Edgemont & Carillon

irst known as “Patterson” or “Brownton” after its founding by John Patterson Brown in 1853, the area was later renamed “Edgemont” by residents who wanted a more suitable name for the rapidly growing suburb. The location of St. Elizabeth Hospital, founded in 1878 by the Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis, as well as numerous factories within the neighborhood, soon attracted a large number of people to Edgemont. By 1909, the neighborhood had grown to cover a large area to the south of Germantown Street and west of the Great Miami River.

By the early twentieth century, Edgemont had become home to a diverse population which included large numbers of Germans, as well as some Italians and African-Americans. Throughout the twenties and thirties, the number of blacks remained small. The flood of workers who poured into Dayton during World War II, however, included large number of African-Americans, who came seeking jobs in Dayton’s booming defense industries. By the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, changing residential opportunities made it possible for African-Americans to purchase homes in the wider Edgemont neighborhood. The black population continued to grow throughout the 1950’s. By 1960, the neighborhood had become predominantly African-American.

As one of the first areas offering home ownership to the black community after the migration of the 1940’s, Edgemont is seen by many as the mother of the African-American community. Known for its neighborhood activism and “get involved” attitude, it has produced many of the area’s leaders, including State Senator Rhine McLin and City Commissioner Dean Lovelace.


Originally part of the Edgemont neighborhood, Carillon assumed a separate identity after the construction of I-75 divided Edgemont in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Much of the area of present-day Carillon remained undeveloped until a large tract of homes was built just west of the Stewart Street Bridge over the Great Miami River in the 1940’s. First occupied by whites, the subdivision became the home of many African-Americans in the 1950’s, many of whom came from rental environments to first time home ownership. It was, as one resident said, “an opportunity to own their own home” at a time when housing in Dayton was at a premium generally and limited for African-Americans particularly.

In 1958, just after many African-Americans had invested in homes in the neighborhood, residents learned of plans for the construction of I-75. To deal with the issue of the unwanted roadway, residents formed the Carillon Civic Council. The Council, and other neighborhood organizations, continue to work to enhance the quality of life in Carillon.


Points of Interest in Edgemont
and Carillon

ST. JAMES CATHOLIC CHURCH was built in 1919 to serve a mostly German congregation, but it was to become a part of a larger story of African-American Catholicism in the Dayton community. Also built in this period was St. John’s Catholic Church on Hartford Street in Edgemont. With the heavy influx of African-Americans into the area, many of whom migrated from the southern states, St. John’s took on a new mission. In 1928, the operation of St. John’s was turned over to the Holy Ghost Fathers, whose work in the United States focused on African-American and immigrant communities. St. John’s became Dayton’s only African-American parish, ministering to a black population of over 17,000 and offering a quality parochial education to the city’s African-American youth.

In the 1960’s, St. John’s was demolished for interstate construction, coinciding with diocesan plans to integrate Dayton parishes. The Holy Ghost Fathers then moved to St. James Church and School at 719 Edgemont Avenue. St. James continued to be a strong community presence, encouraging self-empowerment through leadership and achievement and teaching parishioners to take pride in African-American Catholic tradition.

WELCOME STADIUM AND PARK, 1601 South Edwin C. Moses Boulevard. Between 1945 and 1947, the Miami Conservancy District and other interests acquired over 100 acres of land on the west side of the Great Miami River for use as a civic recreational park. The construction of a high school stadium was the first step in the development of a long range plan drawn up by a team of nationally recognized landscape architects. The stadium was completed in 1949, only nine months after the fund drive was launched and seven months after ground was broken. It was later renamed “Welcome Stadium” after P. B. Welcome, Director of Athletics for Dayton Public Schools. It is now jointly owned by the University of Dayton and the City of Dayton.

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON ARENA, 801 South Edwin C. Moses Boulevard, was built in 1968—1969 at a cost of 4.5 million dollars. Owned and operated by the University of Dayton, the facility seats 13,500.

MT. OLIVE BAPTIST CHURCH was established in 1903. The site at 502 Pontiac Avenue was purchased in 1913, and the first building was constructed shortly thereafter. The present building was erected in 1954.

STANDARD REGISTER COMPANY, 600 Albany Street, was established in 1912 as a manufacturer of printed forms and business systems. Under the leadership of J. Q. and W. C. Sherman, the firm rapidly expanded, prompting the move to a new facility in the industrial suburb of Edgemont in 1917.

WHITTIER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, 7212 Miami Chapel Road, was built in 1916—1917. It was designed by noted Dayton architects, Albert Pretzinger and Edward Musselman.

EDGEMONT SOLAR GARDEN, 1199 Wildwood Avenue, began in 1984 as part of the Edgemont Neighborhood Coalition’s efforts to redevelop the area’s vacant land and assist low-income residents. The several greenhouses which make up the complex are used to grow vegetables and flowers for commercial use and to provide food for neighborhood residents. The project is operated by volunteers and employees, and offers employment opportunities to seniors and youth. The project has been a great success, and has received worldwide acclaim.

OLD GREENCASTLE CEMETARY, Broadway and Miami Chapel Road. Perhaps Dayton’s oldest cemetery, it contains headstones dating to 1839. Its name comes from the “Greencastle circuit,” the circuit of the United Brethren church to which the church located on the east side of the cemetery originally belonged.

QUALITY CHEMICALS, INC, 1515 Nicholas Road, began as the Thomas & Hochwalt Laboratories. In 1936, Monsanto purchased the lab and established a centralized research unit. In 1969, the facility became one of three lab sites under Monsanto Research Corporation that were chartered for government contract research. In 1992, the plant was acquired by Quality Chemicals, Inc.


BACK TO TOP