Brown Street near the University of Dayton is lined with restaurants, bars, and shops, but one structure dates back to a time when the area looked completely different.
The Patterson Homestead (also known as Rubicon Farm) was built in 1816, making it one of Dayton’s oldest houses.
At the time, however, this location was not in the city. Rather, it was the Patterson family farm belonging to Colonel Robert Patterson, a veteran of the Revolutionary War who also founded Lexington, Kentucky.
History of the Patterson Family in Dayton
Patterson came to Ohio in 1804 and settled in on land that came to be known as Rubicon Farm. The Patterson land once spanned over 2,000 acres but today the house and surrounding grounds are all that remains.
A log cabin predated the homestead, which would be occupied by a large family including wife Elizabeth and 11 children.
An account describes some of the activities the Pattersons engaged in on the homestead:
“Patterson raised hogs, sheep and cattle. He also had an apple orchard and grew corn, wheat rye, oats and tobacco — yes, tobacco! The colonel operated a gristmill and sawmill constructed by the former owner, Daniel C. Cooper.”
Architecturally, it’s regarded as the quintessential example of Federal style in Dayton, earning a profile in the city’s Blueprint for Rehabilitation handbook, which describes it as:
“a two-story brick structure with a low pitched gable roof, grouped chimneys and a two-story southeast corner porch. It features a symmetrical plan with long rectangular windows and a small entry portico on the north side. Surrounding the entry doors are multi-paned glass sidelights and transoms.”
The home was built in three phases, and the first only featured a single room on the ground floor and two bedrooms on the second. (In the image above, the original house is on the far right.)
A 1820 addition added a dining room, “farm office” and two more bedrooms. A third in 1850 tacked on an entryway, formal parlor, more bedrooms, and the third story (Historic Dayton Homes).
By this time Jefferson, Robert and Elizabeth’s youngest son who would inherit the farm, had 11 children of his own so more space was a necessity.
One of those children was John H. Patterson, who grew up in the home before launching the National Cash Register company and building its factory just a half a mile away on his family’s land.
Visiting the Patterson Homestead/Rubicon Farm Today
The home was donated to the City of Dayton in 1953 by Patterson descendants. More recently Dayton History acquired it from the city after already operating it as a museum for many years.
You can visit it today to see six period rooms that showcase Patterson family artifacts and antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries. The park-like grounds immediately surrounding the home feature mature trees and open green spaces, and just across Brown Street one can find the restaurants and shops.
More information on the details of visiting the Patterson Homestead can be found at the Dayton History website.
Modern photo by Greg Hume
Historic image courtesy of Dayton Metro Library
I appreciated the picture and information on the Patterson Homestead, which has always been a part of our family. We learned early in life the history of Dayton, the settlement of the Pattersons’, the growth of the city, the first church, and school, the businesses formed by the Col. and his friend Henry Brown who had served with him for years….( Henry Brown was an early settler, had an Indian trading post along the Miami river.around 1798/99 ) In time he married “Kitty”, a Patterson daughter, and lived in the first brick house, he built in 1808 . .. My Father Richard Brown was the 11th ,and last child, of Henry and “Nettie”. I am now the oldest, and last Great Great Granddaughter of “Kitty” and Henry. I am 94 years old… I hope the history and stories will be kept ‘alive’ so to speak, for many years to come….
Are Kitty and Nettie the same person?