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A−History
History · Dayton

Dayton dates to 1867, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #34 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 14 buildings. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1870.

1867founded
4on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Dayton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Dayton began

When was Dayton founded?

1867

Dayton dates its founding to 1867 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 1,749 in 18702020 census: 5,666159 years

How historic is Dayton?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1849.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dayton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dayton is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #34 of 142 in Kentucky. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dayton’s overall grade.
Founding era1867, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194047.5% of homes (±7.1) · typical KY town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register4 listings, 17 historic buildings, 29.6 per 10,000 residents · typical KY town 29.9 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Kentucky towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 77%

Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dayton’s 29.6 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). Two sources give 1867.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Dayton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18986 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1983. Watch Dayton change.A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1942.Boom and bustPeaked at 9,071 in 1930; 5,666 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Dayton’s homes were built before 1943.
★ What stands out · On the map

Dayton on the map, 1898 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dayton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Dayton on the 1898 USGS mapDayton on the 1914 USGS mapDayton on the 1952 USGS mapDayton on the 1961 USGS mapDayton on the 1970 USGS mapDayton on the 1983 USGS map1898East Cincinnati sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dayton.

By decade

Dayton, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1940s17 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Campbell County - Dayton - ED 19-48 - ED 19-5618801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Ca…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY) - Campbell County - Dayton - ED 19-53 to 6518801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky (KY)…Edward Samuel Goodnow advertisement for Goodnow Studio in Dayton, Kentucky in 1919 in Cartoons Magazine1919Edward Samuel Goodnow advertisement for Goodnow Studi…Bank of Dayton (84325)c. 1930Bank of Dayton (84325)Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Little giants. Tiny fuse baffles, vital to victory, are produced for the Pic…1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Little gia…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Volume for victory. His skill in the making of luxury items is an asset for …1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Volume for…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Sighting one of the "guns" of production. A diemaker in a converted Kentucky…1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Sighting o…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Keeping the chips flying. An automatic screw machine that was turning watch …1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Keeping th…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Milad's compact goes to war as a compass case. When operators at a Kentucky …1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Milad's co…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Another skilled worker "enlists" for the duration. When the Kentucky watch c…1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Another sk…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Skill and experience back the production drive. A die maker in a converted K…1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Skill and …Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Compacts out, war production in. One of the last batches of luxury items is …1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Compacts o…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. His hair is white, but his eye is keen. Fifty years of precision work for a …1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. His hair i…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. His hair is white, but his eye is keen. Fifty years of precision work for a …1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. His hair i…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Luxury production gives way to war Production. Preparing the last batch of l…1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Luxury pro…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. They'll be doing war work soon. When the last batch of ladies' compacts is c…1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. They'll be…Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Clearing away for war production. The last batch of watch case backs will so…1942Conversion. Watch cases to war production. Clearing a…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
People over time

Dayton, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,071

Peaked at 9,071 in 1930; 5,666 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dayton’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Dayton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dayton.

Read it all →

Dayton had a ferry crossing, established in this area by the early 19th century, at the foot of what is now Dayton Pike.

Two separate cities, Jamestown and Brooklyn, separately incorporated in 1848 and 1849 respectively, were merged and reincorporated in 1867 under the name Dayton in honor of the Ohio town.

Jamestown was incorporated March 1, 1848. According to the state charter, the founding fathers were James Berry, James McArthur and Henry Walker. Berry was a nephew of James Taylor, Jr., founder of Newport, Kentucky.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dayton, 1836 to 1942

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836Born hereAlbert Berry is born here
  3. 1849Post officeThe Brooklyn post office opens
  4. 1856Post officeThe Brooklyn post office closes
  5. 1867
    FoundingDayton is established
  6. 1868Post officeThe Dayton post office opens
  7. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Campbell County - Dayton - ED 19-48 - …
  8. 1896Post officeThe Dayton post office closes
  9. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1899Born hereRobert Agnew is born here
  11. 20th century
  12. 1912Born hereJoseph Vernon Shea is born here
  13. 1919In the archiveEdward Samuel Goodnow advertisement for Goodnow Studio in Dayton, Kentucky in 1919 in Car…
  14. 1927Born hereBob DeMoss is born here
  15. 1930In the archiveBank of Dayton (84325)
  16. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 9,071
  17. 1942In the archiveConversion. Watch cases to war production. Little giants. Tiny fuse baffles, vital to vic…
Every building

Dayton, building by building, 1886

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Dayton fire insurance map, 1886, sheet 11886Sheet 1 of 4
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Campbell County - Dayton - ED 19-48 - ED 19-56
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Campbell County - Dayton - ED 19-48 - ED 19-56, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Dayton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 17 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
17
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Dayton High School
Dayton High SchoolDoyle Country ClubDayton City HallTerrace Gardens
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Collegiate Tudor Revival1
Italianate1
Dayton High SchoolCollegiate Tudor Revival
Doyle Country ClubDistrict
All 4 listings
Dayton City HallBuilding · listed 2022Terrace GardensBuilding · listed 2023

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Dayton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Robert AgnewAmerican actor · b. 1899
Albert BerryKentucky US Representative · b. 1836
Joseph Vernon SheaAmerican author · b. 1912
Bob DeMossAmerican football player and coach · b. 1927
Lee TannehillAmerican baseball player · b. 1880
A
Albert Baird HastingsAmerican biochemist and physiologist · b. 1895
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Dayton had its own post office from 1868 to 1896. Another post office, Brooklyn, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Brooklyn
1849–1856
Dayton
1868–1896
18401930today
Gone or out of use
Dayton Railroad StationlocaleRiverview Drive-InlocaleTacoma Parkpark

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Dayton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fort Thomas6 historic placesB+Bellevue9 historic placesA

Questions about Dayton’s history

What year was Dayton founded?

In 1867, according to Wikidata. Dayton’s post office opened in 1849, and the census of 1870 counted 1,749 people here.

How does Dayton rank for history?

Dayton is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #34 of 142 in Kentucky. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Dayton?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Dayton High School (listed 1985, the first), and 1 historic district, the Doyle Country Club, with 14 contributing buildings. 17 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Dayton?

48% of Dayton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1943.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (13), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.