Groups attending the 2009 Dayton Harvest Fest at Courthouse Square stake out shady spots prior to the talent contest about to take place on the park’s historic bandstand.
Karl Klooster/News-Register

The bandstand in Dayton’s Courthouse Square, then simply called City Park, was built in 1925 with a combination of funds from the Civic Club and the City of Dayton.
Courtesy of the Dayton Historical Society

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In May of 1925, the historic riverside town of Dayton, Oregon, was all abuzz about the birth of a new baby. As this very public gestation progressed to within a few months of the big event, anticipatory excitement began to build.

Seldom have so many expectant mothers awaited a new arrival. On May 18, they met to finalize details and set their course of action for marking the occasion with a community-wide celebration.

Quoting from the minutes of the Dayton Civic Club meeting of May 18, 1925: “...plans were made to dedicate the new bandstand July Fourth and invite surrounding districts to join us in the ceremony and in a picnic dinner in the park.”

The “park,” of course, referred to Dayton Courthouse Square, the city’s most prominent public place. It can safely be said that any description of this Yamhill Valley town would be woefully lacking without its notable inclusion.

Nowhere else in the Valley does one single city block so significantly symbolize civic pride. A live performance pavilion at its very center would further augment the strong sense of community that has characterized this pioneer settlement since its founding.

“Five hundred dollars has been pledged by the ladies toward the bandstand,” the minutes went on to state. “Three hundred dollars is already available and committees were appointed to rustle the two hundred dollars yet to be pledged.”

To lend some perspective to what $500 was worth in those days, an accounting of the Dayton School District budget for the 1924-25 school year listed the superintendent’s salary at $2,000 per year. The superintendent’s current annual salary is $102,544.

In subsequent meetings leading up to the 4th of July celebration, the Civic Club booked a 25-piece band, arranged for a baseball game, fun foot races and a dance at the Opera House just across the street from the square.

The Fourth of July Program began at 10 a.m. with a parade along Ferry Street and concluded with a band concert from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Afterwards, couples made their way to the Opera House for a dance-filled finale.

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A day packed with musical entertainment plus speeches attracted a crowd estimated at 3,000 to City Park, as it was then called. The Sheridan Legion Band was featured, along with several solos, a piano duet, a mixed quartet, a dedication address, a couple of readings and the singing of “America” by all in attendance.

Everyone agreed the bandstand dedication event was a great success. Still, the club ladies had to raise more money to pay for the structure plus two public restrooms which were part of the deal. Fortunately, the entire burden didn’t fall on their shoulders.

In his dedicatorial address, Mr. S.E. Sigler said, “Realizing the financing of this building was beyond their ready means, they secured the cooperation of the City Council and the result has culminated in this beautiful edifice.”

According to the minutes of the September 9, 1925, Civic Club meeting, “... another $50.00 was paid toward the Band Stand. This makes a total of $600.00.” Notes from the October 15 meeting said. “The club... will give a one-act play Oct. 29 at the Opera House. Proceeds will be for the benefit of the Band Stand.”

How much longer the ladies felt compelled to continue their fundraising efforts isn’t clear, but one certainty is that few other towns in the region can claim such a centrally located public space where residents come together for everything from simple family outings to elaborate annual events.

The inviting serenity of Courthouse Square is available to anyone at anytime. And if this tree-filled, grass-laden open space is the sprawling whole, its bandstand is the focal point.

Nothing more aptly evokes the aura of that less-hectic era when local audiences were often treated to a warm, leisurely afternoon of live music, singing and, perhaps, even a bit of rousing rhetoric, than this sparking white, decoratively constructed wooden edifice.

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That’s not to say the bandstand isn’t currently being put to use. There are several occasions, especially in summer, when music — both instrumental and vocal — flows from beneath its roof.

But, over the course of 84 years of exposure to the ravages of inclement Northwest weather, the unenclosed building suffered severe deterioration.

Temporary fixes in the 1980s helped slow the process, but finally this year city officials decided significant restoration work could no longer be delayed. Disintegration of the main pillars had seriously compromised its safety.

Dayton Public Works Superintendent Steve Sagmiller said, “When we got into it, there was a lot more dry rot than we thought. The structure was literally on its last legs.”

The city was able to secure a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office, which underwrote much of the reconstruction cost. Sagmiller said that SHPO also provided very helpful advice in regard to maintaining historic design integrity.

Fiberglass pillars replaced the wooden ones, augmented by an interior railing for reinforcement. Non-original elements were painted black to minimize intrusion on the original appearance. The roof has been rebuilt and authentically replicated as well.

In effect, Dayton Courthouse Square now has a bandstand that’s structurally superior to when it was first built while retaining the original appearance. “It should last at least 50 years before anything major needs to be done again,” Sagmiller said.

Judy Gerrard of the Dayton Historical Society expressed her organization’s delight at having the bandstand restored and waxed nostalgic about its historic significance in saying, “It would be nice to have an old- style band play there sometime. Maybe along with a barbershop quartet.”

All these possibilities and more are important reasons to ensure this lovely, yet utilitarian, symbol of the past is around for future generations to enjoy in every way, particularly as a “bandstand” — the purpose intended by those who conceived it.