Xenia, Ohio

Xenia (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio 21 miles from Dayton and is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name comes from the Greek word Xenia (ξενία), which means "hospitality".

Many of its residents supported the Underground Railroad in the years before the Civil War.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 24,164. Xenia is the third largest city in Greene County, behind Fairborn and Beavercreek.

History
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 acre 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 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. The Shawnee war chief Tecumseh was born there in 1768.

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 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.

President-Elect Abraham Lincoln made a brief appearance in the city as his inaugural train traveled from Cincinnati to Columbus on Wednesday morning, February 13, 1861. He even gave a small speech which was not recorded by the traveling writer from the New York Times as it echoed the same sentiments that he had expressed before in his previous stops. According to the Times writer, "a very large crowd assembled, and amid the firing of a cannon and enthusiasm, Mr. Lincoln addressed them from the rear car, reiterating what he had said before." (New York Times, February 14, 1861, pg. 1, "THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATION; PROGRESS OF PRESIDENT-ELECT TOWARDS WASHINGTON").

The town progressed rapidly during the mid-19th century. Artificial gas was provided in the 1840s 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.

Tornadoes
On April 3, 1974 a tornado measuring F-5 on the Fujita scale cut a path directly through the middle of Xenia during the Super Outbreak, the second largest series of tornadoes in recorded 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 left 10,000 people homeless. Five schools, including Xenia High School, Central Junior High School, McKinley Elementary, Simon Kenton Elementary, and Saint Bridget Catholic School were destroyed. Also destroyed were nine churches and 180 businesses. The city's plight was featured in the national news, including a 1974 NBC television documentary, Tornado!, hosted by Floyd Kalber. President Richard Nixon visited stricken areas of Xenia following the devastation. Legendary comedian Bob Hope organized a benefit for Xenia and, in appreciation, the new Xenia High School Auditorium was named the "Bob Hope Auditorium."

Xenia was hit by a much smaller tornado in April, 1989 and again by another F-4 tornado on September 20, 2000. The 1989 tornado caused over two-million dollars in damage, but no one was killed. The twister of 2000 left one person killed, and 100 people injured. This third tornado followed a path roughly parallel to the 1974 tornado.

Xenia has a long history of severe storm activity. According to local legend, 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). This is mentioned on a historical marker on Route 68 on the road from Xenia to Oldtown. Records of storms go back to the early 19th century. Local records show 20 tornadoes in Greene County since 1884.

Railroads
In 1960, Xenia had three freight railroads that ran through town. Today there are none, with the last track sections abandoned and 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 Detroit Street, 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 five of Xenia's six rail tracks 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 the Midwest".

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.

Geography
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 one of the main southward routes from Detroit, Michigan. Within Xenia, U.S. 68 is named "Detroit Street".

Xenia is at °N, °W (39.68, -83.94).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.1 square miles (31.5 km²), all of it land.

Local government
City Council Members and term start years:
 * Mayor Marsha J. Bayless (2010)
 * John Caupp (2008)
 * Dale Louderback (2008)
 * Jeanne Mills (2010) -- Acting City Council President
 * Wesley Smith (2010)
 * Micheal Engle (2010) -- Appointed Because Pat Felton Resigned

Others:
 * Jim Percival—City Manager
 * Brent Merriman—Assistant City Manager
 * Mark Bazelak—Finance Director
 * Ryan Duke—Assistant Finance Director
 * Ronald Lewis—Law Director

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 1,989.3 people per square mile (767.9/km²). There were 9,924 housing units at an average density of 817.0 per square mile (315.4/km²). 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.

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.

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.

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.

Education
The Xenia Community School District has 7 elementary, 2 middle, and 1 high school:
 * Arrowood Elementary School (Grade K-5)
 * Cox Elementary School (Grade K-5)
 * McKinley Elementary School (Grade K-5)
 * Shawnee Elementary School (Grade K-5)
 * Simon Kenton Elementary (Grade K-5)
 * Spring Hill Elementary (Grade K-5)
 * Tecumseh Elementary (Grade K-5)


 * Central Middle School (Grade 6-8)
 * Warner Middle School (Grade 6-8)


 * Xenia High School (Grade 9-12)

Private Schools in Xenia:
 * Xenia Christian Elementary School (Grade Pre-K-5)
 * Xenia Christian Middle School (Grade 6-8)
 * Xenia Christian High School (Grade 9-12)
 * St. Brigid School (Grade Pre-K-8)
 * Xenia Nazarene Christian School (Grade K-12)

Popular culture

 * Comedian Dave Chappelle owns several houses in Xenia, Ohio
 * Novelist Helen Hooven Santmyer lived here; her most well-known work remains And Ladies of the Club.
 * The town is featured in the nonprofit historical documentary film "Ropewalk: A Cordage Engineer's Journey Through History".
 * The town was the setting of the independent film Who's Your Daddy?, directed by Andy Fickman.
 * Stephen King mentions the town in novels The Stand, in which it is the hometown of character Dayna Jurgens, and The Talisman.
 * Tom Clancy also mentions the town on page 18 of his Jack Ryan novel, The Bear And The Dragon (published in the year 2000)
 * 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.
 * Xenia calls itself the "Bicycle Capital of the Midwest."
 * Xenia is the setting for Harmony Korine's 1997 film "Gummo". The movie was not filmed in Xenia however, but in Korine's hometown of Nashville, TN.

Notable natives and residents

 * Dave Chappelle -- American Comedian
 * Joseph Warren Keifer -- Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1881-1883.
 * Trent Cole -- NFL defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles
 * Charles Grapewin -- Played Uncle Henry in ''The Wizard of Oz.
 * John Little-- U.S. Congressman, 1885–1887
 * Thomas Taggart -- Mayor of Indianapolis, 1895-1901
 * Roland James -- NFL defensive back for the New England Patriots, 1980–1990
 * Matt Brown -- UFC MMA fighter
 * Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. -- American Historian
 * Caitlin Halligan -- Federal judicial nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
 * Doug Adams—NFL linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals