By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
The population was 5,666 at the 2020 census – but Dayton, Kentucky Mayor Ben Baker and City Administration Jay Fossett had just as many stories and highlights of the city located in the northernmost part of Campbell County, at the Covington Rotary luncheon this week at the Radisson Hotel.
“Dayton has a total area of 1.9 square miles of which 1.3 square miles is land and 33.6 percent is water,” second-term Mayor Baker told the assembled group. “Dayton is located within Kentucky’s Outer Bluegrass region in the Upper South.”
And for those who thought the only Dayton was north – in Ohio – Fossett made sure to explain that the Kentucky “Little Sister” is bordered by Bellevue to the southwest and Fort Thomas to the southeast.
Jay Fossett and Mayor Ben Baker of Dayton. (Photo by Andy Furman/NKyTribune)
“To the north,” he added, “Across the Ohio River, is Cincinnati. The closest bridge across the Ohio is the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge on Interstate 471, connecting Newport with Cincinnati.”
Now that you know where Dayton, Kentucky is, well why would you go there?
“From the 1930s to the 1950s,” Fosset said, “The population of Dayton reached its zenith, with around 9,000 residents living in the river community. In fact,” he continued, “During this time, a number of large industries, including the Wadsworth Watch Case Co. Harvard Piano and a number of coal companies provided employment and a strong tax base for the community.”
The original Sixth Street Elementary School was given to the city in 1932 because a larger school was needed. The old school building was remodeled into firemen’s quarters and city offices and a new firehouse was built next door.
The buildings are still used for those purposes today.
Of course, the Ohio River has long been an important part of Dayton’s economic vitality over the years, both Fossett and Mayor Baker addressed. But it also has been the source of economic strife for the city as well.
Floods devastated the city in 1884, 1913 and 1937 and destroyed 45 city blocks and damaged 450 homes according to published reports.
These floods, especially the Great Flood of 1937, caused many of the companies operating in the once-booming city to move elsewhere.
During the 1950s and 1960s, many residents – weary of the constant flooding and part of a more widespread movement of urban flight to the suburbs – moved out of Dayton as well, records show.
Fossett mentioned that the frequently flooded homes near the Ohio River were razed in the late 1970s so the Army Corps of Engineers could construct a flood-levee system that now protects the city. The levee system, he says, was completed in late 1982, and an industrial park was constructed in the mid-to-late 1980s and 1990s to replace the razed homes on the east side of the city.
And rather than sink under water – Dayton, Kentucky seemingly rose from its own ashes.
In 2009, the City of Dayton entered into a development agreement with David Imboden, owner of DFCI Proprieties-DKY, LLC, to develop 140 acres of city-owned property along the river as a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District.
Dayton — a river city on the move. (File photo)
Imboden later joined forced with Mark Stark, owner of Nelson Stark Construction, to continue development of this property under the name of Manhattan Harbour Project, LLC.
Manhattan Harbour started in 2015 with the construction of luxury single-family homes on the river, which were featured in the Northern Kentucky Homefest that same year, — the annual showcase of new homes by the Northern Kentucky Homebuilders Association.
In 2020, Arlington Properties developed Tapestry on the River at Manhattan Harbour, a 263-unmit luxury apartment complex in four, four-story controlled-access buildings, with elevators and air-conditioned interior hallways. In 2021, Arlington Properties sold this complex to CF Riverview Multifamily DST, which changed the name Manhattan on the River.
Today, the city of Dayton is known for its homes — both historic and new – as well as its beautiful views of the Ohio River and Cincinnati skyline, its successful school, district, and its recent residential and business growth, and a growing historic district.
And let’s not forget Dayton High School – built in 1924, the school was once home to one of the most talented basketball coaches in history – John Wooden.
Jay Fossett and Mayor Ben Baker managed to prove a point – Bigger isn’t necessarily better.
At least when it comes to their little niche – Dayton, Kentucky.
