Englewood and Clayton: Trauma and Biohazard Scene Referrals

Neighbors on the Stillwater

Englewood has gone by several names. Pennsylvania settlers called it Harrisburg, it became Iamton in 1870, and a naming contest in 1898 produced Englewood. It became a village in 1914 and a city in 1971, and had 13,463 residents in 2020. The Stillwater River runs along its side.

Clayton, just west, began as Salem in 1816 and was named for John Clayton, a War of 1812 veteran. It became a city in 1998 by merging with what remained of Randolph Township, which is why its borders reach far past the original town. It counted 13,310 people in 2020.

Two police departments and one coroner

The Englewood Police Department handles calls inside its own city limits. Clayton's own police department works from a station at 6996 Taywood Road. Each agency responds to deaths and injuries on its own streets and notifies the coroner when a death was unattended.

Coroner's investigators, working from 361 West Third Street in Dayton, look into those deaths and clear the scene when finished. Police leave, the coroner's investigators leave, and the home goes back to whoever is responsible for it.

For many Clayton and Englewood families, that person is an executor sorting out a parent's house from another city. Keep the police agency name and case number, since your insurer and the Ohio Attorney General's victim compensation program both may need them.

From apartments to farm lanes

Englewood is the more built-up of the two, with about 6,000 housing units in 2020 and a rental vacancy rate of 7.2 percent against just 1 percent for owner homes. For a death in one of its rentals near US 40 or OH 48, the landlord and the property manager need to be in the loop before any materials are removed.

Clayton's land is larger and quieter. The 1998 merger brought in the rest of Randolph Township, so the city's limits stretch well beyond the old Salem crossroads into open country. A cleanup at a rural address may involve a barn, pole building or detached garage, and the crew will want to know about well water or a septic system before using large amounts of water.

I-70, the National Road and the dam

I-70 and US 40, the old National Road, both cross Englewood and meet OH 48 inside the city. OH 49 runs together with I-70 for about a mile and a half near Clayton, giving the western side a quick link to the interstate.

Englewood Dam, one of five dry dams the Miami Conservancy District built after the 1913 flood, controls the Stillwater River near the city, and Englewood MetroPark lies along that stretch of river. Country roads in Clayton can be narrow and unlit, so giving the provider clear directions, a mailbox number and a landmark helps.

Where 45322 and 45315 reach

45322 is the Englewood ZIP, and its postal list also names Union, a neighboring small city. It covers Englewood's neighborhoods along the National Road and OH 48, the area near Englewood MetroPark and Aullwood House and Garden, and some neighboring blocks in Union.

45315 is the Clayton ZIP, with Englewood also on its postal list. It serves much of Clayton, including the old Salem area and land in the former Randolph Township. Some Clayton addresses, among them the police station on Taywood Road, actually carry an Englewood 45322 mailing address, so go by the city on your tax bill. Both ZIPs are covered on (937) 200-8811.

Next steps for families in 45322 and 45315

Keep the affected area closed, avoid cleaning anything yourself, and call your homeowner's insurer to ask about biohazard coverage. Whether a policy pays turns on its wording and on what happened, so get the answer before any work begins at a house in Englewood or Clayton.

Families grieving a suicide can phone or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at no cost. Hospice and funeral homes around the Stillwater valley can also point families to grief support.