Dayton on Tour Saturday

DAYTON – One of Dayton's favorite events – Dayton on Tour – will take place Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents and visitors are invited to bring the whole family and participate in this free event, sponsored by the Dayton Chamber of Commerce and the Dayton Historical Depot Society.

This year's free activities include an Art Crawl, kids' fall festival, museum tours, wagon rides, artist demonstrations and horse drawn wagon rides. Tickets for the historic home tour, featuring four exceptional Dayton residences, may be purchased for $15.

Art Crawl

Twelve downtown venues will display the work of local artists as part of this year's Art Crawl. Several of those locations will host live artist demonstrations (and it's rumored that one may be serving ice cream). Participants may pick up a map at any location marked with a neon green Art Crawl sign.

Dayton on Tour Committee Chair Lael Loyd said the Art Crawl will be slightly different than in years past, with the venues being split into two different maps. Each map will feature six venues. As participants visit each business, they can get their map marked, to be entered to win one of three art-related prizes, upon completion.

"We don't want people to feel stressed and rushed. We want them to be able to take time to enjoy the art and the artists. We felt like trying to hit twelve venues might be too much for some," she said. Loyd was also pleased to share that this year's featured artists are all local.

Dayton's Historic Depot will retain its current quilt display, "Patterns of Love and Memory, Part 2" in the depot's upstairs gallery. Depot manager Tamara Fritze said the quilts are all on loan from community members. Artist demonstrations and live music will also take place in the depot courtyard.

Kid's Fall Festival

A family friendly fall festival will take place on N. First Street near Main Street. Activities will include face painting, "air" bobbing for apples, pumpkin art, horse-drawn wagon rides and more. Kiwanis will serve sausage dogs. All food and activities are free.

Museum Tours

Four Dayton museums, as well as the Columbia County Courthouse, will be open for free tours.

The Columbia County Courthouse (341 E. Main), built in 1887, is the oldest working courthouse in the state. In 1984 a large-scale restoration began, with the goal of returning the building to its nineteenth-century splendor. The restoration was completed in 1993 and the previously removed cupola was returned to the building's roof.

The Boldman House Museum (410 North First St.) was built in 1880 and remains today as it was in 1912. Gladys Boldman, the last resident to live in the home, willed it to the Dayton Historical Depot Society to be restored and used as a community resource and educational showplace. Paintings by Artist Steve Henderson will also be on display in the museum. Henderson painted his daughter, in period costume, in different rooms of the home.

The Dayton Historic Depot (222 E. Commercial), built in 1881, is the oldest surviving train depot in the state. It has been fully restored and functions as a museum and features rotating displays in the upstairs gallery.

The Palus Artifact Museum (426 E. Main St.) offers a collection of locally found artifacts from the Palouse Indian tribe, which spent their winters near Palouse Falls and their summers hunting game and collecting roots and berries in Dayton and the nearby Blue Mountains.

The Smith Hollow School (113 N. Front Street), which closed its doors to students in 1933, was moved to its current location, to become a museum, in 2013. The main room recreates the school is it was in the 1930's and the addition features rotating exhibits showcasing the region's history.

Historic Homes Tour

This year's tour will take place from 1-4 p.m. and features four large homes from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The homes showcase excellence in historic preservation and restoration and creative modern interpretation of diverse architectural styles. Tickets may be purchased at the Depot for $15.

The Minnie and Harry Moe House is a log structure built in 1906, which borrows from the Craftsman style in its wide front porch, low pitched roof, and single eyebrow dormer. However, the log construction and the interior are reminiscent of the western lodge architectural style. The home features high ceilings and extensive woodwork.

The Peabody Home was constructed circa 1900 by a former owner of the Dayton Chronicle. Tudor beams and stucco form part of the house with saddle-notched log portions for the rest. The home is surrounded by large fir trees planted by the first owners and has a recent log addition that blends beautifully with the historic portion of the home.

The Peabody Cottage, built in 1930, has a gable roof, stucco with cross timbering and a shed dormer. The eight-paned casement windows add to the English Revival style. The attached garage was seen as very modern at the time.

The Rainwater House is a Queen Anne Victorian in the apsidal shape. Painted in the classic multi-colored palate of the Victorian era, the colors highlight the lovely Victorian features. This home is one of the earliest structures in Dayton that is still standing and was built circa 1879.