River Mile: 468

Population: 5,666

U.S. Census Profile

Sitting at a bend in the Ohio River, the town of Dayton was incorporated in 1867 with the merger of the adjacent towns of Jamestown and Brooklyn. A big sandbar just offshore played a major role in the area’s history as the site of “Rogers’ Defeat.”

In 1779, George Rogers Clark’s cousin David Rogers and about 70 men camped on the sandbar as they headed upriver in keelboats toward Fort Pitt. A large force of Native Americans attacked, killing most of the men in the expedition, including Rogers. A major business starting in the early 1800s was a ferryboat carrying commuters to Cincinnati, including workers at the Fulton Steamboat Co. The steamboat era was the apex of industrialization in Dayton, with various mills, rope makers and other businesses. The sandbar known as Dayton Bar or Sandy Hook made Dayton popular with tourists, supporting resort hotels around the turn of the 20th century. The bar and beaches became known then as Manhattan Bathing Beach, and was popular until Ohio River dams raised water levels. Rising water in the form of floods in 1884, 1913 and, especially 1937 devastated the town and sent many businesses packing for higher ground. A floodwall was finally completed in 1981. The town is currently working on downtown revitalization and the creation of a historic district.