3 things you might not notice about Dayton's national monument

The home standing at 1120 U.S. Route 42 East in Wilberforce is the only national monument in the Dayton area, the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument.

It was the home of Col. Charles Young, the third African-American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He later settled in Wilberforce, purchased the home that it's believed was part of the Underground Railroad and continued his notable life.

There are several things that you might not notice about the house but are important about the monument.

1. The trap door. A door in the floor is believed to have been the hatch used to hide escaped slaves in the basement.

2. The California boulder. The boulder on the site was quarried from Sequoia National Park in California, where Young was the first African-American superintendent of a national park.

3. The patriotic knocker. The front door knocker is believed to have been used when visitors knocked on Col. Charles Young's home in Wilberforce.

To arrange a tour of the home, call 937-503-5614.

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Lisa Powell