Heritage Center of Dayton Manufacturing & Entrepreneurship

By the turn of the 20th century, Dayton had more patents per capita than any other U.S. city, and one in six of the nation’s corporate executives had spent part of their career at the legendary National Cash Register Co. Beginning in the mid-1800s, Dayton rose as a hub of manufacturing and entrepreneurship. Companies such as NCR, the Barney & Smith Car Company, McCall’s Publishing, DELCO, the Wright Company, and the Huffy Corporation set the city apart as a center of innovation and forward thinking.

Carillon Historical Park’s Heritage Center of Dayton Manufacturing & Entrepreneurship highlights the region’s legacy of innovation, industry, and invention. The exhibit centers on five influential figures: John H. Patterson, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles F. Kettering, and Col. Edward A. Deeds.

Situated in the heart of the country, Dayton embodies the spirit of America’s Gilded Age and its enduring entrepreneurial drive. The Heritage Center spans more than 150 years of history — from the 1840s through the nuclear age — tracing Dayton’s rise from the Industrial Revolution to its role as a major manufacturing hub. Through the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Gilded and Progressive Eras, both World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Cold War, Dayton remained a center of innovation and industry.

NATIONAL CASH REGISTER

Step into history in the NCR Cash Register Room. Invented by Daytonian James Ritty and perfected by John H. Patterson’s National Cash Register Company, these machines helped establish Dayton as a center of innovation. Interactive displays throughout the exhibit share fascinating facts about each register.

BUILD FOR TOMORROW
4-D ANIMATRONIC THEATER

Experience Dayton’s incredible story in an entirely new way at the Build for Tomorrow Theater. This immersive 4-D show features an animatronic cast of five pioneering Daytonians — John H. Patterson, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles F. Kettering, and Col. Edward A. Deeds — who reveal how Dayton’s groundbreaking past continues to shape the present and inspire the future.

THE CAROUSEL OF DAYTON INNOVATION

Experience the excitement of history on the Carousel of Dayton Innovation! For just $1, take a ride through Dayton’s rich heritage—choose from seats like a pop can, an IAMS dog food bag, a DH-4 airplane, a cash register, and more.

ORIGINAL DEEDS BARN

Between 1908 and 1912, a team of young engineers led by Edward A. Deeds and Charles F. Kettering developed the modern electric ignition, starter, and lighting systems for automobiles. Known as the Barn Gang, they later founded the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO). Today, the original Deeds Barn features artifacts from their work and an animatronic Charles F. Kettering on the second floor.

SOAP DERBY CAR

The Soap Box Derby began in Dayton in 1933, inspired by Dayton Daily News photographer Myron Scott after he saw children building and racing homemade cars.

The first impromptu race organized by Myron Scott was such a success that she arranged a second event on August 19, 1933, drawing hundreds of children with their homemade cars. Recognizing its potential, Scott secured Chevrolet as a sponsor, and the first All-American Soap Box Derby was held one year later, on August 19, 1934. Robert Turner of Muncie, Indiana, won the inaugural race.

DAYTON-MADE POP TOP

Ermal Fraze invented the pop-top can after forgetting his opener on a picnic and resorting to using his car bumper to open a beer. Convinced there had to be a better way, he patented the pop-top design. First introduced on Iron City Beer cans in the early 1960s, it quickly revolutionized the industry — within a few years, 75% of beer cans featured Fraze’s invention.