St. Anne's Hill Historic Society

The area now known as St. Anne's Hill was originally part of the City of Dayton's "out-lots" first plotted in 1815. The name "St. Anne's Hill" appears as early as the 1830s in newspaper advertisements promoting products for a greenhouse/nursery in the area. Unfortunately no explanation on the origin of the name has been discovered.

Early on, the neighborhood became home to several prominent businessmen, like Swiss immigrant and botanist, Eugene Dutoit, who erected the area's first residence, a farm and mansion, just north of Fifth Street in 1838. This beautifully restored home, one of the oldest residential structures in the city of Dayton, still stands at 222 S. Dutoit Street.

Another early resident of St. Anne's during the 19th century was William Bomberger, a German immigrant and Dayton businessman, who built his estate across 5th avenue from Dutoit. It was demolished in 1908 to make way for the Romanesque Revival style Bomberger Park which became Ohio's first public recreation center. It is still in use today.

Throughout the late 19th century, housing need substantially increased with the influx of immigrants primarily of German origin. These working-class homes were constructed to serve the demands of the ever-increasing immigrant population coming to serve Dayton's industries and the domestic needs of the large estate homes on "the Hill". The homes also reflected improvement in the social and economic stature of some parts of the neighborhood during those years. In the waning decades of the 19th century, as German tradesman and workers experienced financial successes, the homes they built became increasingly architecturally detailed, ornate, and more costly.

St. Anne's Hill flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and soon developed numerous civic institutions required for its growing numbers of families, including churches, clubs, societies and schools. Stivers High School, built in 1914, became Ohio's first vocational high school.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II a decade later, St. Anne's became densely populated and many of the prominent homes were divided into rental units. Properties suffered from over-use during the post-war housing shortage. In the late 1950s and 1960s suburban flight began as increasing numbers of residents flocked to the suburbs. Growing absentee landlord rates left many residents without the resources or motivation for property maintenance.

By the 1970s, St. Anne's Hill had lost many architecturally significant structures and this roused the attention of some long-term residents. A small group of neighborhood preservationists soon formed and petitioned the city for a local historic designation for the neighborhood. St. Anne's Hill, the eleven square block neighborhood in southeast Dayton, became the city's second designated historic district in 1974.

Shortly thereafter the St Anne's Hill Historic Society was formed and has since functioned as one of Dayton's strongest and most active historical societies. It has as one of its constitutional purposes to "unite" those who live in St. Anne's Hill "in the preservation, restoration and improvement" of the neighborhood. Since the mid-1970s it has continued to make revitalization its number one priority.

The SAHHS's work paid off in 1986 when St. Anne's Hill was entered into the National Register of Historic Places. Today, restored homes line shady streets and exhibit some of the finest vernacular architecture and flower gardens in the city of Dayton. Since the mid-1970s, the St. Anne's Hill Historic Society has sponsored and developed many community events, including Christmas, home and garden tours and monthly and seasonal social events such as Porch, Patio, and Deck parties, Fourth of July celebrations and Oktoberfest at the Liederkranz German Club.

In addition it also holds neighborhood meetings monthly to share information on issues with its members. Improvements in the district continue non-stop, making St. Anne's Hill and its historic society a shining example of urban renewal and historic preservation.

From the guide to the St. Anne's Hill Historic Society Papers, 1858-2011, 1970-1989, (Wright State University, Special Collections and Archives)