Dayton Gospel Mission Records

The Gospel Mission was started on April 20, 1912 by Edwin P. McInturf, who felt that the people living in the area of First and Meigs Streets in East Dayton needed ministry. There was a large church nearby but it was not attended by the people of the neighborhood.

Mr. McInturf was a member of the First united Brethren Church but started the mission as non-denominational. He and Mrs. McInturf bought a two story frame house at 728-30 East First Street which was on the corner of First and Meigs. The mission met on the first floor and the upstairs was rented out. Although their concern was primarily spiritual, there were times when a special offering would be taken for someone who needed money for food. When they were getting started Mr. McInturf frequently bought candy and used it to attract the choirs from all denominations participated in the mission services.

When Mr. McInturf died on August 19, 1929 Mr. McInturf asked Frederick S. Hixson to be the superintendent. Mr. Hixson had started attending the mission in 1922. He was a member of Trinity Methodist Church on Valley Street, and for some time had been teaching at the Trinity Church in the morning and helping at the Mission Sunday School in the afternoon. Mr. Hixson continued to work at his full time job as a Dayton Post Office clerk while he ran the mission.

The neighborhood began a gradual change from a residential area to an industrial one, and finally the mission was closed in December 1945 when it too was sold for industrial use.