Banks and Dayton has 15 na tional and State banks, including two savings and trust companies with deposits aggregating $36,000,000. Bank clearings in 1917 were $177, 134,087.65. During the year 129 corporations were chartered under Ohio laws adding to Day ton capital $15,881,750 net. The city has IS building and loan associations with total de-: posits of $38,000,000 This is one • of the strongest features of Dayton life. Through these agencies approximately 30 per cent of the' residents of Dayton own their homes.
There are 32 public schools; with total enrolment of 21,300, including adult, night classes. There are three• high schools, a' normal training school and special schools, largely in the nature of classes for defectives, cripples and sub-normal children. One high school, Parker, is for freshmen only. Slivers Manual Training• High School is said to be one of the most complete in the country. Manual training centres are maintained in eight schools.;. home economic centres in nine schools while sewing is taught in all high schools and in they seventh and eighth grades in all elementary schools. There are three night school centres..
Catholic churches have 15 parochial schools with enrolment in excess of 7,000. There is. also one Lutheran parochial school. Saint Mary's College, maintained by the Brothers of Mary, has an enrolment of 600 students and fine laboratory equipment. The United Brethren, Church has a theological seminary here, Bone brake, and the Reformed Church. Ohio synod, maintains its theological school in this city,. Central Seminary.
Dayton has 130 churches, a magnificent Y. M. C. A. and 'Young Women's Chnstian As-, sociation and Young Women's League. Its charity and social welfare agencies are co-ordi nated through the federation for charity and philanthropy.
There is considerable civic, philanthropic social welfare activity in Dayton and 40 organi zations at this time are engaged exclusively in war work. Co-relating war, social welfare, com
mercial and civic efforts, is the Greater Dayton Association, made up of 2,000 Dayton men and women and engaged in a multiplicity of com munity services.
Public had the first li brary incorporated in the State, one having been established in 1805. The public library was opened in 1855 and is supported by public taxa tion, having an income of $18,000 per annum. The total number of volumes recorded 1' Jan. 1918, was 100,000. There are.four daily news papers, besides 25 church and other publications.. There are also two large church publication Hospitals.-- The city hospitals include the Saint Elizabeth Hospital, the Miami Valley Hospital, and the District Tuberculosis Hospi tal. The Dayton State Hospital for the insane is maintained by the State. The Hospital of the National Military Home which adjoins the city is the largest military hospital in the world and has an average of 600 patients, all of whom are veteran volunteer soldiers of the Civil and Cuban wars. There are several private hos pitals.
History.— The town was laid out in No vember 1795 by Gen. Israel Ludlow and was named after Gen. Jonathan Dayton. The first settlers arrived in the spring of 1796. Situated in the Miami Valley, one of the most fertile valleys in the United States, producing for many years great crops of corn, wheat, tobacco and numerous cattle, sheep and horses and with abundant water power to develop its industries, Dayton has grown to be the third largest manu facturing city in the State. From Dayton (c. 1900-06) the Wright brothers (q.v.) developed aviation. With its industries so diversified, its banks and building associations so strong and uniformly successful and with its people so well educated, it is one of the richest and most prosperous communities in the Union. Pop. (1900) 85,333; (1910) 116,577; (1918, estimated) 151,000.