PRESERVATION DAYTON, INC

researching your historic house

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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, 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. 
​
  • Montgomery County Engineer's Office Historical Maps (1857-1895, 2000-2016): Link
  • Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
    • 1887: Link
    • 1897/1898:
      • West Side: Link
      • East Side: Link
    • 1918: Link (with Dayton Metro Library Card)
  • 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.

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Copyright © 2025 | Photography courtesy of Andy Snow and Alex Duncan
  • Home
  • Our Story
    • About PDI
    • History
    • Contact
    • Preservation Awards >
      • Lifetime Achievement Awards
      • 2024 Awards
      • 2023 Awards
      • 2022 Awards
  • Join Us!
    • Memberships
    • Donate
    • ★ Volunteer >
      • ★ Committees
      • ★ Florence Cemetery
  • Explore
    • Neighborhoods and Landmarks
    • Self-Guided Neighborhood Tours >
      • Dayton View Historic DIstrict
      • Five Oaks Historic Districts >
        • Grafton-Rockwood-Wroe Historic District
        • Kenilworth Historic District
        • Squirrel-Forest Historic District
      • Grafton Hill Historic DIstrict
      • Huffman Historic District
      • McPherson Town Historic District
      • Oregon Historic District
      • South Park Historic District
      • St. Anne's Hill Historic District
      • Paul Laurence Dunbar Historic District
      • West Third Street Historic District
      • Wright-Dunbar Village Historic District
    • Guided Downtown Dayton Walking Tours
    • Local Restoration Projects
    • Historic Cemeteries >
      • Inactive Cemeteries >
        • ★ Florence Cemetery
        • Fort McKinley Cemetery
        • Old Greencastle Cemetery
      • Calvary Cemetery
      • Dayton National Cemetery
      • Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton
      • Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum
  • Endangered Properties
    • Dayton's Most Endangered >
      • Dayton Daily News Building
      • John R. Reynolds Mansion
      • Leopold Rauh House
      • Michael Neil House
      • Ohmer Garage
      • Santa Clara Business District
      • Van Deman Apartments
    • Lost Properties >
      • Edward T. Snediker House
      • First Church of Christ Scientist
      • Gem City Ice Cream Building
      • Louis Traxler Mansion
    • Saved Properties >
      • South Park Methodist Church
      • Thomas E. Tucker House
  • Events
    • Self-Guided Neighborhood Walking Tours
  • Resources
    • Member Only Content >
      • Archived Walking Tours
      • Contractor Directory
    • Start Here!
    • Tips & Tricks (Videos)
    • Home Repair Assistance
    • Years in Review
    • Documents