{"nrhp_refnum":"79001900","name":"Kossuth Colony Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Baltimore St., Mack and Notre Dame Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dayton","county":"Montgomery County","state":"OH","lat":39.78347548600007,"lon":-84.17135799504806,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-12-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","European","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about forty surviving frame double houses along Baltimore Street, Mack Avenue and Notre Dame Avenue in northeast Dayton, Ohio. They were built between 1906 and 1915 as the Kossuth Colony, housing for Hungarian immigrant workers.","why_significant":"The colony was an unusual experiment in immigrant housing, built by labor contractor Jacob D. Moskowitz for workers at the Barney and Smith Car Works. It shows immigration and ethnic history in Dayton, including the company-controlled living conditions and the community life of the Hungarian residents.","narrative":"Forty of the original houses from the Kossuth Colony still line Baltimore Street, Mack Avenue and Notre Dame Avenue in northeast Dayton. Thirty are two-story frame double houses with four-bay facades and two entries; ten one-story versions stand on Baltimore Street. The colony was founded in 1906 by labor contractor Jacob D. Moskowitz to house Hungarian immigrant workers for the Barney and Smith Car Works, which was expanding into steel railroad cars. Each house held two families, and attics served as dormitories for unmarried boarders. A tall wooden fence surrounded the settlement, a watchman guarded the gate, and residents were paid partly in brass script spendable at Moskowitz's store. Despite these conditions, families kept their customs, foods and celebrations. After the 1913 flood, the fence decayed, the car works fell into receivership, and workers moved on. The company was sold in 1921, and Moskowitz sold his properties. The surviving houses record a distinctive chapter in Dayton's immigrant history.","period_of_significance":"1906-1915","architect_builder":"Jacob Doffee Moskowitz","architectural_style":"Vernacular multiple dwellings","criteria":[],"status_note":"Forty of the original houses still stand; most are frame or covered in asbestos siding, and the form lists condition as good to fair. Original picket fences are gone, small rear garages have been added, and the dirt streets are now paved.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.793748-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79001900.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001900/9330796275-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001900/9330796275-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mack_Avenue,_1700_block,_in_Kossuth.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mack_Avenue,_1700_block,_in_Kossuth.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990601","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kossuth_Colony_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6433432"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/montgomery-county/kossuth-colony-historic-district-79001900/"}