Five Rivers MetroParks Heritage and History

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Five Rivers MetroParks Heritage and History

The more than 16,000 acres of land your Five Rivers MetroParks stewards has a rich and diverse histor

The preservation and interpretation of the Miami Valley's natural heritage is at the core of our mission. But telling the story of these special places wouldn’t be complete without weaving in the cultural history that helped shape them—from Native Americans to pioneer settlements and from agricultural development to the growth of cities and suburbs. When we protect our lands, we also protect impor

tant remnants of our journey. Your MetroParks contain a rich diversity of historical assets as unique as our parks themselves. When planning a trip to a MetroPark, add some educational aspects to your hike or bike ride by touring these historical features.

05/31/2026

It was a beautiful weekend for plowing at Carriage Hill Historic Farm and MetroPark.

05/28/2026

Just a reminder that the plowing demonstration that was cancelled last weekend will be going on this Saturday from 10-3pm. Stop out and watch as the draft horses help us turn the soil so we can plant our market garden. Try your hand at plowing as we do this seasonal farm chore.

05/27/2026

If you read yesterday's diary entry you may have noticed that Henry was working in the "truck patch". We still do have a truck patch at Carriage Hill, on its original location. A truck patch was basically a "market garden". Market gardening was done in the 1880s if a farmer only had a small plot of land and was located close to a large urban center. A living could be made off of raising produce in large amounts and selling it at market. Typical crops that you find being raised were pole beans, potatoes, turnips, pumpkins and squash.

05/26/2026

Its Tuesday. That means it Arnold Family Diary day! Today we will be looking at Henry Arnold's diary from 1886. This is just one of the many family diaries that we use to document programming and material culture at Carriage Hill Farm.

Monday, May 24, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
79 Changable I & Emma went to the Grove & helped to clean up things after the communion. In the afternoon we done our washing. After supper I took br. Jacob Detrick to Osborne to go home
to Logan county.

Tuesday, May 25, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
60 Fair I worked in the truck patches, and done some chores.

Wednesday, May 26, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
72 Fair I had a Surveyor here from Dayton, Frank Turner, and Surveyed 44 acres off of my farm for James & Lizzie,

Thursday, May 27, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
70 Fair I & Emma went to Dayton in the forenoon & in the afternoon I mowed the yard & went to postoffice.

Friday, May 28, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
72 Fair I, Maggie & Grandmother went to Logan county, Emma took us to New Carlisle Station, was met at Bellfontaine by Jac. Detrick, took us to his house for dinner. In the evening went to P.J. Detrick's & stayed over night.

Saturday, May 29, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
80 Changable Went to the Communion at the meeting house near Swank's. Went back to P. J. Detricks for lodging.

Sunday, May 30, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
85 Fair Went back to the morning meeting. When meeting was over at 9.30 I went to the Conservative meeting at the old meeting house. then went to John Swank's, stayed over night.

05/25/2026

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was established to honor Union soldiers who died in the Civil War, with the first widespread observance on May 30, 1868. Proclaimed by Gen. John A. Logan, it was meant to decorate graves with flowers. It became a federal holiday in 1971, observed on the last Monday in May to honor all American military personnel who died in service.

05/24/2026

Lots of rain on the weekend walkabout at Carriage Hill Historic Farm and MetroPark. Chores, broom making, some rope making, a quilt class at the Visitors Center, and some quiet time on the porch listening to the rain on the metal roof.

05/22/2026

The Plowing demonstration for tomorrow has been rescheduled due to rain. The event will be rescheduled for Saturday, May 30 starting at 10am. Come out and watch the draft horses plow our market garden and lend a hand.

Edit: the location for the plowing demonstration is at Carriage Hill Historic Farm and MetroPark, 7840 E Shull Road, Huber Heights, Ohio.

05/21/2026

Come join us on Saturday for a pop-up demonstration as we plow our "truck patch" using the horses. A truck patch was a large garden where produce was raised to take to market to sell. Demonstration starts at 10am. Come out and try your hand at plowing with horses as we finish this spring chore.

*Due to rain and wet conditions this demonstration has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 30th at 10am.

05/20/2026

The garden at Carriage Hill has been planted for the season and is ready to go. One item to think about planting this year are pole beans. Pole Bean varieties are easy to grow. Trellising keeps them off the ground and away from pests and also makes for easy harvesting. At the same time, bean varieties can be eaten green or allowed to dry for soup beans. This makes for a great, nutritious yet economical meal.

05/19/2026

Good morning. It's Tuesday and time for another week of Henry Arnold's diary from 1886. The Arnold's were the family who lived at Carriage Hill from the 1830s to 1910s. We currently have over 46 family diaries and account books that help guide us on how the historic farm is recreated.

Monday, May 17, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
67 Fair I worked in the garden in the forenoon & in the afternoon I mowed the yard & went to P. Powel's smith shop in Sulphur Grove.

Tuesday, May 18, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
72 Fair I helped Emma do the washing, In the afternoon I & Emma went to the Grove to assist in cleaning up for the communion.

Wednesday, May 19, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
78 Changable I helped Henry plant corn, I drove the team.

Thursday, May 20, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
82 Fair I went to Dayton to get fish & groceries In the afternoon put a new knife in the lawn mower.

Friday, May 21, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
84 Fair I done some chores, mowed the yard & took the things to the meeting house for the communion.

Saturday, May 22, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
80 Fair We all went to the Grove to the communion. Bro. Samuel & wife, bro. Henry Garber & wife, bro. Geo. Miller & wife & Oscar Landis & wife came home with us to stay over night.

Sunday, May 23, 1886; Henry H. Arnold
81 Changable We all went back to the Grove to meeting returned home at one oclock. Grandmother Frantz of Clarke co. & Jacob Detrick came home with us.

Address

409 E. Monument Avenue, Third Floor
Dayton, OH
45402

Website

http://www.metroparks.org/Parks/CarriageHill/Home.aspx

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