6-06-2026 10:26am

Mark and Paula Hurd NCR Archive Center Opens

Beth Callahan Editor

Story and photo courtesy of Dayton History

DAYTON, OH -- Dayton History dedicated the Mark and Paula Hurd NCR Archive Center on May 30, 2026, during a special ribbon-cutting ceremony. Housed in the former Neil’s Heritage House building, the center will support the preservation and study of the millions of items in the organization’s 2D collection, including community histories, diaries, letters and club minutes, but also priceless artifacts from Dayton companies Mead, DELCO, Standard Register, the Dayton Power & Light Co. and, of course, the largest collection from the National Cash Register Co.

The Hurd Center is not intended for regular public access but will be available by appointment for researchers. Dayton History also plans to offer occasional special programs, members-only events and behind-the-scenes tours.

Honoring its 125 years in Dayton, NCR recently gifted its entire corporate collection — one of the world’s largest — to Dayton History, the privately funded nonprofit that owns and operates Carillon Historical Park, Hawthorn Hill and Patterson Homestead. With philanthropic support, including lead support from Paula Hurd, a former senior NCR executive and the widow of former NCR CEO Mark Hurd, Dayton History is realizing a long-held dream of a dedicated archive center adjacent to Carillon Historical Park.

Among the 500 guests in attendance were major donors, including the Hurd family, Oroszi family, Schiewetz Foundation, Goertemiller family and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, whose company received one of its largest early orders from NCR in 1979.

“It was a collective effort to bring this center to life,” said Paula Hurd. “Between the two of us, Mark and I spent nearly 45 years at NCR. Mark started as a young sales rep, full of energy and ambition, and ultimately rose to become CEO. Those years formed him. They formed both of us.”

Since its founding in 1884, National Cash Register Co. has helped shape not only countless individuals, including the Hurd family, but also the city of Dayton itself. NCR’s story is Dayton’s story, and Dayton’s story is America’s story. As the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, the archive center will help preserve the ideas, ingenuity and people that made Dayton — and, in turn, America — a center of innovation. And it all started with one of the city's greatest inventions: the cash register.

What started at NCR in Dayton changed the global landscape for over 125 years through retail solutions, banking systems and early computing. Along the way, it propelled Dayton to the highest number of patents per capita in the nation at the turn of the 20th century. While much of the world has forgotten the sheer scale of this innovation, Carillon Historical Park is honored to remind people of how Dayton shaped the modern world.

One of America’s first global businesses, NCR — known to employees as “The Cash” — meticulously documented its operations, resulting in one of the nation’s most impressive early corporate collections. Comprising more than 3 million artifacts, the collection chronicles the history of NCR, the Dayton region, America and the evolution of business on a global scale. Highlights include Wright brothers artifacts, more than 1.3 million images, over a century of advertising art, scientific and computing milestones and executive papers.

Also in attendance was Lars Nyberg, NCR CEO from 1995 to 2003, who flew in from Sweden with his wife for the event.

“I became the fourth CEO in four years after the AT&T takeover,” said Nyberg. “The company was losing $2 million every day. I made the decision to bet the whole company on Teradata. It was the most difficult and risky decision I took. To execute the reform with Teradata was a real challenge, and I picked Mark Hurd. I believed he was the only person who at least had a chance to succeed.”

Mark Hurd did succeed. Some four years later, Teradata was a global business with $1 billion in revenue and a substantial profit, returning NCR to Fortune 500 status. Hurd later succeeded Nyberg as CEO.

“Standing in Dayton here today to open the Mark and Paula Hurd NCR Archive Center is deeply rewarding,” said Paula Hurd. “For me, this is not just a building. It’s an opportunity to give back to the community we so loved, to the company that shaped our lives, and to recognize Mark, who cherished his career at NCR. We are honored to help preserve NCR’s heritage and its impact on the world. I know Mark would be deeply honored as well.”

As Dayton History opens the Mark and Paula Hurd NCR Archive Center, the organization is not only preserving history but also creating a resource designed to fuel curiosity, research and innovation for generations to come.

“We are delighted to have saved this mid-century modern building for adaptive reuse as our new archive center, and honored so many generous donors, many former NCR executives from around the country, made it possible,” said Brady Kress, President & CEO of Dayton History. “We have always had an archive for our paper and photographic collections. Now we have a home for them adjacent to Carillon Park and a proper space for our archivists and curators to do their work. Any item donated to Dayton History will pass through this new facility for processing, stabilization and research.”