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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 County.
History
Xenia, Ohio, is a city of aprox 24,000 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. 35, U.S. 42, and U.S. 68, tying the community to one of the nation's largest 90-minute highway markets.
The City of Xenia (pronounced Zeen-yuh) derives its name from the Greek word for hospitality. It is the county seat of Greene County, named for Nathaniel Greene, the revolutionary hero who led Cornwallis into the trap at Yorktown.
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 plunked 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] also, 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. But 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 to Xenia and back on the newly completed Columbus and Xenia Railroad.
The town progressed rapidly during the middle 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 sytem.
Organized under a federal form of government, Xenia elected Cornelius Clark as its first Mayor in 1834]. But 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.
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 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.
Indeed 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.
Geography
Xenia is at (39.683707, -83.938064).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.5 km² (12.1 mi²), all land.
Demographics
As of the census 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).
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.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.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.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.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 film Gummo by Harmony Korine.
Xenia has been mentioned in two of Stephen King's novels, The Stand & The Talisman.
Xenia is the only city in the United States containing over 5,000 people starting with the letter "X".
External links
"Xenia, Ohio"