Page 156 - History of UB Church in Hburg Region
P. 156
History of U.B. Churches in Harrisonburg-Staunton Region December 26, 2024
a two-story, frame schoolhouse on a hill overlooking the town, on land donated by Hiram Coffman. The
town increased taxes to add to the public school in 1900. Fourteen years later, Dayton built a large,
brick, Colonial Revival School building on the same lot. One of the first schools of this type in the
county, the Dayton school symbolized the town’s drive for local improvements.
Dayton has continued to prosper throughout the 20th century, as evidenced by the post-1949
development to the west of the older village west of Summit Street. By 1960, its population had
increased to 930 residents. However, town businesses have changed over the century, with Shenandoah
Press becoming a smaller commercial printing company and with Shenandoah College moving from its
campus. However, Dayton has retained certain aspects of its character, particularly in religion and in
agriculture. Dayton still maintains a large Brethren and Mennonite community both in and around the
town. The fertile farmland is now largely populated by a sizeable Old-Order Mennonite community
which with their horse-and-buggy transportation depends on Dayton as a commercial center.
While dairy farming has remained important in this area, Dayton has become increasingly
recognized as a center for poultry farming in the county as well as the state. As early as 1884, Samuel
Blosser developed and built Virginia’s first incubator in Dayton, and he soon established a large
hatchery, with the first large incubating machine in the country. In 1948, Mid-Valley Hatchery opened
on Main Street. As the demand for prepared and dressed chickens increased in the 20th century, the
Spencer family built a poultry-processing plant along the railroad, and this remains one of the largest in
the county.
Yet, despite the continued business within the town, the downtown and older neighborhoods
have not changed drastically. Two fires in 1903 and 1911 destroyed portions of Main and College
streets, near the triangle, but local residents rebuilt fairly quickly. When VA Route 42 was improved to
a four-lane road through Dayton, it was rerouted into a bypass on the east side, between Dingledine
Lane and the railroad, thus preserving the downtown from further development. Although some
buildings have been torn down in the proposed district in this century, the majority of local citizens
show considerable interest in the history of their community and appear eager to preserve its special
character.—AMcC.
Architectural Analysis (pp. 2, 5-11). Main and College streets comprise the heart of the old
village of Dayton, and have remained the commercial hub of the town to this day. The earliest
settlement along Main Street occurred along the northern stretch, to Thompson Street to Cooks Creek.
Older houses remain scattered throughout these blocks, including the frame Layman House and a string
of three brick houses, the Samuel Shrum House, the Thomas House, and W. J. Franklin House.
However, commercial structures replaced many of the older houses between 1880 and 1940. Two fires
destroyed several of the older buildings near the Triangle, the intersection of Main and College streets,
in 1903 and 1911; but local residents rebuilt soon afterwards. The Bank of Dayton build a stylish new
2½-story brick building at the Triangle in 1911, and although the mansard roof and some of the exterior
decoration has been removed, this large building still symbolizes the commercial activity on Main
Street. Two industrial buildings, the Specialty Harness Factory and Mid-Valley Hatchery; a few smaller
shops; two 1920s gas stations; and a combined modern bank and post office building round out the
commercial district.
College Street, the oldest of the two original streets, has retained a more residential character,
dotted with college-related buildings as the name suggests. A few commercial structures remain along
the block off Main Street, at the Triangle—the Ruebush-Kieffer Printing Company and the Dayton Drug
Company, both fine brick buildings constructed soon after the 1903 fire. However, the tree-lined streets,
with iron or wooden fences lining the sidewalks and encircling the house yards, suggest an established
residential neighborhood. As one of the older streets, College Street boasts several antebellum houses,
II.B.14 Dayton U.B. Church and SCI 142
a two-story, frame schoolhouse on a hill overlooking the town, on land donated by Hiram Coffman. The
town increased taxes to add to the public school in 1900. Fourteen years later, Dayton built a large,
brick, Colonial Revival School building on the same lot. One of the first schools of this type in the
county, the Dayton school symbolized the town’s drive for local improvements.
Dayton has continued to prosper throughout the 20th century, as evidenced by the post-1949
development to the west of the older village west of Summit Street. By 1960, its population had
increased to 930 residents. However, town businesses have changed over the century, with Shenandoah
Press becoming a smaller commercial printing company and with Shenandoah College moving from its
campus. However, Dayton has retained certain aspects of its character, particularly in religion and in
agriculture. Dayton still maintains a large Brethren and Mennonite community both in and around the
town. The fertile farmland is now largely populated by a sizeable Old-Order Mennonite community
which with their horse-and-buggy transportation depends on Dayton as a commercial center.
While dairy farming has remained important in this area, Dayton has become increasingly
recognized as a center for poultry farming in the county as well as the state. As early as 1884, Samuel
Blosser developed and built Virginia’s first incubator in Dayton, and he soon established a large
hatchery, with the first large incubating machine in the country. In 1948, Mid-Valley Hatchery opened
on Main Street. As the demand for prepared and dressed chickens increased in the 20th century, the
Spencer family built a poultry-processing plant along the railroad, and this remains one of the largest in
the county.
Yet, despite the continued business within the town, the downtown and older neighborhoods
have not changed drastically. Two fires in 1903 and 1911 destroyed portions of Main and College
streets, near the triangle, but local residents rebuilt fairly quickly. When VA Route 42 was improved to
a four-lane road through Dayton, it was rerouted into a bypass on the east side, between Dingledine
Lane and the railroad, thus preserving the downtown from further development. Although some
buildings have been torn down in the proposed district in this century, the majority of local citizens
show considerable interest in the history of their community and appear eager to preserve its special
character.—AMcC.
Architectural Analysis (pp. 2, 5-11). Main and College streets comprise the heart of the old
village of Dayton, and have remained the commercial hub of the town to this day. The earliest
settlement along Main Street occurred along the northern stretch, to Thompson Street to Cooks Creek.
Older houses remain scattered throughout these blocks, including the frame Layman House and a string
of three brick houses, the Samuel Shrum House, the Thomas House, and W. J. Franklin House.
However, commercial structures replaced many of the older houses between 1880 and 1940. Two fires
destroyed several of the older buildings near the Triangle, the intersection of Main and College streets,
in 1903 and 1911; but local residents rebuilt soon afterwards. The Bank of Dayton build a stylish new
2½-story brick building at the Triangle in 1911, and although the mansard roof and some of the exterior
decoration has been removed, this large building still symbolizes the commercial activity on Main
Street. Two industrial buildings, the Specialty Harness Factory and Mid-Valley Hatchery; a few smaller
shops; two 1920s gas stations; and a combined modern bank and post office building round out the
commercial district.
College Street, the oldest of the two original streets, has retained a more residential character,
dotted with college-related buildings as the name suggests. A few commercial structures remain along
the block off Main Street, at the Triangle—the Ruebush-Kieffer Printing Company and the Dayton Drug
Company, both fine brick buildings constructed soon after the 1903 fire. However, the tree-lined streets,
with iron or wooden fences lining the sidewalks and encircling the house yards, suggest an established
residential neighborhood. As one of the older streets, College Street boasts several antebellum houses,
II.B.14 Dayton U.B. Church and SCI 142
