Xenia Township dates to 1803, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #254 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Col. Charles Young House, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 9 buildings. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Col. Charles Young House, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 9 buildings. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1867.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Xenia Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Xenia Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #254 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Xenia Township’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Xenia Township’s 20.7 sits above most of its state (81% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1803.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Wilberforce
1867–today
Goes Station
1872–1894
Old Town
1886–1902
Goes
1894–1932
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
GoesMonroeOldtownWaynetta Mobile Home ParkWilberforce
Gone or out of use
Eastpoint SchoolschoolForest SchoolschoolGoes Post Officepost officeLauman SchoolschoolOak Grove SchoolschoolOld Town Post Officepost officeOldtown Creek SchoolschoolUnion SchoolschoolWestmont SchoolschoolWhite Chapel Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Xenia Township
Massies CreekMcDanielWilberforce
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the National Register
6 historic places in Xenia Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
Xenia was founded in 1803, the same year Ohio was admitted to the Union. In that year, Hollander-American pioneer John Paul bought 2,000 acres (8.1 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 county seat on this land at the forks of the Shawnee creeks, stimulating development of the settlement here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Xenia Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1955Xenia sheet · 1:24,000
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.
Retake this viewVerso Bank of Xenia (Ohio) 20 dollars 1841, 1841
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Xenia Township’s page.
In 1803, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Xenia Township’s post office opened in 1867, and the census of 1810 counted 429 people here.
How does Xenia Township rank for history?
Xenia Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #254 of 993 in Ohio. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Xenia Township?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Col. Charles Young House (a National Historic Landmark since 1974), and 1 historic district, the McDonald Farm, with 9 contributing buildings. 14 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Xenia Township?
15% of Xenia Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1965.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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.
★ Landmark
1899
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