11. Lewis B. Gunckel Memorial Fountain
The fountain is a replica of the fountain that can be seen in the original Grotto gardens and was dedicated in honor of Lewis B. Gunckel’s efforts to bring the National Home to Dayton. The Board of Managers wanted to place the National Home branch in the lower Midwest in Dayton, Ohio. The City of Dayton donated $20,000 for the purchase of land for the facility. In 1867, the board acquired 380 acres of farm land to the west of Dayton. Through the efforts of the board’s secretary, Lewis B. Gunckel, a Dayton native, the board was convinced to locate the new Home in Dayton, Ohio and construction immediately. The first Civil War veterans began arriving in the fall of 1867.
