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 second 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.

Founding
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.

Suburbanization
In the 20th century, Finneytown experienced growth as it transitioned from a rural area to a suburb. 1905 saw the founding of Special District School #10 to meet the demand for education, which was finished in 1915. Additionally, the early 20th century saw the introduction of automobiles to Finneytown, which resulted in the paving of the area's dirt roads. Winton Road, one of the area's main streets, was among the first to be paved in 1926. 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 suburban housing and shopping centers. This population growth occurred at the same time a requirement for K-12 programs was introduced, which led to the founding of the Finneytown Secondary Campus in 1958. This was followed by the construction of Cottonwood Elementary in 1962 and Brent Elementary in 1964. 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
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.0 sqmi, all land.

2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 12,399 people living in the CDP, for a population density of 3,110.64 people per square mile (1,201.00/km2). There were 5,105 housing units. The racial makeup of the CDP was 50.4% White, 37.1% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other race, and 5.8% from two or more races. 2.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,346 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 31.0% had a female householder with no spouse present. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 2.95.

21.1% of the CDP's population were under the age of 18, 61.2% were 18 to 64, and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47.2. For every 100 females, there were 93.5 males.

According to the U.S. Census American Community Survey, for the period 2016-2020 the estimated median annual income for a household in the CDP was $73,196, and the median income for a family was $75,196. About 7.4% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over. About 62.5% of the population were employed, and 35.1% had a bachelor's degree or higher.

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 3,382.8 PD/sqmi. 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.

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.

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.

In popular culture

 * Pringles potato chips 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, basketball player
 * Amanda Borden, 1996 Olympic gold medallist in gymnastics
 * Donavon Clark, football player
 * Charley Harper, artist
 * Joe Hudepohl, 1992 and 1996 Olympic gold medalist in swimming
 * Jeffrey R. Immelt, businessman
 * Justin Jeffre, member of the band 98 Degrees
 * James Michael Lafferty, businessman
 * Marco Marsan, author