A formerly enslaved Black man from Kentucky, Wheeling Gaunt was born around 1812. After moving to Yellow Springs in the mid-1800s with his wife, Amanda, and a male thought to be his son, Gaunt purchased his freedom and became a philanthropist and one of the wealthiest Black men in Ohio during his lifetime. (Submitted photo)
Wheeling Gaunt Day programming set
- Published: September 11, 2026
Wheeling Gaunt Day 2026 will take place Saturday, Sept. 12, and will include a slate of activities honoring the 19th-century land owner and philanthropist who purchased his freedom from enslavement before settling in Yellow Springs.
The day’s events will begin at 10 a.m. at the Wheeling Gaunt Statue plaza, at the intersection of Xenia Avenue and Dayton Street, with a program featuring Valerie Blackwell-Truitt and Jerome Borchers discussing the fundraising for and creation of the Gaunt statue as an initiative of the Yellow Springs Arts Council; Brenda Hubbard on the history of Wheeling Gaunt; and Nadia Malarkey on the design of the plaza and the plantings that surround it.
The program will be followed at 11:30 a.m. with a walking tour of sites in the northern part of Yellow Springs associated with Wheeling Gaunt. At 1 p.m., a documentary about the making of the Gaunt statue will be screened at Yellow Springs Arts Council; and the activities will end at Gaunt Park with a 2 p.m. walking tour of the park, focusing on Wheeling Gaunt’s 1870s purchase and use of the land, its later uses, and its development as a park.
The day’s events are a collaboration between the Yellow Springs Arts Council and The 365 Project. For more information, email the365projectys@gmail.com.
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