126 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. NEW BURLINGTON, 9 miles south of Xenia, has sits northern section in Spring Valley Township, but the larger part of it lies in Clinton County. F. McD. T. SUGAR CREEK TOWNSHIP. James R. Hale, Assistant State Librarian. The first of the "Big Four" townships to be carved, as it were, in 1802, from the then unplatted wild known ever after as Greene County, Ohio, was Sugar Creek. In 1856 what is now Spring Valley Township was taken. from Sugar Creek, previous to which time the citizens of Spring Valley Township went to Bellbrook to vote at general elections which attracted large crowds. The Little Miami River enters the township at the northeast and flows southward more than half the extent of the township, to where it turns eastward and enters Spring Valley. Little Sugar Creek, a small stream, extends from the extreme northwest toward the center of the township where, at a point just south of Bellbrook, it joins Big Sugar Creek which flows from the west, and at this juncture the uniting streams become Sugar Creek proper which, flowing southeast, empties into the Little Miami. From this small stream, or from the abundance of sugar timber in this locality, the township takes its name. The industries of the township belong mostly to agriculture, and a very considerable acreage is given to tobacco, producing superior grades commanding good prices. Though there have been several flouring mills along the river, but one yet remains of the now almost vanished pioneer industry. Building stone of considerable quantity and quality has been quarried in the northern part of the township. The first settlers of the township came up from Cincinnati, "the gateway of the northwest," and very early settlements were made at BELLBROOK and aro. The oldest house now standing in the township, or in Greene County, is near Clio, near the site of the temporary but first built by the Wilson brothers in 1796, and was erected by these brothers for their father in 1800. On the farm just north of Clio was located the first mill for grinding A DESCRIPTION OP THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 127 corn. It was worked by hand by the neighbors as they in turn would grind their own corn from which "mush" was made. Wild animals abounded in this locality, upon which the settlers depended for meat, and between Clio and Centreville was located what was called "a bear wallow," a 'boggy place where the bears went to roll themselves in the oozy mud as our modern swine, are wont to do, and where at one time, as it is related, one man killed two bears and one deer. At Bellbrook the settlement was made at a very early period. The father of Dr. James Clancy, from Kentucky, settled here in 1786-7, purchased the land that became the east side of the village, and built a log cabin on the site of the present Bellbrook Inn, where he "kept tavern" for a number of years, building another tavern on the same site in 1797 which was a large two-story frame. In this building was also kept the first store and it is related that Joseph C. Vance (who; after laying out Xenia went to Champaign County and whose son Joseph was elected governor of Ohio in 1836) also kept tavern in this .building about 1797. Bellbrook is the only incorporated municipality in the township ; it was laid out in 1816 but was not incorporated until 1832. The progenitors of the village were, Stephen Bell, after whom it was named (and who afterward became the mayor of Springfield), Dr. James Clancy, and Henry Opdyke, they being owners of the land on which the coming metropolis was to stand. In 1850 it flourished with a population of 502 ; in 1870 it was 369 ; in 1880 it reached 425, while in 1900 it was 352,, the population of the township for 1900 being 1368. The first schoolhouse stood nearly opposite the present village school building. It was a rude structure of native logs. Janes Bain was the popular teacher of the period ; he was also a "brewer of beer" and his malt house stood in the hollow near the schoolhouse, so that he could teach the school and brew the beer at the same time. The malt house was a rude structure, also frequently given to conflagrations, on which occasions the teacher would sound the alarm and, quickly ordering the school dismissed, would lead the big boys and big girls of the school, as an improvised fire brigade, to the rescue. Many other buildings for school A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 129 purposes were erected from time to time, until in 1854 when the brick building of three rooms, in the north part of the village, was erected. This was quite a large and popular school for many years. Many of the former graduates in learning were fledged from what .was known as "The Academy," which was a large frame building and stood near the present Presbyterian church but was destroyed by fire in 1850. At present the village has a special district school and the township high school located within the town. The various religious denominations have always been well represented in Sugar Creek. The first church building was erected by the Baptists (Predestinarian) at Middle Run in the extreme part of the township in 1799, where services are yet held. The first church building in the vicinity of Bellbrook was erected by the Associate Presbyteriafis at the northwest corner of the Pioneer Associate graveyard, in 1811. The M. E. and M. P. denominations have flourished in the village from the beginning; in 1842 the latter erected the present building and in 1844 the former's present house of worship was erected. The Presbyterian church was organized about 1828 and purchased from the Universalists its first building, which was known as the bell church because it had a bell in its belfry, and was removed for the present building. The U. P. church erected in 1859 the large frame building which was destroyed by fire when known as the Magnetic Springs Hotel, the church organization having removed from the township. The Christian church is located southeast of Bellbrook and that of the Disciples (Salem) north of Clio. These religious organizations had their burial grounds near the church buildings. In 1850 the Bellbrook Cemetery Association was formed, purchasing mortuary grounds about a half mile north of the village and from year to year these grounds have been well kept and beautified. Pork packing on an extensive scale, making Bellbrook the Porkopolis and business center of a widely extended territory, began here about 1835, when the brick porkhouse in the village was built. At this house were received, from the slaughter house west of town, about 250 hogs for each working day of 12 hours. 130 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. They were hauled in long processions of farmers' wagons piled high with the clean, white, stark bodies, noses ornamented with blood-red icicles, and the round red wound in the white foreheads showing where the unerring blow with the hammer had struck them down ; these, with the noisy drivers, filled the street all day long and often far into the night. Then came the weighing on the sprangled arms of the beam scales just within the door of the porkhouse ; the announcement of the weight in stentorian tones, like the town crier at an auction ; then the busy, noisy scene within, as the hogs were cut into hams, shoulders, sides, etc., by the huge flying cleavers—all made quite a scene of commercial commotion in the old town. Two popular incidents have most conspired to make Bell-brook famous, at least as famous as she is, the achievement of "Sleepy Tom, the Pacing Wonder," in 1879, and the discovery of the Magnetic Springs in 1882. This remarkable horse was a Bellbrook village "scrub" and led a vagabond's life as a colt, and after some efforts at putting him in training because of his, natural pacing gait, he lost his eyesight and was known as "Blind Tom," and as this gave him a sleepy appearance he received the racing name of "Sleepy Tom." At Chicago in 1879, when he was about twelve years old, he went in the great pacing race and took third, fourth, and fifth mile heats in 2:16 1/2, 2 :16, and 2:12 1/4 for a purse of $15,000. In the last heat he recorded the best time known in the world in any gait, and immediately Tom's name became a household word and his fame spread throughout the civilized world, but he lived to neglected age, and perished miserably in a burning stable "out west." The Magnetic Springs were discovered in 1882 by the plasterer who was finishing the basement of the old United Presbyterian church building, on North Main Street, for a dwelling. It was noticed that the trowel used in the work appeared to become magnetized after being immersed for a time in the water of the old spring used as a well under the floor of the basement. The water was taken to a chemist and a partial analysis was procured at the cost of five dollars. The partial analysis was quite formidable in technical names for the various ingredients and appeared A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 131 especially so when placed upon large advertising posters by a local artist and amateur promoter and placed in conspicuous places about the village. Many citizens began at once to take the liquid prescription for their many ailments, most always reporting beneficial results, which were gathered as testimonials and, with the account of the great discovery (heralded as the "lost waters" for which Ponce de Leon searched in vain), were sent to the newspapers far and wide. This free advertising brought a continuous stream of visitors to the village from near and far, bringing all sorts of vessels with which to carry away the healing waters. On one Sunday, during the first throes of the excitement occasioned by the great discovery, the streets of the village were completely filled with vehicles, as never before, the crowd being estimated, for this one day, at five thousand or more. The old church building was used for some time as hotel and bathhouse but was destroyed by fire. The Bellbrook Inn was erected across the way, south of the original spring but near what *was claimed as another spring "just as good" as the original. The Inn was also destroyed by fire recently, leay.ing the bathhouse which covers the old spring as the only building to mark the spot where the great Magnetic once flourished ; but 'crushed to earth" it may "rise again." With the magnetic water came the newspaper called The Magnet, which was followed by The Moon, which flourished, more or less, for some years but finally yielded to the logic of the situation and passed into peaceful oblivion. The taverns of the village were points about which many of the pioneer incidents cluster. The first was the Clancy tavern as already mentioned ; another was called "The Mansion House," with a very high sign post in front with the name in large letters on it, part of which is now the last house on South Main Street, west side; then ."The Eagle Exchange" with its sign post, on the northwest corner of the public square; and the "Green Bay Tree," now the brick building on the west side of North Main Street. These were, in their time, the centers for public meetings, elections, conventions and general conviviality, and on 'such occasions the large barns and yards would be filled with champing horses with now and then a stopover stagecoach among the pioneer 132 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. vehicles. For those were stagecoaching days and Bellbrook was on the stage line from Dayton to the Little Miami station at Spring Valley. It was certainly a moving spectacle to see the prancing horses, six of them to the coach, and of the best stock, in fine harness, and each horse with a full set of bells ; then to hear the driver wind his bugle, see the passengers clambering to their seats, perhaps a cheer would go up for some favorite candidate, with a parting blast from the horn as the horses would dash away or, at times, the bugler would continue in strains of beautiful numbers, sending the echoes among the hills and vales, as the coach moved on its rumbling way down the valley. The old tavern stand on the corner, before mentioned, has yet upon the roof, up alongside the capacious chimney, a bell hanging in its pagoda-like house, where it has hung for more than two-thirds of a century. The old bell has a peculiar roundelay when rung as it used to ring, and it was long ago decided that the old bell was A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 133 trying to say : "Pig-tail done !", repeating it three times to each measure. So that this old bell is tenderly associated with the many pleasing reminiscences in the memory of those who lived in the old town in the other days, and its fame is embalmed in prose and poetry by the local historians and bards, to which James Whitcomb Riley in his "Ponchus Pilut" has added : " Yes, an' out in our back yard He he'ps 'Lindy rendur lard; An', wite in the fire there, he Roast' a pig-tail wunst for me— An ist nen th' old tavurn-bell Rung, down town, an' he says 'Well Hear dat! Lan' o' Canaan, son, Ain't dat bell say " Pig-tail done ! Pig-tail done ! Go tell Son Tell dat Chile dat Pig-tail done ! "* Bellbrook and Sugar Creek. responded to the first roll of the drum, or the first blast of the bugle; that called to arms in defense of the old flag and the Union in the Civil War. It was early in that trying time (November, 1861) when the first soldier, son answered his last roll call, and the little village seeming to nestle so peacefully among the Miami hills was called to attend its first. war funeral. The following years, all during the mighty flood tide of the great struggle, brought untold sorrow to Sugar Creek, a loyal township of a banner-winning county, sending, according to the published roster, 205 Soldiers to the front. The wandering sons of Bellbrook and Sugar Creek do not forget the old home, but many of them take delight in 'going back to the old place to revisit the old landmarks, recall the scenes of the long-past at the old place. In Dayton there has been for a number of years a society of the former residents of the Bell- * In answer to an inquiry as to whether the Hoosier poet's idea in this poem wast taken from the old tavern bell in Bellbrook, Mr. Hale has just received the following: " No; but the same kind of a country town, tavern, and bell,— for it always said ' Pig-tail done ', God bless it.  Heartily but hastily yours, JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY." A number of years ago some verses by Mr. Hale on the old bell appeared in the Xenia Gazette, in which he exploited :Pig-tail done” for what he believes to be the first time in print. That two different bells should say “Pig-tail done” is not utterly improbable and the Bellbrook bell has no need to yield proiority, for, as Mr. Hale says, “was saying it seventy or more years ago."- ED. 134 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908.. brook locality known as the Gem City Bellbrook Club, organized for the purpose of keeping green the memory of the old home. The club for several years was championed by the venerable Simon Sparks, who has passed to his final home leaving a venerated memory. This society held a number of annual meetings at the old home place and the spirit of these meetings went abroad to former residents living farther away, and in 1905, on Labor Day, the first general home-coming for all former residents of the locality was held, and it was a surprising success, being largely attended by representatives from a number of states, widely separated, but coming together once more at the old home, for the first time in many years, in a happy, handshaking time. Three annual meetings have been held, all eminently successful and growing in interest each year, with ever increasing attendance of loyal sons and daughters of old Sugar Creek. XENIA TOWNSHIP. Xenia Township was organized in 1805 from portions of Beaver .Creek, Caesar's Creek and Sugar Creek Townships. It includes a larger area than any other township in the county and is one of the most famous for its fancy stock. Being the township of the county seat, it contains a number of county institutions, such as the courthouse, jail, etc., mentioned in the historical sketch. Situated about two miles west of Xenia are the County Infirmary and the Children's Home. The former comprises a three-story brick building, erected about forty years ago, set in a farm of 105 acres and supplied with water from the city water works. There are usually about seventy inmates in the Infirmary, while in the Home, an older building across the road, about thirty children are cared for. In addition to the city of Xenia, the township contains the villages of Oldtown, Goes and Wilberforce. OLDTOWN, three miles north of Xenia, has a celebrated history which is related in the article on "The Original People of the County," Part II. At present it is the home of about 50 people and has a M. E. church, a school house, a flour mill, a stare, and the inevitable blacksmith shop. It is no longer a station on the railroad. A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 135 GOES owes its importance chiefly to the. Miami Powder Company which has its plant there, employing about sixty men. The town is a flag station on the Springfield and Xenia railroad and has a school house, store, and blacksmith shop. The waters of a large spring above .the town supply its 200 inhabitants with pure water at little cost. WILBERFORCE was formerly a health resort called Tawawa Springs, but since 1856 it has been the seat of Wilberforce University, which is described in a separate article. Wilberforce has a population of 300, exclusive of the University students, and contains some attractive residences. There are three restaurants and a store, and a flag station on the P. C. C. & St. L. Railroad three quarters of a mile away. XENIA. "Hoke" Smith, Editor of the Xenia Republican. When, a few years ago, a citizen of Xenia went to South America on a business mission, he was not long at his hotel until sought out by another who had formerly lived beneath the Stars and Stripes and who wanted to learn the news from home. He showed the Xenian a little old-fashioned railroad locomotive which bore the name "Xenia" in faded letters. It had once been in use on the old C. H. & D. Railroad when that line was a narrow gauge, and for years had snorted and puffed its way through Xenia. Then when its day of usefulness had ended here it had been bought, together with several other of the old engines, by a sharp contractor and had been shipped to Columbia, S. A., where it is still in service. Go where you will in the world, there is always some evidence at hand that Xenia is on the map. The products of our factories go all over the world and Xenians themselves are everywhere. Be it a great disaster or a great celebration, you will always 'find some Xenian in it. The St. Louis balloonists who sailed aboire Xenia some time ago, remembered the city because of its hundreds of shade trees. Many of the fine old trees have given way before ruthless hands for the building of cement sidewalks and street paving, but the A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 137 people have jealously guarded them wherever possible and have kept the grateful shade on nearly all the thoroughfares outside the business district. If you have never seen Xenia from a height it will pay you to climb to the top of the Court House tower some day. It is like looking at the old town through new eyes. A fine old place it is, with its miles of shade trees stretching in all directions, its homes surrounded by green lawns, its stretches of cement walk glistening white under the rays of the sun. Smoke stacks send up their volume of smoke, proving at times a good deal of a nuisance to the residents, but at least giving evidence of our commercial activity; and everywhere there is the evidence of cleanliness, prosperity, and contentment. And if it be a bright day and the harvests about to ripen you will want to spend some time up there getting acquainted with the surrounding country and picking out familiar objects. Far away may be seen dimly the spires of historic Antioch. You are impressed anew with the fact that there is no more beautiful spot than the fertile Miami valley. No wonder that it has been called a modern Arcadia; the green fields sweep away in long stretches, . broken here and there by the streams along which are the sycamores and willows ; comfortable farm houses and big barns filled to bursting attest the generosity .of Mother Earth in yielding up her choicest fruits for us. From the horn of plenty have been scattered the good things of earth all over this section. The fancy breeds of horses, cattle, sheep and swine have brought fame to the county of Greene. No other farthers in the United States have taken so many prizes for fine stock. In the midst of such surroundings no wonder Xenia has grown and prospered. We have our peculiarities, to be sure. We have a steam railway which runs along the principal street of the city, right by the Court House. Long freight trains passing.along the principal thoroughfare look queer to strangers and in time past efforts have been made to get the railroad off the street but to no purpose and, after all, we rather like it, because we are accustomed to it We are like London, England, in one respect—some of our streets. are very narrow. The man who laid out Xenia was 138 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. possessed of a streak of economy which has given us cramped quarters in some sections. POPULATION. The. last census, taken in 1900, gave Xenia a population of 8,696. Since that time the city has enjoyed phenomenal growth and these figures fall far Short of the population at the present time; nor do they embrace the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home which lies at Our doors and which is the home of about a thousand persons. We have passed the ten thousand mark and are still growing. The city is divided into four wards, each of which consists of two precincts. The present First Ward is the westernmost, the Second next, then the Third, and the Fourth east of all, the main dividing lines being West, Detroit, and Leech Streets. It is well governed ; the laws strictly enforced. The police force consists of a chief and seven patrolmen. RECENT IMPROVEMENTS. Within the past ten years Xenia has made long strides. It has witnessed the erection. of a splendid new court house, the corner stone of which was laid in 1901. The old court house had served its purpose since 1846 and had been the scene of many memorable events and there were a great many of the "old timers" who gazed at it with fond eyes as its walls disappeared. Upon its site has appeared a structure that has proven a model in convenience and beauty of architecture. A leading publication recently gave pictures of a few of the model court houses in the United State's and the Greene County structure was Selected as one of these. It is about the only instance in the country where a court house was built within the appropriation. The commissioners were authorized to sell 4 per cent bonds to the amount of $200,000 but only $184,000 worth were required to erect and furnish the structure. The building of the court house awoke civic pride in Xenia. The building was surrounded on all sides by streets which in the 140 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908 spring became well nigh impassable. In the course of time came the street paving. Main, Detroit, and Market Streets were paved with brick and Second Street with asphalt, making in all about five miles of paved streets. Prior to this improvement there had " been built a complete sewerage system, adding greatly to the. city's healthfulness. Then came the construction of miles upon miles of cement walks. The streets are well lighted. These public utilities require the expenditure of a vast sum of money each year. Last year it cost the people of Xenia, including interest, the sum of $118,644.21 to make the wheels of the city government turn smoothly. And this sum did not include the special assessment for paving, sewerage, etc. We have been pouring money into the public improvements. Our paved streets cost. us the sum of $197,600 and the sanitary sewerage system $80,000. This doesJmt include several thousand dollars to take care of the storm water. Yet Xenia is a rich city and can well afford to make these improvements and take care of its citizens in public utilities. Last year there was on the tax duplicate personal property which amounted to $1,587,863 and real estate the value of which was $2,543,250, a total valuation of $4,130,113. THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY. A building in which all may take a great pride is the fine Carnegie library located on East Church Street, built by the generosity of Andrew Carnegie who gave $20,000 for the building property and afterward contributed $1,350 for the furnishings. Last year there were circulated thirty thousand volumes for home use. Away from the noise of the city and set in a green sward it affords a restful place where all may have access to the best of literature. Another public building which may prove to be a reality before long is a Government building for which Congress has made an appropriation of $10,000 for a site, but at this writing the location has not yet been decided. It would be the home of the Xenia post office and other Government offices of the Sixth Congressional District, of which Xenia is the largest city. A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 141 THE POST OFFICE. The Xenia post office is now occupying a room in the Y. M. C. A. building on the southeast corner of Greene and Market Streets. The post office force consists of the postmaster, assistant postmaster, five clerks, six city carriers, ten rural carriers, one mail messenger and one special delivery messenger. The yearly pay roll for these employees amounts to $23,840. Twenty-five mails are received and a like number dispatched each day. Postal receipt's for the year ended March 31, 1908, were $18,827.62. Money orders written the year ended 1967 amounted to $62,179.62. Money orders paid the same year amounted to $50,833.71. FIRE DEPARTMENT AND WATER WORKS. Xenia has long been noted for its splendid fire protection. There are two fire stations, one centrally located on Whitentan Street, the other at Cincinnati Avenue and Second Street. There are five regular firemen and eight pipe men who may be depended upon at a moment's notice to respond to calls. Speaking of the fire department brings us to the subject of the magnificent water system possessed by Xenia. It was built in 1887 and there are two stations. The one on the Springfield pike derives its supply of water from springs and the one built later on the Cincinnati pike gets a supply of clearest crystal water from wells. The big engines with their steady "chug,” send this water in abundant supply to the mammoth standpipe which is located upon high ground and affords at all times a pressure such as few systems possess. On an average five hundred thousand gallons of water each day are distributed to the inhabitants of Xenia. The Company is owned and under the supervision of local capitalists and has recently secured a renewal of its franchise for ten years. Mr. George F. Cooper, who is the efficient superintendent, had charge of the construction of the plant and knows every detail connected with this important feature of the city's well being. GAS AND ELECTRICITY. Two electric companies supply Xenia with light and power. 142 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. A DESCRIPTION OP THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 143 Natural gas has found its way to our doors and has proven a great boon to the citizens of Xenia in its cheapness (25 cents per thousand) and cleanliness both as a fuel and light. No artificial gas is now manufactured in the city. At this time there are over 1,300 consumers of natural gas. It was introduced only a couple of years ago but Xenia people were quick to appreciate its advantages. Our supply of gas, which has always proven adequate, comes from the Mt. Vernon, 0., fields. COMMUNICATIONS. Xenia depends to a very large extent upon the agricultural resources for its support and business but a number of splendid industries have grown up. The shipping facilities have proven at all times adequate to tempt the manufacturer. Our situation upon the great Pan Handle system of railways, brings us in close touch with the leading cities of the country. Electric lines make it but a step to Springfield and Dayton. By our steam lines New York City is only fifteen hours away, Chicago eight hours and St. Louis nine. The Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway taps a rich coal mining country and hauls the black diamonds our way in vast quantities. Two telephone systems afford Xenians quick and easy communication. Each one of the companies occupying the field has approximately a thousand subscribers in Xenia While lines from both systems radiate to all parts of the county and to the smaller towns, proving a wonderful aid in the transaction of business. The great majority of Greene County farmers may today be reached within a few moments by the aid of the telephone. THE TWINE AND CORDAGE INDUSTRY. Xenia's principal industry and that in which more money by far is invested than in any other single enterprise is the making of twine and cordage. The city is known throughout the United States .as a center for the twine industry. and it is a matter of pride that the great grain-growing districts of the West and South call upon Xenia to a large extent for the twine which binds the grain which feeds a large portion of the world. The Hooven & Allison Company is Xenia's largest concern. It employs 550 persons, making rope of all description and commercial and binder twines and sending its products to all parts of the United States and Canada. The remotest countries of the earth yield raw products to the mills : the jute comes from China and -Japan ; Manila hemp from the Philippines ; sisal from Yucatan; Mexico; also hemp from Russia and Italy and American hemp from Kentucky. There are now three large mills in operation and in the early part of June, 1908, there was blown for the first time to summon the employees together the whistle of one of the largest mills of the West. It is located on Cincinnati Avenue and contains floor space to the extent of 120;000 square feet. In addition to the regular channels of trade the company maintains branch houses at Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, and Seattle. The Hooven & Allison Company is one of the pioneers in the making of twine in this country, which has grown year by year from a very feeble and primitive method of producing twine, until the present extensive industry has been achieved. A history of the twine-making industry in Xenia would prove interesting but it is not within the province of this article. The R. A. Kelly Cordage Company is another of Xenia's splendid industries along the same line. It employs a force of 100 men. Binder twine is made but the chief product is manila rope. Its rope is of a high grade quality, the United States government using it in its work. Rope as large as three and a half inches in. diameter is turned out from the factory, this size being in great demand for the drilling of gas wells. Operated under the same management is the Kelly Machine Shops where skilled labor is employed at good wages. Here is made what is known as a "shaper," a machine tool, which is shipped to all parts of the world and for which there is a steady and growing demand. OTHER INDUSTRIES. The Xenia Shoe Factory has spread the fame of Xenia in a manufacturing way. The factory has been established only about eighteen years and from a humble beginning has grown to a plant which, when running to its full capacity, employs 300 hands and 144 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. turns out 1500 pairs of shoes each day. Its traveling salesmen cover a large section of the country and its products are shipped to all parts of the United States. It has a paid-up capital stock of $100,000. The Xenia Fuse Factory, an adjunCt to the Aetna Powder Company, is another notable industry. There are six substantial brick buildings devoted to this plant, located on Hcime Avenue. It would be strange that a great work like the construction of the Panama canal were in progress and Xenia products not in some way find their lodgement there. And thus we find the Xenia factory shipping to that far away point the fuses that touch off the enormous blasts which will pave. the way for the ships of all nations'to pass through to the Pacific without that long tiresome voyage around the Horn. The plant employs sixty people. The work is light and not considered dangerous. The fuses from the factory are in great demand all over the world. Australia, Germany, Japan and far away South Africa use them in their blasting. The Xenia Star Nurseries located here ship away annually a million trees. The nurseries occupy three farms, two on the Dayton pike and one on the upper Bellbrook pike, in all comprising 350 acres of land. The trees are shipped to all parts of the country. $15,000 is distributed each year for labor and in a busy season from one hundred to one hundred and fifty hands are employed. The Xenia Board & Paper Company employs about forty persons. It is a branch of an Indianapolis concern. The box board is used for the making of suit cases, paper boxes and similar articles and the Xenia mill has a capacity of twenty tons per day. Recently there has been installed much costly machinery, enabling the mill to produce two and three ply board and greatly increasing its usefulness. The Hollencamp plant for making artificial ice is located at the corner of Columbus and Third Streets. It has a capacity of thirty tons a day and keeps our citizens reasonably cool„ A cold storage department is run in connection with the ice plant. The plant of the George Dodds & Sons Company has the 146 - GREENE COUNTY 1803-1908. distinction of being by far the most handsomely equipped retail establishment for monuments and cut stone work in the United States. The company does business in several states and as far west as Denver. The city has five solid financial institutions. Included in this number are two National banks, the Citizens' National and the Xenia National. The Commercial and Savings Bank is a newer institution but in excellent standing. There are two Building and Loan Associations, the Home and the People's. The utmost confidence is reposed in these monied institutions. The Eavey Wholesale Grocery is one of Xenia's big institutions. One of the most costly fires that Xenia has ever had swept this grocery away in the early part of 1908, costing the lives of two brave firemen, who were crushed by falling walls. A new building of reinforced concrete has been erected on a new site, at the corner of Third and Detroit Streets. This new building is a splendid addition to the business property of the city. PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The Xenia Public Schools have a reputation that extends all over the State. The State School Commissioner, who has the legal authority for the rating of high schools, has put Xenia in the first class. So also has the association Of the leading colleges of this section, so that pupils who receive a diploma from the Xenia public schools are eligible to enter the colleges which belong to this association upon the diploma alone. No other tax is paid so cheerfully as that which supports the schools. The annual sum paid out for tuition alone amounts to $30,000 annually; for janitor service is paid about $4,000 and a like sum for contingent expenses. The Board of Education is composed of seven members and there are about fifty teachers. The schools occupy six buildings, there being two high schools, the Central and the East Main Street, the latter being set apart for the accommodation of colored youth. Last year the enumeration showed the number of children of school age to be 2510; the enrollment is about 1665. Mention of the Xenia public schools would not be complete without a word as to its superintendent, Prof. E. B. Cox. He has A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 147 held that position for more than a quarter of century, being elected in 1881 and prior to that time having served as assistant principal of the high school. He is still guiding the public schools with his old-time energy, foresight, and wisdom. CHURCHES. The many splendid churches of the city are a tremendous factor in the life of the people. An open-hearted generosity marks the benevolences of the various churches and thousands of dollars are given annually to the cause of missions and for home work. One hundred years ago this autumn a minister of the A. R. church preached in Xenia and two years later, 1810, a congregation was organized. That congregation became the First United Presbyterian church just 50 years ago, when the Associate Reformed united with the Associate church and formed the United Presbyterian denomination. In 98 years the congregation has had nine pastors : John Steele, J. R. Bonner, R. D. Harper, W. G. Moorehead, T. H. Hanna, J. H. Wright, W. B. Barr, R. G. Ramsay and S. E. Martin. The present membership is more than 300. Plans have been drawn for a new house of worship.. An enviable record has been made by the congregation in many lines of Christian work. One of the beautiful church homes of the city is the Second United Presbyterian church at the corner of Market and West Streets. It was erected at a cost of $28,000 and has only been occupied about a year. The church is of picturesque appearance, of the English timbered style of architecture. It was constructed of native limestone. Last year this church gave for benevolences the splendid sum of $5,872.59. It has a membership of 365. Christ Church Episcopal was established in Xenia 52 years ago. It was a small congregation but a zealous devotion to duty marked those who held its standard aloft. Last year the church took on new life. A new church edifice has just been completed on East Church street at a cost of $8,000. There are now 85 communicants, the number having double within the past year. The church while small is beautiful in its arrangements, being of the A DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS - 149 early English Gothic style of architecture. The plans for it were drawn by the rector, Rev. 1-I. J. Simpson. The First Methodist Episcopal, Church is another congregation which is worshiping in a comparatively new church. This congregation consists of over 800 members. Ten years ago the church was remodeled and converted into a beautiful structure. On Home-Coming Sunday will be celebrated the centennial anniversary of its founding in Xenia. The Reformed Church of Xenia is looking forward to this Home-Coming with pleasurable anticipations. The pastors who have presided over this congregation for almost sixty years are all living at this writing. The venerable P. C. Prugh was its-pastor. foi 25 years and is still in the harness. He was succeeded by Rev. S. B. Yockey who occupied the pulpit for an almost equal length, 23 years and who is still a resident of Xenia. After him for shorter periods have been Rev. M. L. Fox, Rev. Henry Gekeler and the present pastor Rev. Ernest Evans. It is hoped that all the old pastors may be present and occupy the pulpit together at Home-Coming time, representing a period of church history as before stated of almost sixty years. The church has a membership of 250 and the congregation has recently purchased the lot at the corner of Detroit and Church Streets where a church and parsonage will be erected at a cost of $30,000, leaving the old church home at the corner of Detroit and Market Streets. Trinity Methodist Episcopal ChtIrch is an off shoot from the First M. E. Church. It was organized about forty years ago, the church building being located on East Main Street and being pleasant and commodious. It has a membership of about 350 and last year gave for benevolences approximately $1,009. The First Presbyterian Church was organized about 1826. It has a membership of about 340: The house of worship is located on West Market Street. It is one of the strong congregations of the city, contributing liberally to benevolences and its membership exerting a great influence upon the community. The Lutheran. Church, on West Main Street, was organized in 1852 and has a membership of about 70., While not so large as some others it does earnest, active work.