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Location: A voice of truth, shouted down by fools.
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They're not similar in terms of nearby population. Riverside, Huber Heights and Fairborn are close in to Dayton, a reasonably large Ohio city, and each have large surrounding population. Xenia is 10+ miles outside the Dayton suburbs, and getting into Xenia itself requires exiting the freeway and driving a couple more miles.
Also, I think a city of Xenia's size so close to a large metro area has kind of a disadvantage. It has to compete against Dayton. Anything specialized or trendy or hip in Xenia isn't attracting nearby locals, it's attracting a more "metropolitan" crowd, but they'd have to drive to get to Xenia, so stuff that is closer to Dayton is more attractive to those in Fairborn, Beavercreek, Riverside, etc.
I see a similar pattern in Hamilton - which generally has very generic retail and dining options. If you want something special or upscale you drive into Cincinnati.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 313 TUxedo
However, try to think about what Xenia's options were in the mid-1970s. Sure, they could have used the land to build a collection of several cute faux-Victorian shops, in the 1-2,000 sq. ft. range, with a bus station and plenty of bicycle parking, but what would that have accomplished?
In 1974, "discount department" stores were not the wave of the future, they were THE reality then. ...
Almost every western Ohio town between 5,000 and 75,000 population has a safe and walkable downtown missing only one thing - commerce! How would Xenia have fared any different, tornado or not?
I agree with this. Time hasn't been kind to most small cities in Ohio. Look at Wilmington just south of Xenia. Its downtown is almost a ghost town with a few exceptions. Xenia's entire commercial area wasn't even completely replaced by the reconstruction - it just had several blocks carved out and replaced by the kind of development that was coming anyway.
I agree with Ohioan58 in that those other towns are at an advantage being closer to Dayton, and I'd like to point out that they all have ties to the base as well. I lived in Huber Heights as a child while my dad waited to be assigned base housing, and after he retired we moved to Fairborn. Area B of the base is located next to Riverside.
All three are close to very busy interstates and roads used by commuters, making their locations desirable for business and residential use. I know that Fairborn's restaurants are frequented by base personnel during the weekday lunch rush. Fairborn is also home to Wright State University, and businesses get a boost from students too. Xenia's location is somewhat removed from this activity generated by the military, the major universities/colleges, and downtown, resulting in less demand and patronage for local establishments.
I think that maybe Xenia's problem (if it is viewed as such) is that they didn't develop a niche. Yellow Springs is a much smaller town far from highways, but it still thrived even after Antioch closed. People flock to YS because it has a hippie natural vibe, and is close to Young's Dairy, John Brian, Clifton Mill, bike paths, etc.
This is just speculation, but perhaps Fairborn's Main Street with their local small businesses was somewhat fated to be, as Fairborn was created when Fairfield and Osborn merged. Buildings were moved before the merger, and I suppose that they were located in a planned way to facilitate a small town feel.
Last edited by Ohio Hello; 04-15-2013 at 04:46 PM..
Sometimes when I view this thread, at the bottom of my browser page, below each page’s sequence of posts, I find a clickable map with statistics on land-areas, which bear some relation to towns (or maybe precincts?). Sometimes (depends on browser settings?) this feature isn’t visible.
Anyway, the statistics include number of households, median household income and other demographic factors. I’m disinclined to wholeheartedly accept these numbers as believable facts. But even if they are at least approximately true, the outcome is very sobering. Look at the map of Xenia city and its immediate environs to the south, east and north… the median income in Xenia city is very low, and in the case of central Xenia, is far below the national median! Then look immediately to the west, to Beavercreek Township… the median household income is 6-figures! There’s a huge drop in reported median household income crossing the “divide” going eastwards, right around Kik-Kare speedway.
Also curious is the apparently huge disparity in income and demographics throughout the nominal Xenia zip-code area (I’m excluding Beavercreek Township here). Some parts also show 6-figure household incomes.
If all of this is to be believed, the core of Xenia is an epicenter of [comparative] poverty, with more distant parts of its zip code enjoying [comparative] wealth. So here’s the forehead-slapping realization of the day: what sort of tensions does this create, in terms of tax revenue, urban planning, township vs. city and so forth? Sounds like a recipe for atomization and strain!
Location: A voice of truth, shouted down by fools.
1,086 posts, read 2,701,158 times
Reputation: 937
Quote:
Originally Posted by ohio_peasant
Also curious is the apparently huge disparity in income and demographics throughout the nominal Xenia zip-code area (I’m excluding Beavercreek Township here). Some parts also show 6-figure household incomes.
If all of this is to be believed, the core of Xenia is an epicenter of [comparative] poverty, with more distant parts of its zip code enjoying [comparative] wealth. So here’s the forehead-slapping realization of the day: what sort of tensions does this create, in terms of tax revenue, urban planning, township vs. city and so forth? Sounds like a recipe for atomization and strain!
Exactly. Xenia today is exactly like the nicer parts of east Dayton. I mean, Xenia is sort of like Hearthstone or Belmont. It is struggling lower middle class. It doesn't mix, blend with or have any kind of transition from Beavercreek, which is upper middle class. There is sort of a buffer area around where Alpha is that divides the two communities. Xenia has always been lower middle class blue collar. Beavercreek was rural up through the mid 70s and since then has been slammed with development due to middle class flight from Dayton and expansion in the Base associated payroll. The average Xenian probably used to work in some factory in Jamestown, Xenia itself, or other small town in a commuting radius. As those jobs went so did the middle class of Xenia.
However, I don't really perceive any tensions. Beavercreek is its own city and school district. My perception is that the average Beavercreek resident couldn't care less about Xenia. Even less than they do about Dayton.
I went to the dairy bar in Xenia on Rt 42 with my brother a couple of years ago and we sat in the back of the place at one of the picnic benches. Mind you, this is next to the bike trail and pretty much on the outskirts of town. Some guy came up to us begging for quarters.
It's because of the large "briar" population there, and that the place has a susbtantial black neighborhood on the east side of town (you usually see black sections of county seats towns in the rural South, not in the Midwest). And one of the local country music/bluegrass institutions is based out of Xenia....WBZI Classic Country Radio...
...and I can assure y'all that bluegrass festival at the fairgrounds is ground-zero for local briardom.
The riff raff comes from all the government subsidized apartment complexes and large amounts of greene met housing, mostly built after 74. And don't forget Central State, which imports crime from the inner city hell holes of America. There are still some very nice areas, mainly north of 35 along US 68.
It's because of the large "briar" population there, and that the place has a susbtantial black neighborhood on the east side of town (you usually see black sections of county seats towns in the rural South, not in the Midwest). And one of the local country music/bluegrass institutions is based out of Xenia....WBZI Classic Country Radio...
...and I can assure y'all that bluegrass festival at the fairgrounds is ground-zero for local briardom.
lol. Well Xenia is pretty far, when you consider all of the suburbs that are more interesting, why go all the way out the exurbs (Xenia). Xenia is not next to Dayton, or even next to the suburbs that are next to Dayton, it is next to the suburban areas that are next to those suburban areas, that are next to Dayton. But then again you could say the same about Franklin.
I think, at that distance from Dayton (not so much physically but with respect to just how many small towns you have to pass through to get to them) that we're not talking about Dayton culturally anymore, but rural Ohio.
lol. Well Xenia is pretty far, when you consider all of the suburbs that are more interesting, why go all the way out the exurbs (Xenia). Xenia is not next to Dayton, or even next to the suburbs that are next to Dayton, it is next to the suburban areas that are next to those suburban areas, that are next to Dayton. But then again you could say the same about Franklin.
I think, at that distance from Dayton (not so much physically but with respect to just how many small towns you have to pass through to get to them) that we're not talking about Dayton culturally anymore, but rural Ohio.
Agreed, I feel this is true for a lot of county seats near major metropolitan areas. They developed their own character before the metro sprawled out to them and are still self-sufficient due to their size and influence across the rest of the county.
I think a lot of people expect Xenia to have automatically become more affluent because of the fact that Beavercreek's wealthiest areas sit right on Xenia's western borders. And maybe in 5-10 years if the base continues to do well and sprawl is still desirable, the northwestern area of town around the Fairgrounds which has been the more historically affluent area of Xenia will become even more desirable.
I have a book somewhere (can't remember the name off-hand) which details the history of Xenia from a local female author's perspective from the late 1800's to the 1950's or so. Very interesting read for anyone wishing to understand Xenia, from the historically undesirable "east-end" of town to folk histories of many local buildings and people. There is even discussion on the community's perspective of the beginnings of "urban revitalization" in town, far before Xenia Town Center was built or a tornado ever hit. In its reviews listed on the book, comparisons were drawn to the novel "Winesburg, Ohio" in its general style and content to give you all an idea. Also interesting to note is that the author almost never mentioned Dayton anywhere in her book, yet frequently mentioned Cincinnati - not sure why. When I find the book I will post its name - it is out of print, but maybe someone uploaded it online or maybe it is floating around ebay?
Agreed, I feel this is true for a lot of county seats near major metropolitan areas. They developed their own character before the metro sprawled out to them and are still self-sufficient due to their size and influence across the rest of the county.
I think a lot of people expect Xenia to have automatically become more affluent because of the fact that Beavercreek's wealthiest areas sit right on Xenia's western borders. And maybe in 5-10 years if the base continues to do well and sprawl is still desirable, the northwestern area of town around the Fairgrounds which has been the more historically affluent area of Xenia will become even more desirable.
I have a book somewhere (can't remember the name off-hand) which details the history of Xenia from a local female author's perspective from the late 1800's to the 1950's or so. Very interesting read for anyone wishing to understand Xenia, from the historically undesirable "east-end" of town to folk histories of many local buildings and people. There is even discussion on the community's perspective of the beginnings of "urban revitalization" in town, far before Xenia Town Center was built or a tornado ever hit. In its reviews listed on the book, comparisons were drawn to the novel "Winesburg, Ohio" in its general style and content to give you all an idea. Also interesting to note is that the author almost never mentioned Dayton anywhere in her book, yet frequently mentioned Cincinnati - not sure why. When I find the book I will post its name - it is out of print, but maybe someone uploaded it online or maybe it is floating around ebay?
I would like to read that book. Rural Ohio does not share the culture of the cities, but then again, that is the norm for rural areas everywhere. The contrast may be a bit starker because of urban decay in Ohio, culturally, but Xenia has to find their own path, not that of Dayton or Cincinnati.
It would be different if Xenia were an actual suburb of Dayton, and people don't want to give it the respect it deserves as its own city, just a much smaller one of 25,000.
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