April 3, 1974 was the day where time stopped in Xenia, Oh. A deadly F5 tornado struck Xenia at 4:40 pm.
The tornado killed 32 people that day and led to the death of 2 Ohio National Guardsmen a couple days later as a fire broke out in a furniture store they were guarding. The tornado injured hundreds more and damaged or destroyed over 3400 homes and nearly half of the business and industry.
It would continue to move to the east and hit Central State University, damaging or destroying most of the campus. When the tornado ripped thru the Wilberforce and Central State area 5 of the victims were killed including Oscar Robinson. Mr. Robinson was a veteran of the Korean War and worked as a clerk at the Wilberforce Post Office at the time of the tornado. He was only 44 years old. An additional waypoint has been provided for his headstone.
Xenia has a history of severe storm activity. According to local legend, the Shawnee referred to the area as "the place of the devil wind" or "the land of the crazy winds" (depending upon the translation.
After the 1974 tornado outbreak, the city purchased a system of five Federal Signal Thunderbolt sirens for warning. During the 2000 tornado strike, the lack of backup power silenced the sirens, so the city purchased five Federal Signal 2001-SRNB series sirens with battery backup.
At times the entrance to the cemetery may be closed, just park at the entrance and make the walk back to the cemtery and the cache.Please be respectful of the area and no night caching.