A View of the Past- Carriage Hill Metropark

View of the Bank Barn Carriage Hill farm.

The park system in Dayton continues to amaze me. It's not just the diversity but the loving manner in which each park is cared for and maintained. Carriage Hill was our latest find and we spent a lovely afternoon exploring the farm. This is a historical, working farm with a view of how life was lived in the 1880's.

The visitors center is the best place to start and pick up a map of the farm. After being warmly and enthusiastically greeted we were directed to view the exhibits including pictures and antiques from the Daniel Arnold family that built the farm. The Arnold family came to Ohio from Virginia in 1830. The large brick house was completed in 1836. I couldn't help but imagine children running around, aroma's of food wafting from windows, and the sounds of chores being attended to. I'm a bit of a romantic. There are quite a few buildings; blacksmith shop, buggy shed, engine shed/wood house, ice house, smokehouse, the summer kitchen, outdoor bake oven, hen house, 3 large barns, 2 houses, and the original log house. There are vegetable and herb gardens, fields of sorghum right now and of course animals. Draft horses, goats, Merino sheep, Plymouth Rock chickens, mules, a sleepy porch cat and very friendly pigs.

Pigs...too hot to get up but they greeted us as we approached.


We ventured out on a trail that cut through the fields just before the buggy shed. Over a bridge and around the sorghum fields where a sign directs you first to the old equipment graveyard. Rusting hulks of abandoned farm equipment that look rather like sculpture now. Then another ways up the hill is the walled, family cemetery. Surrounded in limestone slabs the parents stones face the children, a sad reminder that children didn't always make it to adulthood back then. The Arnold's lost 5 of their 9 children. We kept walking and came to the Joseph Arnold home and barn which is situated next to a pond.

Back at the Bank barn there was corn and tobacco hanging to dry in the back. Underneath the barn you can walk through the animal stall areas and tack storage. There are shoots to help get the corn and feed from the top of the barn to the animals . low. The walls are so thick down here that you can see how on a hot summers day it was cool and in the winter it must be equally as warm and comfortable. The barn was built in 1878.

On this day there were two young volunteers working in the blacksmith shop and we were impressed by their dedication and skill to be working over a fire in heavy clothing on a very hot day. Special note all the volunteers were knowledgeable, friendly and welcoming. Make sure to visit the general store downstairs  in the visitors center. There is a penny candy counter that was quite popular. We couldn't resist to pick up some old favorites like malt balls and maple nut bites. There are all sorts of events and classes going on around the year so check out their web page for dates. And again all of this is free!

Down the road is Cedar Lake for fishing, five miles of hiking trails, a riding center and camping facilities.