🌿✨ Step into history at the Dayton VA Grotto Gardens—once the pride of the Dayton Soldiers’ Home, known to Civil War vets as the “Mother Home.” 🌻Built by veterans in the 1860s with stone archways, springs, and lush plantings, the gardens drew hundreds of thousands of visitors a year at their peak. 🌸 🐊 In its peak the gardens had heated pools for alligators and even a dancing bear! After decades of decline, volunteers have beautifully restored them into a living memorial and peaceful escape f