Past Topics

Far Hills Speaker Series, a partnership between Wright Library and Oakwood Historical Society

Far Hills Speaker Series: Topic Archive

Looking for information about a past FHSS event you attended years ago, or a local history topic that intrigues you? This list provides links to webpages about past events. Many of the event pages included topic summaries, presenter names, and suggested reading. 

To dig deeper on any of these topics, please reach out to Wright Library's reference librarians or the Oakwood Historical Society. 

Videos of recorded events can also be found on YouTube.

YouTube logo Far Hills Speaker Series YouTube Playlist

2025 Topics

  • The Mound Builders in Ohio - When settlers arrived in the Dayton area, they were impressed to find large, mysterious earthworks in the shapes of mounds, enclosures and animal effigies built by ancient indigenous people. Presented by Mark Risley. (2025 February 16)
  • Old Chillicothe and Great Council State Park - Oldtown near Xenia, Ohio, is on the former site of the Shawnee settlement called Old Chillicothe. Led by Chief Blackfish, this capital of the Shawnee people was the largest settlement in Ohio with a population of 1,000 in the late1770s. Old Chillicothe's council house is believed to have been located on a high ridge visible in the site today. In 1780, the site was abandoned when George Rogers Clark came out of Kentucky to raid Oldtown; the Shawnee set fire to the site and fled ahead of the attack. Today, the site is home to the Great Council State Park and Interpretive Center, which honors the history of the Shawnee people in our area and gives present-day Shawnee a place to share their current and ancestral stories. Presented by Ryan Dimisa. (2025 March 16)

  • Dayton’s Great Jazz Musicians - Step back to the sweet sounds of jive with many of the great jazz musicians who were born or raised in Dayton, Ohio. Featured musicians include composer Billy Strayhorn, trumpeters Snooky Young and Tim Hagans, guitarist John Scofield, trombonist Booty Wood, singers Ada Lee and Little Miss Cornshucks, saxophonist Bud Shank, tubist/bassist Gene Mayl, and banjoist Dave Greer. Presented by Jimmy Leach (2025 April 6)

2024 Topics

2023 Topics

 

2022 Topics

 

2021 Topics

  • Chocolate and Esther Price - The iconic gold foil box with the red ribbon is well known in the Dayton region, but how and where did Esther Price’s candy make its start? Presented by Jim Revelos, Quality Manager for Esther Price Candies. (2021 )
  • The Little Man Who Wasn’t There: In Search of Al Fouts - Join Dayton attorney and author, David Greer, to learn about Al Fouts. Described in a Dayton Daily News article as “a little man who cast a deep shadow in downtown Dayton,” Fouts was a leader of the criminal underworld. (2021 )
  • The Dean, Dillinger and Dayton Ohio: Legend – Lore – Legacy - Author Stephen C. Grismer will introduce gangsters and mobsters with Greater Dayton connections. (2021 )
  • Dayton Beer: A History of Brewing in the Miami Valley - Author Timothy R. Gaffney will talk about the history of beer brewing in the Miami Valley. (2021 )
  • History, Mystery, Mayhem & Murder - Angie Hoschouer is the Manager of Development and Marketing at Woodland Cemetery, Arboretum and Foundation will share stories on the darker side of life in Dayton's past. (2021 )
  • Oakwood's First Residents - Bill Kennedy is the Regional Coordinator for the Eastern Region of the Ohio History Connection.  As an archaeologist, Bill is also a specialist in pre-contact native peoples of Ohio and will discuss the early native settlers that once lived in the Oakwood region. (2021 )

 

Other Topics: Oakwood & Dayton History

Inside Fifth and Ludlow: Creating a Podcast about Local History - A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Fifth and Ludlow by George Drake, Jr. - a podcast story of 1920s Dayton inspired by a mysterious letter found beneath a bathtub.

The Forgotten: Hidden Heroes - Johnnie Freeman, author of The Forgotten: Hidden Heroes (Dayton 1913 Flood), uncovers overlooked heroes of Dayton's past.

The Oakwood Street Railway - The 125th anniversary of the Oakwood Street Railway conversion from horse to electric on May 16, 1895 is the centerpiece of this interesting exploration of the history of transportation in Oakwood.

Grand Eccentrics: When Dayton Was America's Silicon Valley - Author Mark Bernstein discusses the various towering figures of Dayton history covered in his book.

The Day Lincoln Spoke in Dayton​ - Abraham Lincoln's visit to Dayton in 1859, portrayed by Jim Crabtree as Lincoln. 

Jack Egan, Dayton Lawyer - A Short History of Dayton's Dark Side from 1899 to 1936 - Prominent defense attorney for a bewildering assortment of bank robbers, bootleggers, hit men, con men, and gangsters from 1900 until his death in 1936, presented by David Greer, Esq.

Railway Transportation and the Rise of the South Dayton Suburbs - How the earliest suburban plats to the south of Dayton developed under the influence of steam and electric-powered railways. Presented by David Schmidt.

Street Names of Dayton - The men and women whose streets bear their name and how they contributed to the history of Dayton. Presented by Angie Hoschouer.

The Classic Architecture of Oakwood - Oakwood's well-preserved homes and public buildings representing the best of 20th century architecture in America. Presented by Mark W. Risley (2018)

Dayton Code Breakers - Top-secret Navy project during WWII to build a decoding machine in NCR Building 26. The success of the WAVES and Joseph Desch are covered in this remarkable story. Presented by Jim Charters. (2018)

Polonium in the Playhouse - An intriguing story of secret chemical production for the atomic bomb. The Talbot Family's "Runnymede Playhouse" in Oakwood served as a top-secret laboratory where the triggering mechanisms for the atomic bombs were developed. Presented by Linda Carrick Thomas, author of Polonium in the Playhouse. (2018)

The Russian Spy in the Dayton Manhattan Project - George Koval - American-born spy who gave secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Presented by Dr. Don Sullenger, who worked at Mound Laboratories from July 1962 until August 1992. (2018)