FInding ownership and financial data
When researching your or any historic home, generally, having the underlying address and ownership data is important. The Montgomery County Treasurer's office (www.mcrealestate.org) is a very important and useful tool to find parcel, sales, ownership, tax, and permit data. Please note that for older properties (pre-1900) the county will use 1900 as a default unless another date has been definitively determined.
If you are having difficult finding the address, particularly those on numbered streets, like W. Third St., you may want to search by parcel ID. You can find the parcel ID, which in the City of Dayton begins with "R72" by going to www.daytonohio.gov/streetlights or with a free account at www.landgrid.com if you know the location of the property on a map.
If you are having difficult finding the address, particularly those on numbered streets, like W. Third St., you may want to search by parcel ID. You can find the parcel ID, which in the City of Dayton begins with "R72" by going to www.daytonohio.gov/streetlights or with a free account at www.landgrid.com if you know the location of the property on a map.
Historical Maps
Historical maps can help determine what structures may have originally been on site, and when additions or alterations may have been made. Historical maps also allow tracking street name changes which can help in doing additional historical research.
If you know the name of a resident, you can also search census data for free on www.familysearch.org.
- Montgomery County Engineer's Office Historical Maps (1857-1895, 2000-2016): Link
- Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
- Williams' Dayton Directories
- The Dayton Metro Library Main Branch also has directories for every year from 1850-Current with address data starting in 1914.
If you know the name of a resident, you can also search census data for free on www.familysearch.org.
National register historic listings
Check out our Neighborhoods and Landmarks page for links to each of Dayton's National Register Historic Districts and Individual National Register Landmarks. You can also search directly in the national archives on the "Ohio Single Property Listings Finding Aid" here: Link
Preservation Dayton's Self guided walking tours 1994-2002
These walking tours will indicate the architectural and historical features of buildings in these historic districts. Maps and glossaries of architectural terms can be found at the back of each brochure. Become a member to unlock access to this page.