Finneytown, Ohio

Finneytown, Ohio
Finneytown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Springfield Township, Hamilton County, in southwest Ohio, United States, just north of Cincinnati. The population was 12,399 at the 2020 census. Finneytown is home to the largest private school in Ohio (St. Xavier High School) and the Cincinnati area's annual Greek Festival (at Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church).
Finneytown is named for Ebenezer Ward Finney, a Revolutionary War soldier whose burial site is located just south of the current township. The land was originally purchased from John Cleves Symmes by Rev. Ebenezer Ward, and given to his grandson Ebenezer Ward Finney.
History
In April 1795, an old preacher named Reverend Ebenezer Ward bought the section of land which included modern day Finneytown from John Cleves Symmes. Ebenezer Ward became ill and wrote a will which designated the land to be inherited by his grandson, Ebenezer Ward Finney (born 1755). At the time the 41-year-old Finney was living in Rensselaer County, New York and had served in the 4th New York Regiment during the American Revolutionary War. Once he learned about his inheritance of Rev. Ward's land, Finney traveled to Finneytown to inspect the land. Finneytown at the time was sparsely populated and had one trail that went East-West, known at the time as The North Bend to Carthage Trace (modern day Northbend Road) and an Indian trail that went North-South. Finney sold his old farm and moved into Finneytown with his family in 1800. He set up his farmstead on a hilltop location near the North Bend road and the road to Winton's Plantation, and he also donated a plot of his land for a small church. Ebenezer Ward Finney died in 1822 at the age of 67. One of the original pioneers, Samuel Raymond, moved to Finney's land and built a blacksmith shop, which remained until the 20th century.
In the 20th century, Finneytown saw a huge amount of growth as it transitioned from a rural area to a suburb. 1905 saw the creation of Special District School #10, and a building was built in 1915 with two rooms, a gym/auditorium, and a basement lunchroom to fill the demand for education. The early 20th century saw the introduction of automobiles to Finneytown, which created a demand for the development of the roads from dirt roads. This led to the pavement of the roads, with Winton Road, one of the main streets of Finneytown, being paved in 1926. Whitaker Elementary, is named after Telford Whitaker, who was a teacher, principal, and superintendent in Finneytown from 1930 to 1965. Whitaker Elementary served initially 1st-8th grades. After the Second World War, Finneytown saw a population boom as the school age population increased by 368% between 1948 and 1958. Farms were replaced by suburbs, shopping centers, and new shops. This population growth and a new requirement from the state for school districts to have a K-12 program, led to the foundation of the Finneytown Secondary Campus in 1958. This was quickly followed by the construction of Cottonwood Elementary in 1962 and Brent Elementary in 1964. The schools would be continuously expanded in the subsequent years. In 2010, Cottonwood Elementary was demolished due to the difficulty of maintenance, and a new Elementary school, Finneytown Elementary, was built in 2022 to replace Brent.
Geography
Finneytown is located at (39.217059, -84.521513).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2010 census
The population was 12,741 at the U.S. 2010 census, in 5,294 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 61.7% White, 33.7% Black, 1.9% Hispanic, with others 1% or less.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,492 people, 5,194 households, and 3,807 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 5,336 housing units at an average density of 1,337.9/sq mi (516.4/km2). The racial makeup was 72.95% White, 23.83% African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.
There were 5,194 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $52,219, and the median income for a family had been $58,393. Males had a median income of $41,932 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,355. About 4.3% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public School District
The Finneytown Local School District serves the neighborhood and surrounding area. The district has 2 schools that are divided by grades. They include: Finneytown Elementary (K-6) and the Junior/Senior High or Secondary Campus (7-12).
Private Schools
There are four private schools within Finneytown:
John Paul II (K-8)
St Vivians (K-8)
Central Baptist (K-8)
St Xavier High School (9-12)
As of 2016, St. Xavier is the largest private school in Ohio.
Finneytown is also home to the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science.
Culture
Finneytown is the home of the annual Panegyri Greek Festival, one of the largest annual ethnic food celebrations in the Cincinnati area. The Holy Trinity-Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church started the yearly festival in 1975. It has included authentic Greek food, music, dancing, and an art show. The festival has been held in June in recent years.
In popular culture
Pringles potato crisps were named after Pringle Drive, a street in Finneytown.
Goat, a movie starring Nick Jonas started being filmed on May 4, 2015 in Finneytown.
Notable people
Darius Bazley, a professional basketball player
Amanda Borden, 1996 Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics
Charley Harper, artist
Joe Hudepohl, 1992 and 1996 Olympic gold medalist in swimming
Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of General Electric
Justin Jeffre, member of the band 98 Degrees
James Michael Lafferty, CEO of Fine Hygienic Holding; former regional CEO of Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and British-American Tobacco. Olympic Track and Field coach
Marco Marsan, author
Mark Trueblood, engineer and astronomer
Donavon Clark, Football Player
References
External links
Springfield Township
Winton Woods City School District
Finneytown Local School District
Census-designated places in Hamilton County, Ohio
Census-designated places in Ohio