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History · Xenia

Xenia’s post office opened in 1848, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Paine House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1860.

1848first post office
1on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Xenia’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Xenia began

When was Xenia founded?

1848

The Xenia post office opened in 1848, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 472 in 18602020 census: 380178 years
Founding year: the first Xenia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Xenia’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.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1906, drew every building in Xenia.Deep rootsA post office since 1848: 178 years of Xenia.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Xenia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Xenia’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, 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’s Wikipedia page.

Every building

Xenia, building by building, 1894–1906

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Xenia fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Xenia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Xenia.

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.

Timeline

Xenia, 1848 to 1952

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Xenia post office opens
  3. 1870CensusPopulation peaks at 916
  4. 20th century
  5. 1911In the archiveFirst S.M.E. Church in Ill. built near Xenia, 1864
  6. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Xenia, 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 on the map, 1952 to 1978

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

Xenia on the 1952 USGS mapXenia on the 1968 USGS mapXenia on the 1978 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.

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’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Xenia

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
first listed
1985
Paine House
Paine House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival1
Greek Revival1
Paine HouseGothic Revival

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

Nobody well known was born in Xenia 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

Questions about Xenia’s history

What year was Xenia founded?

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

What is on the National Register in Xenia?

One place: the Paine House (listed 1985).

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