TOWN OF Dayton

History

The Town of Dayton was formed from Perrysburg on February 7, 1835. It is located in the western border of Cattaraugus County, and is the second town from the north. East of it lies the town of Persia and south, the town of Leon. Its surface is a rolling and hilly upland, the highest elevations being 300 feet above the R.R at Dayton Station. Conewango Creek is the major stream. Lumbering was an important industry to the town, with pine, hemlock, maple and beech being the major trees found. As the land was forested and improved, the dairy industry grew to in importance.

Dayton on the N.Y. & E. R. R., in the northeast corner of the town contained 13 dwellings in 1860. West Dayton, in the northwest corner contained a church, 2 sawmills, and 14 dwellings.

Sociality is a hamlet in the southeast part of the town. The first settlement was made by Silas Nash, and Simeon Bunce, from Otsego county, in 1810.

It is generally believed that the Rev Elnathan Finch, a Baptist missionary, held the first religious meeting in town in 1816, at the house of Caleb Webb, at West Dayton. It does not appear that any society was organized in consequence, immediately or in the years following. It seems that the settlements were too sparse to maintain a church organization, and no effort was made in this direction by the Baptists. But in the fall of 1818 a class of four Methodists was formed, and met for worship at the house of Caleb Webb. The members were Webb and his wife; Daniel and Clarinda Brand. The meetings were led by a Mr. Whipple, living at Kents Mills; and occasional preaching was supplied by Revs. Dennis Goddard and Samuel R. Brockway. Soon the class was augmented by members from the Webb, Darbee and Prosser families, and shortly after a log meeting house was built on the lad of Daniel Prosser, in Southwestern Perrysburg, which was used until 1845.

From this class was formed The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Dayton, or what is now known as the Cottage Methodist Episcopal Church. The incorporation was effected Oct 31, 1835, as a meeting over which Daniel Prosser and John H. Blish presided. The trustees elected were Giles Johnson, William Howlet, and John B. Reed. The membership of the church at this time was about sixty, under the pastoral direction of the Revs. W. S. Warallo and T.H. Cummings. They were preachers in charge of a circuit, which embraced appointments in Dayton, Perrysburg, and other towns.

A church edifice was erected the following year, 1846, at West Dayton, which was replaced by the present structure in 1872. It is very attractive place of worship with a capacity to seat 300 persons, and cost to build $2500. A parsonage and two acres of ground were secured for the Dayton circuit about twenty years ago at West Dayton. This property is valued at $1500, and is occupied by the preacher in charge of the circuit, which embraces other appointments in the town of Dayton. Others who have served Dayton circuit have been the Revs. WW Warner, Peter Burroughts, T.G. McCrary, WHH Snowden, W. H. Hover, J. H. Whalon, T. P. Warner and L. A. Chapin. The names of the ministry previously connected with the church can be found in the history of the Methodist Church of Perrysburg.

Early settlers included: Joshua Webb, in 1815, from Madison County, on Lot 56; Lehman H. Pitcher, on Lot 58, in 1816; Ralph Johnson, on Lot 301, from Connecticut; Heman and Anson Merrill, from Onondaga County, in 1815 on Lots 30 and 31; and Timothy Shaw, from Herkimer County in 1818.

The first child, Aras, was born to Silas Nash in 1811; and the first marriage was that of Benjamin Parsell and Mary Redfield, in March, 1818. The first death was that of DeWitt Nash, a son of Silas Nash, in Feb. 1812. In 1827 the first inn was opened by Caleb Webb, in West Dayton; and the first store by William H Leland, in 1833 in Wesley. A sawmill was built by Silas Nash in 1817, in West Dayton.

The Public Schools

In 1835 the Commissioners of Common Schools, James Cadwell, Russell Brown, and W. B. Smith, reported four whole and five fractional districts in town, in which an Aggregate off forty-three months of school had been taught, in terms of from three to seven months in each district. The number of children taught was three hundred and sixty-five, and the money apportioned to the town by the county was $121.15.

There are at present nine school districts, owning buildings and lots valued at $3600. Teachers wages were $2246.35; the apportionment from the county was $1170.68, and the amount raised by taxation $1222.39. The number of children of school age was reported as four hundred eighty five and the average daily attendance a little more than two hundred and seven.

In most districts good schoolhouses have been provided and the reputation of the schools will bear comparison with those of other towns.

District No 2 is the owner of a fine grove near Dayton village, which is locally known as "Educational Grove." It contains about five acres of well-drained ground, covered by a magnificent growth of maple trees. It is a favorite place for picnics and public out door gatherings. It was and is the purpose of the purchasers to have the school buildings erected on these grounds the present year, 1879.