Katharine Houk Talbott was born in 1864 at Runnymede, her family’s home in what is now the northwestern corner of Oakwood, into an influential local family. Her father was Congressman George Houk, and her mother was Eliza Phillips Thruston; Oakwood residents will recognize these names as they were later given to Runnymede Road, Houk Stream and Thruston Boulevard. At 23, Katharine married Harry E. Talbott, who was later Oakwood’s first mayor. [1] As Mr. Talbott had to travel

Oakwood borders the oldest municipal country club in America, which was used by white, Black, and Jewish Daytonians as early as 1918....

Soon after it was founded, Oakwood was home to an ardent activist for women’s rights. Orville Wright, his sister Katharine, and their...