Daniel Cooper surveyed and platted an area east of Dayton as the city’s first suburb in 1815.
The area became known as the Oregon District when it started to develop in 1829, but why?
Longtime, wealthy residents at the time thought the upstart neighborhood was so far from downtown that those who decided to move there might as well have moved to Oregon, which was being settled by numerous pioneers.
The Oregon District became one of the city's wealthiest and most desirable neighborhoods in the 19th century with grand brick buildings designed in Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne styles.
A flood of the Miami River in 1913 started the decline of the area. The neighborhood further eroded throughout the 20th century.
Plans for a highway to cut through the neighborhood in the 1960s brought renewed attention and investment to the area. But by that time, the name "Oregon" was essentially forgotten until a photo of the Oregon Pumper Firehouse was found in 1972.
The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Presently, the area consists of 12 city blocks.
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