Dayton Facts
Fact 1: Up, Up and Away! Aviation has a central place in the history of Dayton. In fact, the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park includes the field where Dayton natives Orville and Wilbur Wright first practiced flying.
Fact 2: The Wild Blue Yonder ... The United States Air Force Museum is an internationally recognized attraction and explains the Story of Flight. It is the largest and oldest military museum in the world.
Fact 3: The National African-American Museum and Cultural Center is just south of Dayton. It is one of the largest African-American museums in the country and is housed on the original site of Wilberforce University where African-American students were educated beginning in 1856.
Fact 4: Dayton, with a population of 180,000, exudes small town hospitality, yet offers an excellent variety of dining, nightlife and entertainment venues.
Fact 5: Family ties, they really bind! Despite the fact that Hawthorn Hill, a pillared-Georgian style home, isn't open to the public, it's worth a drive by. The Wright brothers and their sister, Katherine, built this house. It was built after the trio made a pact never to marry. Wilbur died prior to the completion, Orville lived here until his death and Katherine eventually married.
Fact 6: The Wright Cycle Company, a National Historic Landmark, is where the famous brothers founded a printing press, started their bicycle shop and began their "hobby" of aviation. The plane that the brothers took to Kitty Hawk, NC, was built in Dayton.
Fact 7: Dayton was home to the African-American poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar. The Dunbar House State Memorial is the first African-American home listed as a National Historic Landmark and honors the poet. A guided tour is offered of the home where he lived with his mother, a former Kentucky slave.
Fact 8: When Nature Calls ... The Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm is a 358-acre sanctuary full of trails, prairies, deep woods, pastures, streams and ponds. The park serves as an education center for the National Audubon Society.
Fact 9: For those who prefer the outdoors, check out the SunWatch Indian Village. Emergency excavation in the 1970's at this prehistoric site revealed a village built by the Fort Ancients. A quarter-mile trail is the perfect route for a self-guided tour.
Fact 10: If you're an art lover, the Dayton Art Institute is a must! It is visitor friendly and houses a collection of some 12,000 works. The artworks, including some pieces by Monet, Warhol and O'Keeffe, are hung in chronological order within each individual art period.
