X is for Xenia
Two more days left of the April A-Z challenge and so far I
have had a letter for each day. Today is
somewhere I have never been but would like to visit. X is for Xenia, OH. Have you ever heard of it? I hadn't until 1974 when an F5 tornado hit
the town and destroyed most of it. What
impressed me was their resiliancy. That
was when I placed Xenia on my Adventure Bucket List.
Let me tell you a bit about this history rich town. Xenia
was founded in 1803, the year Ohio was admitted into the Union. In that year,
pioneer John Paul bought 2,000 acres of land from Thomas and Elizabeth
Richardson who lived in 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 (1.04 km2) 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." Way to go Laticia
Davis!
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 (wonder if he is any relation to the Rock Mills Towlers?) 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.
On April 3, 1974 an F5 tornado that cut a path directly
through the middle of Xenia during the Tonadic Super Outbreak, the second largest series of tornadoes in
recorded history. The disaster killed 34 people, 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 Brigid Catholic School were
destroyed. The tornado also destroyed nine churches and 180 businesses. The
city's plight was featured in the national news, including a 1974 news television
documentary, Tornado! Legendary comedian
Bob Hope organized a benefit for Xenia and, in appreciation, the new Xenia High
School Auditorium was named the "Bob Hope Auditorium." But it does not stop there. It seems that Xenia has a long history of
severe storm activity. According to local legend, the area was referred to by
the Shawnee Indians as "the place of the devil wind" or "the
land of the crazy winds" You can
find reference to this legend on a historical marker out on a Route 68. Records of great storms go back to the early
19th century. Local records show 20 tornadoes have occured since 1884. Xenia
was hit by a much smaller tornado in April, 1989 and again by another F4
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.
This is definitely somewhere I must travel to and see. I
want to see the blooms, the parts of Old Town that still remain, read the
marker on Hwy 68. Yep! Xenia, Oh is a must on my Adventure Bucket
List......just not during a time of tornadic weather.
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