This post will focus on Colonel E.A. Deeds in a sporadic and incomplete way. I’ve read much about the man and his achievements. *I highly recommend browsing jdong’s flickr set from his visit to Moraine Farm in Dayton last year.
He formed the Barn Gang [which was the precursor to the Engineers Club] at his Moraine Farm estate [which had the first private airstrip in the United States].
Deeds’ home, today owned by the NCR Corporation, was called Moraine Farm and was the first home in the United States to have a private airstrip. The home also includes an observatory that houses a 7′ refractor telescope. Deeds died at Moraine Farm in 1960 and is buried at Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio.
In 1912, NCR company was found guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Deeds and 27 other NCR executives and managers were convicted for illegal anti-competitive sales practices and were sentenced to one year of imprisonment. Their convictions were unpopular with the public due to their efforts to help those affected by the Dayton, Ohio floods of 1913, but efforts to have them pardoned by President Woodrow Wilson were unsuccessful. However, their convictions were overturned on appeal in 1915 on the grounds that important defense evidence should have been admitted.
Deeds helped rebuild Dayton after the 1913 flood and was instrumental in forming the Miami Conservancy District.
Deeds also was in charge of military aircraft procurement at McCook Field which later became Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
He also had the historic, walking village idea for Carillon Park to complement Deeds Carillon and tell Dayton’s impressive history. Below is his bust at Carillon Park:
Preservation Dayton describes him in this way:
Engineer and longtime NCR executive who hired Charles Kettering to electrify the cash register. In their spare time, they began tinkering out of Deeds’ garage with William Chryst, another NCR employee on ideas to make a fortune in the auto industry. Went on to create a long list of automobile and engineering inventions and to head Dayton’s DELCO (Dayton Engineering laboratories Co.) operations with Kettering. DELCO later became part of General Motors. Deeds contributed to the rebuilding of Dayton and formation of the Miami Conservancy District after the flood of 1913, and took the job of military aircraft procurement at McCook Field in 1917, precursor to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, although located much at the present site of Kettering Field. He took over NCR in 1931 from John H. Patterson’s son Frederick, trying to restore stockholder confidence during the depression. Moraine Farm, an historic property now owned by NCR was once his sprawling estate. The Carillon Tower in Carillon Park is was funded by his wife and named after him. The historical elements of the park were the brainchild of Deeds himself.
When Deeds died in 1960, newspapers all over the world reported it including the New York Times.
This 1932 Time article “Deeds & The Cash” details Deeds’ 205-ft. yacht The Lotosland which was the first private yacht to house a pipe organ and seaplane tender.
| Model of the “Lotosland,” the First Civilian Ship to Carry an Amphibian
Airplane, Carillon Park, ca. 1970 |
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Filed under: Dayton History , Colonel Edward Andrew Deeds, Dayton History, Dayton inventions, Famous Daytonians, NCR, Preservation Dayton
There are yachts and then there is the Lotosland. I don’t ever think I’ve seen a yacht that big.
Deeds was a key player in the development of Pratt & Whitney, into a big company and a key feature of the Hartford, Connecticut business community. I wasn’t aware he was a leader of National City Bank, which was one of the major NYC banks. I do know Deeds also kept an estate in Connecticut in addition to Moraine Farm.
A true captain of industry.
Indeed. Where did you learn of his involvement with Pratt & Whitney?
He also nearly doubled the size of his alma mater (Denison).
[...] 8, 2009 by Seth I just wrote about Col. Deeds [here] and just found this post by Bill at Dayton MostMetro [...]
The Pratt & Whitney connection came from a book entitled “The Rise of the Gunbelt” (a pun on “Sunbelt”), about the economic geography of defense spending, focusing on aerospace.
There is quite a bit in it about the early days of aerospace manufacturing and base locations. Dayton was discussed in a subsection of the book.
I’ve not read that one yet; I’ll have to track that down. Gracias.
[...] Moraine Farm on the market for $8 million 2009 August 13 tags: Moraine Farm, NCR by FTLODadmin See some pics of it at my post about Col. E. A. Deeds. [...]
I am looking for information about Col. Deeds interest in Skeet shooting in Dayton. It appears he was associated with the Dayton Polo Club and then later the Miami Valley Skeet Club. I am seeking information regarding the Col E.A.Deeds Cup–awarded annually from 1952 to 1993 to the areas top skeet shooter.
My dad spoke of Col Deeds and I am interested in our genealogical connection. Do you have any of that type of information?
What a positive site – and very well presented.
I am reading past posts and I’m looking forward to more.
Here is a minor edit for you. “Deeds also was in charge of military aircraft procurement at McCook Field which later became Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.”
Many people assume that McCook Field was renamed Wright – Patterson, but that is not actually correct.
McCook Field was located across the river from Triangle Park, between the river and North Dixie. McCook Shopping Center is still there, but very run down.
In fact, Orville Wright use to observe McCook Field while getting his haircut at the Engineers Club. He looked out the 2nd story window and upstream. McCook Field was located on the same side of the Miami River but past the Miami/Mad Confluence. Stop by the Engineers Club sometime, if you don’t already frequent the spot, go up stairs and take a look across Riverscape. It is truly inspiring.
Military aircraft procurement was moved to Wright Field, just northeast of Huffman Prairie where the Wrights made improvements to their flyer and taught themselves to fly. Wright Field was later combined with Patterson Field. Patterson Field is where the United States Museum of the Air Force is located. When the two fields were joined, it formed Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
If you don’t mind, you may want to edit your sentence so that it reads that “Aircraft Procurement was moved from McCook Field to what is now Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.”
[...] a piece stirs the soul a bit; especially, when you know the Deeds Carillon was a gift from Deeds to the people of Dayton to remind them of the “finer things” in life. The [...]