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The first Masonic Lodge in Dayton was founded in 1808, located in the first Montgomery County Courthouse. Various other locations were home to Masons in Dayton, but by World War I, rapid growth of the Masonic community called for the creation of a new Lodge building. Masons of the time, including civic and business leaders of Dayton, conceived the idea of a new Masonic Center located on the hill at Belmonte Park North and Riverview Avenue. Ground was broken and construction of the $2.5 million Masonic Temple began on July 20, 1925. Through contributions from the Masonic community, the tremendous task of raising a majority of the building cost, $1.5 million, was accomplished in merely ten days in 1924. It is doubtful that the Temple could be duplicated given the fact that the large quantities of marble and mahogany and cherry woods used in construction would be difficult to procure today.
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This eight-sided house reflects a widespread pre-Civil War architectural fad. Promoted by phrenologist Orson S. Fowler in his 1848 book A Home for All as a way to “bring comfortable homes within the reach of the poorer classes,” the octagon made efficient use of interior space and natural ventilation. More than thirty octagonal houses are known to have been built in Ohio, and at least twenty-five survive. This example was built circa 1854 and purchased by cabinetmaker Amirus Darrow in 1864. The exterior walls are constructed of chestnut beams between layers of concrete. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
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With a mission to protect citizens at home and aboard, the Ohio National Guard was originally established as the Northwest Territory Militia in Marietta on July 25, 1788, and has fought in every war since the War of 1812. Built in 1914, this Ohio National Guard Armory served both as Regimental and Company B, 7th Infantry, O.N.G. Headquarters. Later Company A, 166th Infantry, 37th Division, occupied the dual-purpose armory. The armory served Washington County as a departure point for soldiers leaving for service in World War I, World War II, and Korea. The armory also served the area in times of crisis and celebration, often used by the Red Cross, Marietta College, and other civic groups.
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Moriah Calvinistic Methodist Church was organized on November 23, 1835, in the home of Daniel Edwards, Brynele. Although Welsh settled Gallia County in 1818, they did not build a church until more families arrived during the 1830s Welsh tide of immigration into Gallia and Jackson counties. They named their new church Moriah, meaning “appearance of Jehovah” in the Bible. Joshua Parry built the original log church in 1836 in the northwest corner of Moriah Cemetery. This was enlarged the following year and Enoch Thomas built the present church in 1846. Moriah Church, centrally located in the growing Welsh settlements, was the first in what became a circuit of 12 Welsh Calvinistic Methodist churches. For this, Moriah Church is known as Ein Mam ni oll or “the Mother of Us All.” (Continued on other side)
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In 1749, the French in North America perceived a threat by British expansion west of the Allegheny Mountains to the Ohio River Valley and beyond. The French commander, Pierre Joseph Celeron, sieur de Blainville, with 250 men, left Montreal, New France, to establish French claims. They buried inscribed lead plates at the mouths of six important tributaries to the Ohio River. Three lead plates have been recovered, one was sent to England, and two are in American historical societies. The final plate was buried just west of here at the mouth of the Great Miami River, before the detachment turned north. However, after the British captured Montreal in 1760, French claims east of the Mississippi River were ceded to Britain by the 1793 Treaty of Paris. British Parliament annexed to Quebec (now Canada) and controlled all lands north of the Ohio River until 1776.(Continued on other side)
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The General at Union Station in Chattanooga, Tennessee (circa 1907). Born in Knoxville in 1840 and reared at a farm in New Somerset, William Pittenger mustered into the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under a 90-day enlistment, in 1861. He fought at the First Battle of Bull Run and was the war correspondent for the Steubenville Herald. After reenlisting, he participated in the ill-fated Andrews Raid of 1862. While attempting to disrupt enemy supply lines, the raiders stole the Confederate locomotive “The General.” After being chased north, they were captured. (Continued on other side)
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Bellefontaine was a railroad town from the 1890s to the 1950s. The city was the site of one of the largest roundhouses and repair centers on the Big Four/New York Central Lines and trains stopped here to have steam engines serviced and to switch crews. Up to ninety freight trains and over forty passenger trains came to Bellefontaine each day. The railroad was a major employer in Logan County. Over two hundred employees worked at the roundhouse and shops at any one time and many others were members of train crews. Bellefontaine’s importance as a railroad center waned in the 1960s with the increased use of diesel engines, newer technology, and other modes of transportation. Yet, the railroad and its workers left an indelible mark on the history of Bellefontaine.
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A group of concerned Cincinnati women organized, in 1855, The Protestant Home for the Friendless and Female Guardian Society as a private, not-for-profit maternity home for destitute women and children. These public minded social leaders were aware that Cincinnati had grown beyond the time when the poor or unfortunate were cared for by their neighbors. The Home, which was funded through bequests and personal donations, was founded to care for poor mothers and babies, unmarried pregnant women, wanderers and strangers in the city, and to promote adoptions. (Continued on other side)
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