Editing Dayton, Virginia (section)

==History==
The town of Dayton is one of the oldest settled communities in [[Rockingham County, Virginia|Rockingham County]], and is the county's second oldest incorporated town, after [[Bridgewater, Virginia|Bridgewater]]. The first settler in Dayton was Daniel Harrison (c. 1702–1770), whose family settled along Cooks Creek, north of downtown. Daniel was the eldest son of Isaiah Harrison and second wife Abigail and was born in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. Daniel's brother Thomas Harrison founded [[Harrisonburg, Virginia|Harrisonburg]] several miles to the northeast. They and their three brothers had migrated from New York to Delaware and then to Orange County Virginia before settling in the Shenandoah Valley.<ref>Harrison, J. Houston (1975), ''Settlers by the Long Grey Trail'', Genealogical Publ. Co.</ref>

The family homestead, a two-story stone house, has been owned and maintained since 1977 by a private, non-profit organization, Fort Harrison, Inc.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?attrid=33160 |title=Daniel Harrison House (Fort Harrison) - Virginia is for Lovers |access-date=2011-03-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106165751/http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?attrid=33160 |archive-date=2011-01-06 }}</ref> The town was known as Rifeville or Rifetown<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~varockbr/vatown.htm#Virginiatowns|title=VA Towns and Cities|first=Yvonne|last=James-Henderson|access-date=21 April 2017}}</ref> until 1833.<ref name="daytonva.us">{{cite web |url=http://www.daytonva.us/history.htm |title=The History of Dayton, VA |access-date=2011-03-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504074837/http://www.daytonva.us/history.htm |archive-date=2011-05-04 }}</ref>

[[Shenandoah University]] has its roots in Dayton, when it was known as the Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music. The college was organized in 1875 under the leadership of Rev. A.P. Funkhouser. This was a major institution in Dayton until 1960, when it moved to [[Winchester, Virginia|Winchester]]. College Street was named after the school and many of the street's buildings served as part of the campus.<ref name="daytonva.us"/>

The [[Dayton Historic District (Dayton, Virginia)|Dayton Historic District]], [[Daniel Harrison House]], and [[Peter Paul House]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

In 2018, a series of [[2018 Cargill strike|strikes and protests]] were held at the town's [[Cargill]] plant.<ref name="barnett nov 21">{{cite web|last1=Barnett|first1=Marina|title=Community Solidarity with Poultry Workers call for changes at Cargill|url=http://www.whsv.com/content/news/Community-Solidarity-with-Poultry-Workers-call-for-changes-at-Cargill-459174973.html|website=[[WHSV-TV]]|publisher=[[Gray Television]]|access-date=May 13, 2018|date=November 21, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Wood">{{cite web|last1=Wood|first1=Victoria|title=Nine protesters arrested outside Cargill in Dayton|url=http://www.whsv.com/content/news/Nine-protesters-arrested-outside-Cargill-in-Dayton--478826273.html|website=WHSV-TV|publisher=Gray Television|access-date=May 12, 2018|date=April 5, 2018}}</ref>

[[File:2016-06-26 16 21 24 View north along Virginia State Route 42 (John Wayland Highway) just north of Virginia State Route 290 (Huffman Drive) in Dayton, Rockingham County, Virginia.jpg|thumb|left|SR 42, the largest and busiest road in Dayton]]