Many of the most prominent Daytonians of the 19th century, from pioneer settlers to the founders of some of Dayton’s most important businesses, were clustered in one particular area just west of the central business district at that time.
The neighborhood centered on West First Street was one the most luxurious residential areas in the city, which I’ve written about as “Dayton’s Lost Park Avenue.”
In this article I’ll take a closer look at a few of these famous Dayton families and what happened to their historic residences.
Horatio Gates Phillips and the Phillips Homestead
We’ll start at the SW corner of First and Ludlow, with this beautiful historic home built by Horatio Gates Phillips in 1846. It was also known as the J. D. Phillips Home who was his son.
Horatio Gates Phillips was a Dayton pioneer who moved west from New Jersey in 1803 to seek a new home. He met Daniel Cooper, a fellow New Jerseyan who is widely considered to be the founder of Dayton, in Cincinnati, and decided to move to Dayton the following year in 1804…