HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
XENIA TOWNSHIP

   John and James Stephenson are, by some authorities, said to have settled in this township, a few miles from Xenia, in 1797. They came from Virginia, and bringing with them the aristocratic principles of the “Old Dominion,” became influential men. The land on which they settled was formerly owned by John Paul, and sold to Jos. C. Vance at less than one dollar per acre.

   According to Mr. Hugh Andrew, who came from Kentucky in this township in 1804, Matthew Quinn came from Kentucky in 1803, and settled about six miles north of XENIX, and was his nearest neighbor, when he and his brother-in-law, Robert Armstrong, a Methodist preacher, first settled here, near the present site of the powder mills, in 1804, as above stated.

   Ezekiel and David Hopkins came from Virginia, and located here in 1803. A man by the name of Spencer came this year, and squatted in XENIX Township, remained a short time, and removed to another township. James Clinsey settled in this county, and owned land partly in this township and partly in Sugar Creek; but this is doubtful. John Gregg made him a home in the woods, on the present site of the road from Oldtown to Clifton. Thomas Simson one-half mile from him on the right of the present road to Clifton. David Laughead on Clark’s Run, eight miles east of Xenia. Also, a man by the name of John Ellis, came this year, contemporary with him. Also, we find John Galloway, James, and George, on the Little Miami, near the present site of the powder mills. A short distance this side, Solomon McCullough, cleared out a little patch and put up a cabin. David Mitchell bought land on Clark’s Run, about eight miles east of Xenia, and lived on it till he died. The congregation of Rev. Robert Armstrong entered into a league to come in a body and form a colony in the country, and in pursuance of which they sent commissioners to select a location. Reporting favorably, they all came, except Thomas Scott and a man named Milligan, whose wives would not sigh the deed for the conveyance of their land in Kentucky.

   Mr. Hugh Andrew, now living in Xenia, emigrated to this township from Fayette County, Kentucky, in 1804. The country then was in a perfect state of nature. The route over which he traveled, with a four-horse team, in company with William Gowdy, who moved his bother-in-law, Robert Armstrong, was wild and rough, no road nor trails. Camping out every night, they made their beds in the forest, with no house but the canopy of heaven; and while the moon glinted through the waving branches of the forest, they enjoyed that sweet repose, that perfect health, a clear conscience alone can give. Mr. Armstrong selected and cleared out a location near the present site of the powder mills, on the Little Miami. At this time game of all kinds was abundant, such as deer, turkeys with wolves, wild cats, and an occasional cougar. The Indians made their headquarters at Roundhead’s town, on Stony Creek and about the first of May they camped along the Little Miami and fished and hunted along the stream. One of their favorite methods of capturing deer was to place a large bush in the front part of their bark canoe; immediately back of this fix a torch light, then pushing their light craft noiselessly over the water, from behind this screen they could at night approach within easy shooting distance of the deer that came down to drink. The strange appearance of the light floating on the water would attract, and being very inquisitive animals, they would raise their heads to gaze upon it, and thus, afford the hunter a fair mark, which he seldom missed. It may be a matter of wonder to some how a canoe could float on the Little Miami, but in 1804 the channel was much narrower, deeper, and contained more water, than now. The church used by Reverend Armstrong and his congregation was built of round, peeled hickory logs, without floor or windows.

   The first winter buckskin was worn a great deal, which did very well in dry weather; but when it became wet it was entirely too affectionate, and when the breeches were hung up to dry they became so stiff that they required a goodly amount of beating before you could persuade them to go on, and then much coaxing to allow you to navigate without responding in many a pinch between the folds. Mr. Andrew says he was very anxious to have a buckskin suit, and persuaded his brother-in-law to get him two skins, and he hired a tailor to make them up. He was very proud of them until they got wet, and then he wished he had never seen them. One of the first houses in Xenia was next door east of the present site of the First National Bank. The first court in Xenia was held in it. Mr. Andrew remembers it the more distinctly because an enterprising merchant had a bag of peaches at the root of an oak tree, and it was here, he says, he got his “first good fill of peaches in Greene County”.

   In 1805 Major Morrow settled about eight miles east of Xenia, in the neighborhood of the Kyles. William and Robert Kendall settled about two miles east of Xenia. A shoemaker named Alexander Ruff was the first man buried in our Cemetery. Another man, by the name of Stephen Winters, built a cabin on Oldtown Run, and in company with his brother James, lived there for some time. In the following year James Andrew came from Nashville, and settled about one-half mile from the powder Mills, on this side of Yellow Springs.

   Here there occurs a hiatus in Father Andrew’s memory, and we pass over to 1812, when John Jacobi came from Pennsylvania, and bought the Oldtown Mill. About this time, also, came the Kendalls. The little settlement now received accessions from South Carolina, in the Fergusons, who settled on the Clifton road. The settlements after this, as the Indian troubles abated, increased too rapidly, both by accession and internal growth, to be followed specifically. (END)

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