In The Hobbit, 'Dale was a city of Men on the Running River[?] between the Lonely Mountain and the Long Lake[?]. It was ruled by Girion[?] until its destruction by Smaug.
It is situated in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain. It was deserted for many a year whilst the mountian was under the thrall of Smaug the Dragon. The town was repopulated after the Battle of Five Armies (featured in The Hobbit) where Bilbo Baggins and his companions (dwarves) broke into the dragon's stronghold to steal his treasure. During this period the Men of the Lake (a nearby town) managed to kill Smaug. The Battle of the Five Armies began as a squabble over who the treasure belonged to. When this was settled the dwarfs reoccupied the city under the Lonely Mountain and men began to settle once more in Dale.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump