Xenia, Ohio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xenia (pronounced Zeen-yuh) is a city in Greene County, Ohio, near Dayton. The name comes from the Greek word Xenia (ξενία), which means "hospitality".
As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 24,164. It is the county seat of Greene CountyGR6, which is named for Nathaniel Greene, the American Revolutionary War hero who led Lord Cornwallis into the trap at Yorktown.
Contents |
[edit] History
Xenia is centrally located in the "transportation triangle" formed by three major interstate highways: I-70, I-71, and I-75. These north-south, east-west arteries are within minutes of Xenia via U.S. Routes 35, 42, and 68, tying the community to one of the nation's largest 90-minute highway markets. Before the creation of the U.S. Interstate Highway system, U.S. 68 was the main southward route from Detroit, Michigan; within Xenia, U.S. 68 is named "South Detroit Street."
Xenia was founded in 1803 - the year Ohio was admitted into the Union. In that year, pioneer John Paul bought 2,000 acres (8 km²) of land from Thomas and Elizabeth Richardson of Hanover County, Virginia, for "1050 pounds current moneys of Virginia." Paul influenced county commissioners to locate the town seat on this land at the forks of the Shawnee Creeks.
Joseph C. Vance was named to survey the site and lay out the town. The following year, he bought the town site of 257 acres from John Paul for $250. The name of the new village was chosen in typically democratic fashion. Vance called a town meeting to discuss possible names. The committee had considered several suggestions without reaching any decision. Then the Rev. Robert Armstrong proposed the name "Xenia," meaning "hospitality" in Greek, because of the fine hospitality extended to him in this friendly community. When a tie developed, Laticia Davis, wife of Owen Davis, was invited to cast the deciding ballot. She voted for "Xenia."
The very first session of the Ohio General Assembly created Greene County from the Northwest Territory, embracing the homeland of the Shawnee Indians. Their chief tribal village was north of Xenia at old Chillicothe, now called Old Town.
William Beattie was Xenia's first businessman. In 1804, he opened a tavern which became a center of community affairs. In 1804, John Marshall built Xenia's first home. The first log school house was constructed in 1805, and, that same year, Rev. James Towler became the town's first postmaster. The growing community soon attracted many pioneer industries - flour mills, sawmills, woolen mills, pork packing plants, oil mills, and tow mills.
Xenia was incorporated by an act of the legislature in 1817 and became a city in 1834. However, it was the arrival of the Little Miami Railroad (now the site of the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which passes through Xenia Station) in 1843 which gave the city its first big industrial impetus. On March 2, 1850 the Ohio General Assembly rode from Columbus, Ohio to Xenia and back on the newly completed Columbus and Xenia Railroad.
The town progressed rapidly during the mid-nineteenth century. Artificial gas was provided in the 1840's and continued in use until natural gas was made available in 1905. The first fire engine house was built in 1831; the telephone came to Xenia in 1879; electricity in 1881 and a water works system in 1886. Xenia opened its first free public library in 1899. By 1900 the city was operating its own sewage system.
Organized under a federal form of government, Xenia elected Cornelius Clark as its first mayor in 1834. On January 1, 1918, the commission-manager plan succeeded the old form of municipal government. The Xenia of today still operates under this commission-manager system.
[edit] Tornadoes
On April 3, 1974 a tornado measuring F5 on the Fujita scale cut a path directly though the middle of Xenia during the Super Outbreak, the largest series of tornadoes in history. The disaster killed 34 people (including two Ohio Air National Guardsmen who died days later in a related fire), injured an additional 1,150, destroyed almost half of the city’s buildings, and made 10,000 homeless. Nine schools, nine churches and 180 businesses were destroyed. The city's plight was featured in the national news, and President Nixon visited stricken areas.
Xenia was hit again by another (albeit smaller) tornado on September 20, 2000. One person was killed, and 100 people were injured. This second tornado followed a path roughly parallel to the 1974 tornado.
Xenia has a long history of severe storm activity. The area was referred to by Shawnee Indians as "the place of the devil wind" or "the land of the crazy winds" (depending upon the translation) before the white man appeared on the scene. Records of storms go back to the early 1800s. Tornadoes are more frequent than people realize; local records show 20 tornadoes in Greene County since 1884.
[edit] Railroads
In 1960, Xenia had 3 freight railroads that ran through town. Today there are none, with the last track sections abandoned and subsequently ripped up in 1989.
The freight rail lines that served the city of Xenia were:
- The B&O Wellston subdivision, which ran between Washington Court House and Dayton.
- The Pennsylvania Railroad's Little Miami branch, between Cincinnati and Springfield. Part of this line actually street-ran on U.S. Route 68, and as such was the first section to be dismantled.
- The Pennsylvania RR's Pittsburgh-St. Louis mainline. Amtrak used this line for the National Limited until 1979.
The rights-of-way of 5 of Xenia's 6 rail spokes have been converted to rail-trails. The one exception, the B&O line west of town, is not a separate trail because it closely paralleled the Pennsylvania mainline, running side-by-side for much of the way. With so many trails in town, a water tower refers to Xenia as the "Bicycle Capital of Ohio".
Xenia was also served by two interurban railways: the Dayton and Xenia Transit Company, and the Springfield and Xenia Railway. These were dismantled in the 1940s or earlier.
[edit] Geography
Xenia is at (39.683707, -83.938064)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.5 km² (12.1 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 24,164 people, 9,378 households, and 6,527 families residing in the city. The population density was 767.9/km² (1,989.3/mi²). There were 9,924 housing units at an average density of 315.4/km² (817.0/mi²).
[edit] Race
The racial makeup of the city was 83.30% White, 13.51% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population.
[edit] Households
There were 9,378 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.02.
[edit] Ages
In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.
[edit] Income
The median income for a household in the city was $36,457, and the median income for a family was $43,046. Males had a median income of $34,497 versus $24,094 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,481. About 8.9% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Popular culture
- Xenia was the home of the novelist Helen Hooven Santmyer whose most well-known work remains And Ladies of the Club.
- Xenia was the setting of the independent films Gummo by Harmony Korine and Who's Your Daddy?, directed by Andy Fickman.
- Xenia has been mentioned in two of Stephen King's novels, The Stand & The Talisman.
- Xenia is the only city in the United States starting with the letter "X" with a population over 5,000 people.
- Xenia is mentioned by They Might Be Giants in the song "Out of Jail" on their album John Henry.
[edit] External links
- Official Web site
- Xenia Station
- Xenia travel guide from Wikitravel
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
 |
Greene County, Ohio Xenia, county seat |
|---|---|
| Municipalities |
Beavercreek | Bellbrook | Bowersville | Cedarville | Fairborn | Jamestown | Kettering | Spring Valley | Xenia | Yellow Springs |
| Townships |
Bath | Beavercreek | Caesarscreek | Cedarville | Jefferson | Miami | New Jasper | Ross | Silvercreek | Spring Valley | Sugarcreek | Xenia |
| Census-designated places |
Shawnee Hills | Wilberforce | Wright-Patterson Air Force Base |
| Other localities |
