Paul Laurence Dunbar House - Dayton, Ohio

 Paul Laurence Dunbar House in Dayton, Ohio. Built in 1894 by Samuel Chadwick. The house was the home for poet Paul Laurence Dunbar from 1904-1906. Dunbar had a long association with Dayton. He was born there in 1872, the son of former slaves, and his first poems were printed in the Dayton Herald in 1888. His first book, Oak and Ivy (1892) was published in Dayton by the United Brethren Publishing House as well. Dunbar was a gifted and prolific American poet and author who was best known in his lifetime for his dialect work and his use of metaphor and rhetoric, often in a conversational style. In his short career he produced over 400 works including twelve books of poetry, four novels, four books of short stories, and wrote the lyrics to many popular songs. Dunbar became the first African American to support himself financially through his writing. Dunbar purchased the home for his mother, Matilda Dunbar, in June 1904. The house is an eight-room brick structure on a quiet street. When Dunbar separated from his wife Alice Ruth Moore in 1902, he moved in as well. By the time Dunbar moved into the house, he was sick with tuberculosis and struggling with alcoholism. It was in this home that Dunbar died in 1906. His mother lived in the house till her death in 1934. Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. GPS: 39.757702°N , -84.218742°W