Tucked into a corner of the horseshoe area formed by a bend in the Great Miami River, McPherson Town was founded on February, 1, 1845. On this date, an Irishman named Samuel McPherson filed a plat consisting of 34 swampy, wooded lots on both sides of Dayton and Covington Turnpike(Main Street). The center of this plat was located at the present day North Main St. and McPherson St.

At first no one rushed to settle north of the river. Dayton was still a striving community carved out of the wilderness and struggling to establish itself. Nor was there a direct access to the area. A bridge over the river at Main Street was just an idea. If one wanted to travel to the other side of the river he either waded across or took a ferry. Folk history illustrates the wilderness of the future town in the early part of the century. For many years, Henry Brown, who built the first brick house in Dayton in 1808, kept a cannon in his stable to celebrate special occasions.

The latter years of the 19th century were good ones for McPherson Town. In 1871 Henry Herman and E.W. Davies filed for a subdivision in the area west of Main and north of Riverview to Herman Ave.(Grand Ave.). McDaniel and Babbitt were the main streets in the new plat.

Attracted by the improvements of the new plat and the flood problems that had been eliminated following the placement of a protective levee, many of Dayton's middle class citizens moved to McPherson. The more affluent residents replaced many smaller original structures with larger homes in the latest Queen Anne an Eastlake styles.

McPherson Town and much of Dayton was devastated by the flood of 1897. Many homes were destroyed and badly damaged.

Then almost overnight the old neighborhood began to change. World War II created a new middle class. With their newl acquired affluence, Dayton citizens began their head-long flight to the suburbs, leaving an aging and declining inner-city.

Government officials responded with a bulldozer and obliterate urban renewal philosophy designed to change city living forever.

McPherson Town now faced a man-made disaster more serious that the flood. The area was slated for commercial development, highrise condominiums and an interstate highway. Property was purchased for speculative purposes, deteriorating while owners waited to sell out and get rich.

By the early 1970's, Phil Lehman, Tom Gabriel and others, recognized the unique historical significance of the neighborhood and began to renovate several old homes.

A move to obtain historic district status began. At first, City officials were reluctant, citing a lack of citizen participation. Finally in August, 1977 McPherson Town was declared Dayton's third historic neighborhood.

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