In 1795, Daniel Cooper cut the first overland route between Dayton and Cincinnati to provide access to the new town of Dayton at the mouth of the Mad River in the Symmes Purchase. The survey, entered into the record by Cooper and Dr. John Hole, extended Harmer's Trace north from near Cunningham's Station on Mill Creek to the mouth of the Mad River, establishing the earliest road between Cincinnati and Dayton. This five-mile segment between David Road and State Route 725 is the last remaining traceable portion retaining the name Mad River Road. Cooper, a miller, was instrumental in Dayton's early settlement, and Dr. Hole, the first physician in Montgomery County, established his cabin on this part of the road in 1796. A 1797 court-ordered survey by Daniel Cooper, Daniel Griffing, and John Hole, made on a petition of more than twelve county citizens, recorded the road from Cunningham's Station along the old road, then by a series of northward courses and distances to the road leading from Hamilton to Dayton, and from there to Dayton town at the mouth of Mad River, for a total distance of thirty-eight and three-fourths miles.