of Main, so did the National Old Trails Road. The original Cutoff followed a pretty straight line between Dayton and Springfield and joined Third Street several blocks to the east. The NOTR route from the 1920s is what I called a "late variation" and it's what I'm starting my day with.
The Third & Main intersection has been rather easy to spot since 1850 when the Montgomery County Court House was built on its northwest corner. An 1884 addition has already come and gone in the adjacent lot and that space is now part of a popular gathering spot known as Court House Square. The current working court house is several blocks away. The round pool is "The Fountain of Presidents" and it is surrounded by a plaque for each U.S. president that has visited here, starting with William Henry Harrison who was here ten years before the courthouse (and a wee bit before he was president). I picked Abe Lincoln for my pool close up partly because he's a pretty important guy and partly because it let me include that great looking building (Dayton Arcade) across the street. The year 1902 is cast into the front of the ornate building and a cement panel on the left section shows the name "M J Gibbons". Similar panels on the other two sections appear to be blank. The "Justitiae Dedicata" blocks come from the courthouse that came down to produce Courthouse Square. On the internet, I've seen both 1881 and 1888 given as dates for the construction of that building. 1884 comes from a nearby plaque. Are you going to believe somebody's electrons or something cast in bronze?
Brandt Pike is not the most picturesque thoroughfare going. It isn't unpleasant to drive but doesn't offer a lot besides the business/residential mix of a typical suburban road. An exception is Carriage Hill Farm just north of I-70. There is a working 1880s farm here but the cows are allowed to sleep in on weekends and I was a few hours early. This place went onto my "To Do" list.
The second picture was taken facing west on Main with Dayton Avenue - the Dayton Cutoff - branching off to the left. It's one way to a jog at High Street and the name morphing begins not far beyond. Dayton Avenue, Dayton Road, Dayton Springfield Road. Where the original route is interrupted by Wright-Patterson AFB, it passes through town as Broad Street. It emerges as Dayton Springfield Pike then enters Dayton as Springfield Street.
I find the building on the right of the photo interesting. Current home of Sidetrax Tavern, patrons report it was once a train station and is about a hundred years old. Great folks but not necessarily quotable historians. Observed facts are that it is wedged into the acute angle between Main Street and the Norfolk Southern and it's a pretty popular place with the locals. I've stopped here twice and both times found the dozen or so bar stools just about filled. There are also a few small tables and I have no doubts that those are frequently filled. Its west end encloses about eighteen feet. (I counted six panels that I took to be about three foot each.) The east end encloses just enough.
ADDENDUM: Although I somehow missed it on this trip, I later learned that one of the original Dayton and Springfield Turnpike mile markers is in Enon near the mound. Had I been a little more observant, a picture of the stone would almost certainly appeared in this panel so here it is.
An interpretive center for the field is just a bit further south. High enough to stay dry and offer a view of the field and Huffman Dam, this is also the site of the Wright Brothers Memorial. I skipped the interpretive center today but I've enjoyed it before and know that it is definitely worthwhile.
The last picture has nothing to do with the Cutoff, the Wright Brothers, or anything else in particular. In fact, the subjects are so distant that a description is probably required. By the road in front of the interpretive center, a horseman and a biker chat beneath the trees with their steeds resting a short distance away. The horse cools off in the shade while the motorcycle is stuck out in the sun. Just something you don't see everyday.
Until recently I thought that Paul Dunbar and the Wrights were often mentioned together simply because they were Dayton celebrities at roughly the same time but there's more to it than that. Orville and Paul were high school classmates and all were friends. There were also business connections when the Wrights were in the printing business and Dunbar had things, including a weekly newspaper, that needed printing. I was able to watch the orientation film, tour the entire center, and check out the Wright Cycle Company Building next door. But I ran out of time before I could get to the nearby Paul Laurence Dunbar Memorial. It closes at 5:00 and that's when I pulled away from the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center. Next time.
In New Lebanon, this roadside marker is the only sign I'm aware of that even hints at the history of the road. My understanding is that the whereabouts of the milestone referenced by the sign are unknown but that some other turnpike markers are "preserved". When, if at all, those will be publicly displayed is unknown to me.
ADDENDUM: Nov 5, 2009 - In the spring of 2008, I found a Dayton-Western Turnpike marker in a museum operated by the Preble County Historical Society. I've linked to it elsewhere but, in rereading this section today, I realized that this was a natural place for a pointer to that picture so here 'tis. The full tale is here.
Fort St. Clair State Park is a little west of town and about a half mile off of US-35. In 1791 and '92, a fort was constructed here to support Anthony Wayne's Indian campaigns. Six soldiers, all Kentucky volunteers, were killed in a 1792 attack and are buried here. Remember that William Henry Harrison who was the first U.S. president to speak in Dayton? Helping build the fort here was one of his first assignments after joining the military.
Getting to the other side of the break is straight forward enough. Just drive there on something called Old National Road!! Once there, I could verify (No signs and no nursery stock.) what the map indicated - the break was for a railroad. Did new rails cut through an unused road or did a former crossing get obliterated when it was no longer needed? That's something to be sorted out some day, maybe.
