The design was suggested by Dayton citizen Horace Pease, who had a book of sketches of the Acropolis in Athens which showed the Temple of Theseus, which he admired. Pease showed it to the Montgomery County Commissioners, who also were favorably impressed, and agreed it would be a good model for their new Courthouse. They hired architect Howard Daniels of New York to draw the plans in which he captured the form and beauty of the ancient Greek temple.[2][3]
The building, now restored, stands as a tribute to the leaders of old Dayton and to the artisans of the Miami Valley who built it. Dayton History, formerly known as the Dayton Historical Society and the Montgomery County Historical Society, is housed in the Old Court House.