Home » Ohio » Miamisburg

James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Miamisburg

Ohio

Basic Information

Type of Place
Independent City or Town
Metro Area
Politics c. 1860?
Don’t Know
Unions, Organized Labor?
Don’t Know

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Probable
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Yes, Strong Oral Tradition
Year of Greatest Interest
Still Sundown?
Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890 2952 0
1900
1910
1920 4383 126
1930
1940 5544 2
1950
1960 9893 1
1970 14,797 12
1980
1990 17,834 142
2000 19,238 310
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Unknown

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

email 3/2008, according to a nearby resident of Dayton

In the 60’s and most of the 70’s Miamisburg definitely had a reputation for not liking African-Americans, even by the standards of us segregated white folk.

A former resident emailed us, “My family moved to Miamisburg, OH when I was in the second grade – about 1963. I can personally verify that at that time there was a crude hand-painted sign coming into town that quoted exactly what you have identified was on so-called “sundown town” signs. Although I am unaware of any local legislation in that regard, it was clear that minorities were discouraged from living in Miamisburg by “average” local citizens. From 1963 until 1971 there were no African American students in my elementary or middle schools. From 1971 until 1975 there were no African American students in the high school.”

According to a former resident: I personally remember a sign on a gas station glass door… It simply read “Niggers NOT Served Here”… That was back in the 1960’s.”

According to a former resident: “In the 1970s’s, my Honors English teacher told the class that there was a sign that stated, “Nigger, don’t let the sun set on your head”. Many of us were shocked at that revelation. He also said that it, the law or ordinance, was just removed from the books in Miamisburg in the 60’s. I was under the opinion it was the late 60’s. I have no idea when the sign was removed. He said that no one had enforced these laws, for some time but were still in the books until there removal in the late 60’s. We had no African Americans in my Graduating Class of ’73 from Miamisburg. A black family did move into Miamisburg. The father became a Miamisburg Rotarian, again a new concept and a big step for Miamisburg.”

According to a former resident: “My family moved to Miamisburg, OH when I was in the second grade – about 1963. I can personally verify that at that time there was a crude hand-painted sign coming into town that quoted exactly what you have identified was on so-called “sundown town” signs. It was clear that minorities were discouraged from living in Miamisburg by “average” local citizens. I graduated in 1975 from Miamisburg High School in a class of about 350 students. From 1963 until 1971 there were no African American students in my elementary or middle schools. From 1971 until 1975 there were no African American students in the high school. In fact, I know of only two students of any ethnic background (Asian) who lived there and attended from 1971 through 1975.”