Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Xenia Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Paine House in XeniaPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Xenia Township

Xenia Township’s post office opened in 1848, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1860.

1848first post office
1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Xenia Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Xenia Township began

When was Xenia Township founded?

1848

The Xenia Township post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Toliver (1898), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 472 in 18602020 census: 617178 years
Founding year: the first Xenia Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Xenia Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 916 in 1870; 380 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1848: 178 years of Xenia Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Xenia Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Xenia Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFirst S.M.E. Church in Ill. built near …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Xenia Township, census by census

02004006008001,000190019502000Peak: 916

Peaked at 916 in 1870; 380 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Xenia Township’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Xenia Township, 1870 to 1952

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870CensusPopulation peaks at 916
  3. 1898Post officeThe Toliver post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Toliver post office closes
  6. 1911In the archiveFirst S.M.E. Church in Ill. built near Xenia, 1864
  7. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Xenia Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Xenia Township.

Read it all →

The hunting camps of Kiffcart and Retherford were located in the southwest corner of Section 4. The buffalo trail was very wide in this area; therefore, Lewis located in the northwest quarter of Section 3. Lewis remained there until 1830 when he sold his property to Dr. Davenport. A post office was established at the Davenport home with the help of John Pierce and John Gowdy, establishing the town of Xenia. The building of the railroad in 1854 expanded the town, and by 1870 the population had increased to 1,000. A sesquicentennial celebration was held in 1984.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Xenia Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
First S.M.E. Church in Ill. built near Xenia, 18641911First S.M.E. Church in Ill. built near Xenia, 1864
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
Paine House in2012Paine House in
On the map

Xenia Township on the map, 1952 to 1968

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Xenia Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Xenia Township on the 1952 USGS mapXenia Township on the 1968 USGS map1952Xenia sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Xenia Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

First S.M.E. Church in Ill. built near Xenia, 1864
Retake this viewFirst S.M.E. Church in Ill. built near Xenia, 1864, 1911

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Xenia Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Xenia Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Xenia Township

Nobody well known was born in Xenia Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bailey ZimmermanAmerican singer · b. 2000
Darren BaileyAmerican farmer and politician · b. 1966
Thomas Sutler WilliamsAmerican politician · b. 1872
Mad Man PondoAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1969
V
Victoria Joyce ElyAmerican nurse · b. 1889
Bill TrotterAmerican baseball player · b. 1908
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Toliver, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Greendale
Gone or out of use
Baity SchoolschoolPaine SchoolschoolVickrey SchoolschoolXenia Oil Fieldoilfield
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Xenia Township
Camp GroundOddfellowsOnstottToliver

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Songer TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIuka TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGarden Hill TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHarter Township3 historic placesA

Questions about Xenia Township’s history

What year was Xenia Township founded?

The Xenia Township post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.