Travel: The city of many firsts
Teja Lele
Entrepreneur James Ritty was on a steamboat trip to Europe in 1878 when inspiration struck. Could the mechanism that counted the revolutions of the ship’s propeller be used to register cash transactions at his salon in Dayton, Ohio, he wondered. James and his brother, John, hit paydirt with their third prototype, and the first mechanical cash register was patented in 1879.
In the early 1900s, Orville and Wilbur Wright built the Wright Flyer and conducted improvements and flights at Huffman Field, a cow pasture 8 miles northeast of Dayton. The aviation pioneers built, and flew, the world’s first successful aeroplane.
A few years down the line, in the 1910s, two farm boys decided to figure out a way to start a car without having to kneel in the mud and turn a heavy crank by hand. Edward Deeds and Charles Kettering ended up creating the car self-starter.
What’s common between all three? Dayton, Ohio.
Located 54 miles northeast of Cincinnati, Dayton seems to be a rather underwhelming city, especially when compared to tourist hotspots across the United States. But this little city seems to have been the forerunner to today’s Silicon Valley.
The ‘Gem City’, founded in 1796 after a peace treaty with the Shawnee Indians, was laid out by a group of Revolutionary War veterans, including Jonathan Dayton from New Jersey, after whom it was named.
Dayton soon earned a name as the hub for innovations and inventions. And, there were so many of them. The aeroplane, the cash register, and the car self-starter, yes, but also many more — the ice-cube tray, the pop-top can, refrigerants. air-conditioning, magnetic strip technology for credit cards, barcode scanners and scratch-and-sniff stickers. The list goes on: electric wheel chair, batteries used on satellites, the parachute, hydraulic jump, stealth technology for aircraft and a code-breaking machine during World War II.
By the turn of the 20th century, Dayton had more patents per capita than any city in the US. Scientists and technicians routinely made their way here, while one-sixth of all corporate executives were reported to have been here for some part of their careers.
Dayton was to the past what Silicon Valley is to the present: a hotbed of ideas and innovations. And, naturally, the city of many firsts. It was home to Paul Laurence Dunbar, the first internationally-acclaimed African- American poet, and the site of the National Football League’s inaugural game. As the town transformed into an industrialised economy in the 1940s, it became the site of the Dayton Project, a branch of the larger Manhattan Project, tasked with developing polonium triggers used in early atomic bombs.
The city’s suburbs saw huge growth due to population migration between the 1940s and the 1970s. Since the 1980s, however, Dayton’s population has declined because of the decentralisation of metropolitan areas and the loss of manufacturing jobs. But from the 2000s, Downtown’s expansion has helped revive the city.
There’s plenty to see here, beginning with the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, which commemorates three important historical figures — Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar — and their work.
What else? Explore Carillon Historical Park, a 65-acre open-air museum where 30 historic buildings and exhibits showcase the city’s industrial and transportation heritage; visit Paul Laurence Dunbar House, the birthplace of the famous African-American poet; and head to Dayton Art Institute, a museum with a diverse collection of art from around the world.
Since Dayton is best known for its aviation connection, it’s impossible not to explore the Dayton Aviation Trail, a self-guided tour that takes you to more than a dozen sites related to aviation history — from the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop, their experimental flying field, and their homestead.
The John W Berry Sr Wright Brothers National Museum displays more Wright artefacts than any other place in the world. The exhibits include the 1905 Wright Flyer III, the only airplane designated a National Historic Landmark.
The National Museum of the US Air Force, established in 1923, began life as a small engineering study collection. Today, it’s the world’s largest military aviation museum, with more than 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles, thousands of artefacts, and spans 20 indoor acres with additional outdoor air and memorial parks that grow every year.
When it’s time to fuel up, make a pitstop at Hot Head Burritos, a Mexican-style fast food chain that’s also a Dayton native. Founded in 2007, the chain, which offers burritos, bowls, tacos, nachos and quesadillas, has now grown to 70 locations in seven states.
Head to the Woodland Cemetery, which was established in 1841. A place of remembrance and refuge, it is also renowned for its Romanesque architecture, 17 fine Tiffany windows, frescoes and stained glass windows. Like Dayton, it offers peace and quietude in the midst of a busy, buzzing world.
