Hidden History of Dayton, Ohio

Beyond the Wright brothers and the cash register, Dayton’s rich history contains numerous astounding and overlooked people, events and places. One of the city’s founders was involved in a conspiracy ring led by none other than disgraced former vice president Aaron Burr. Seemingly innocuous warehouses in a west Dayton residential neighborhood served as laboratories for the triggering mechanism of the atomic bomb. An obscure door located on a hillside once led to National Cash Register’s secret underground tunnel system, and a curious stone wall along the Mad River served as an aqueduct abutment for the Miami-Erie Canal. Author Tony Kroeger unveils the historical features that give Dayton its character.