[An earlier version was published in Leaves of Greene, Greene County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society newsletter, vol 23 no 5 (2002).]
Xenia Herald, 10 Nov 1921 –
“Xenia is without street signs, 474 buildings have no number and 705 points of mail delivery are without mail receptacles. This is what the survey by the Xenia post office shows. It is often difficult for a stranger to locate a house because of the lack of uniformity in the archaic house numbering system. A jump of 200 to 600 in two blocks is not uncommon. Where a house on one street has a number of 624, the corresponding house on a parallel street has a number of 220. The result of this jumble is that the street numbering system is to a large extent without value and is confusing. It is the result of placing numbers for a period of seventy-five years with out following a definite system.
“Local retailers, making deliveries by auto or wagon, complain of incessant trouble in locating a purchaser when number only is given. This is due to the fact that on many street street numbers are not given in sequence, have numbers not fitting their block, or numbers hundreds in advance or behind the number of some near-by structure.”
This article was written after re-districting based on the 1920 census had taken effect. Each census redraws the ward boundaries, by counting the number of voters in each area. This aspect can be confusing for those doing house research, as can many other things. A few of the difficulties in pursuing the age of a house in the city of Xenia are outlined in the following article.
The older city directories often use abbreviations like “ws” for west side or “nwc” for northwest corner, instead of house numbers. There are gaps in directory dates, and the first one was published for Xenia in 1870. Many of the available atlases and maps do not even show road and street names, especially those published in the 1800s. Sanborn fire insurance maps, for all their good qualities and usefulness for in-town property, do not cover areas outside existing city limits when they were published. The first one for Xenia appeared in 1885.
When people go researching the age of a structure, they often come knowing only the current house number, and possibly the lot number. A house number is not a legal description, but a lot number is. House numbers in the city limits of Xenia date from 1962. Before 1887, there was no enforced system; in that year, a city ordinance was passed, ensuring that odd and even numbers were used on opposite sides of the street among other regulations. If a house or structure was built in 1870, it could appear under three (or more) different numbers! New construction since 1962 has added new developments, and new street names. Areas just outside the city are numbered differently than rural ones; some formerly numbered rural routes now have street names. For instance, US 68 becomes Detroit St inside Xenia, and returns to US 68 when outside town. What is now Third Street was called Water Street.
Houses built before a certain time did not have to have permits and all the bureaucratic paperwork that attends the building of a new house today, so there are often no existing plans or blueprints. Often the only way to tell when a structure was built is when the taxes were raised on a property, but that little word “structure” can also mean a barn or other outbuilding. Sometimes a newspaper will mention in a brief paragraph that someone is building a new house, or moving to someone’s old house, or that the lot owner wants the old house removed first.
A good thing to remember is that there is no single place to go when researching the history of a house. You may see the following county officials: recorder, auditor, tax office, or engineer. You may visit the courthouse, library, archives & records center, historical society, genealogical society, university, or regional historic preservation office. You may have to decipher deed records, census schedules, and plat maps. It is sometimes helpful to ask neighbors who have lived in the area for a long time; they may know the former owners’ new address or a little history of the place. There are books and websites discussing structure dates and architectural styles. Unfortunately, no one has a file of photographs showing every house in the county in all phases of construction from day one – as much as researchers might love that.
It is a long, drawn-out process to try and find the age of a house or who built it. It calls on skills you may never have known you had. Patience, stubbornness, and a love of details are necessities. Best of luck in your endeavors!