Public Transportation in Dayton Ohio from 1870 to 2007
Harvey I. Hylton, P.E. August 10, 2007
Dayton Ohio, has a rich history of public transportation, which has its origins in an 1870 horse-drawn streetcar
line that ran East-West across Third Street. The western terminus was at Western Avenue (now McGee) and the other
end of rail was near Findlay Street in East Dayton. The proprietors of the Dayton Street Rail Road were both
men of means, each having extensive undeveloped real estate at each end of the line. The main purpose
of this new transportation wonder was to encourage the sale of residential lots for new homebuilders. It
was an immediate success, and made fortunes for Huffman (East side) and Williams (West side).
Read the rest of the history? Click here.
Dayton Transit History in Photographs
Here are over 100 of my favorite photographs, illustrating the history of public transportation in Dayton,
dating from 1870 through the present day. Included are horse and mule-powered cars, electric street cars,
a few motor buses, and of course, lots of electric trolley buses (ETBs).
If you would prefer to have the pictures shown as a slide show, click here.
