Medina ( ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Medina County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 Census. It lies about 33 miles (53 km) south of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and 23 miles (37 km) west of

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

within the Cleveland metropolitan area.

History

Medina was founded on November 30, 1818, as part of the

Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms o ...

. It was originally named Mecca, but an unincorporated community in Ohio already had that name, so the name was changed. Both

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

and

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

are

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

n cities particularly significant in Islam. Most early residents were farmers. In the 1830s, the community's growth was aided by the completion of the

Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth. It also ...

, which helped transport agricultural products to markets. On January 31, 1835, Medina was incorporated as a village and as the

of Medina County. By 1855, the town's quarries were producing over $200,000 worth of stone per year. In 1857, many of the canal workers started a strike for higher wages; the striking workers were fired, and the four workers who started it were jailed in Albion, Ohio. In 1835, two enslaved women and two Native Americans arrived in Medina by stagecoach. One of the enslaved women was the child of then-Vice Presidential candidate

Richard Mentor Johnson Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) was an American lawyer, military officer and politician who served as the ninth vice president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841 under President Martin Van Buren ...

and

Julia Chinn Julia Chinn ( – July 1833) was an American plantation manager and enslaved woman of "mixed-race" (an "octoroon" of seven-eighths European and one-eighth African ancestry), who was the common-law wife of the ninth vice president of the United S ...

. The next day, Johnson's nephew arrived, in pursuit of the women, saying that he owned them both, they had escaped, and they had stolen a $1,000 bank check. The women were arrested and charged with stealing. Three local attorneys volunteered to represent them in court. The women were then released to Johnson's nephew to stand trial in Kentucky. Afterward, one of the Native Americans said that the women had asked for help escaping enslavement and their terrible treatment by their owners. It was later found that the alleged theft was a lie in order to make sure the Ohio court returned them to their owners. Medina attorney Charles Olcott invented self-

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

ing iron ships, and received a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

in 1835.The Inventor of Iron Ships
. ''Public Ledger'' (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). August 14, 1835. p. 4. Olcott was originally from Connecticut and had been a student at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

when he came up with the early prototypes for his invention. He was later a proponent of building long-distance railroad lines across Ohio. In 1869, Amos Root founded the A.I. Root Company in Medina as a manufacturer of

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

s and beekeeping equipment, and the town became a center for beehive manufacturing. The Root Company had 97 workers in 1886, making it the town's largest employer. In the mid-1800s, two disastrous fires hit the village. One, in 1848, destroyed the entire business district. With no facilities for extinguishing fires, the residents attempted to put out the fire using a bucket brigade, but to no avail, as the fire burned for four hours. None of the town's 1,159 residents died in the fire, but the townspeople failed to budget for the needed firefighting equipment. In 1870, another large fire, which started in a wooden building with a barbershop, destroyed 45 buildings (all but two blocks of the business district) and nearly wiped out the town. Despite the second calamitous fire, the town still had not organized a fire department beyond a bucket brigade. In 1877, after repeated dire warnings, the Council finally authorized the issuance of $3,000 worth of bonds to purchase a fire engine. After the disastrous 1870 fire, the town literally rose from the ashes. Much of the Medina Square, including the Town Hall and Engine House, was rebuilt under the supervision of onetime mayor and banker Harrison Gray Blake, who owned the Phoenix Building in the same city block. Buildings like the H. G. Blake's Phoenix Block and the Town Hall and Engine House indicate the community's resilient spirit. After the 1870 fire, it took almost ten years to replace the buildings on the Square, hence their common Victorian style. Even today, the architectural unity and historic flavor of the Town Square make Medina an appealing destination for residents, visitors and tourists. This character is what makes the Square a recognized Historic District and spurs the efforts of the Community Design Committee and the Historic Preservation Board to preserve the city's historic look and feel. Today, Medina's Historic District is a nine-block area surrounding Uptown Park and hosts Candlelight Walk, the International Festival, and Art in the Park. It also draws visitors for many other events. In 1950, Medina had over 5,000 residents, and on May 6, 1952, it was chartered as a city.

Geography

Medina is located at (41.135899, -81.864069). and includes parts of Lafayette Township, Medina Township, Montville Township and York Township in Medina County. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the recent

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2020, there were 26,094 people, 10,755 households, and 7,531 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 2,174.50 people per square mile (839.575 people per square km). There were 11,333 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 3.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 1.3% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 5.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 3.3% of the population.

2010 census

At the 2010

, there were 26,678 people, 10,382 households, and 6,991 families residing in the city. The

was 2,260.85 people per square mile (872.973 people per square km). There were 11,152 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.3%

, 3.1%

, 0.1% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.5% from

, and 2.1% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population. There were 10,382 households, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.7% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.13. The median age in the city was 36.4. 28.3% of residents were under 18; 7.3% were between 18 and 24; 27.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.2% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. Of the city's population over age 25, 34.4% held a bachelor's degree or higher.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 25,139 people, 9,467 households and 6,683 families in the city. The

was 2,215.7 people per square mile (855.14 people per square kilometer). There were 9,924 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.60%

, 2.77%

, 0.19% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.26% from

, and 1.41% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population. There were 9,467 households, of which 40.3% had children under age 18 living with them, 35.5% were married couples living together, 57.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.15. 29.9% of the population were under 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% were 65 or older. The median age was 33. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 89.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

was $50,226 and the median family income was $57,435. Males had a median income of $42,437 compared with $26,893 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

was $21,709. About 5.1% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.1% of those under 18 and 6.2% of those 65 or over.

Economy

Due to Medina's location, about 33 miles (53 km) south of

and 23 miles (37 km) west of

,Greater Medina Chamber of Commerce
/ref> many of its residents work in the Cleveland and Akron areas. Medina's median household income is $53,586, slightly above the Ohio median income.

RPM International RPM International Inc. is an American multinational company with subsidiaries that manufacture and market specialty coatings, sealants and building materials. Industrial brands include, Tremco, Carboline, Universal Sealants, Stonhard, RPM/Belgi ...

is among the companies based in Medina.

Education

The Medina City School District serves the city. It has one high school, two middle schools, one alternative school (for students with behavioral problems), one preschool (for children aged 3–5 with disabilities) and seven elementary schools. The newest elementary schools are Eliza Northrop and Ralph E. Waite elementary schools, both opened for the 2009–10 school year. The schools in the Medina City School District are: * A.I. Root Middle School * Claggett Middle School * Eliza Northrop Elementary School * Ella Canavan Elementary School * Evolve Academy (alternative school for students with behavioral problems) * Garfield Elementary School * H.G. Blake Elementary School * Helping Hands Preschool (preschool for children aged 3–5 with disabilities) * Heritage Elementary School * Medina High School * Ralph E. Waite Elementary School * Sidney Fenn Elementary School The Medina County Career Center serves most of Medina County (except Wadsworth) to provide career education for 11th and 12th graders. It also offers adult and continuing education for adults. Other schools in Medina include St. Francis Xavier School, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parochial school serving pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, and Medina Christian Academy, a non-denominational

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

parochial school serving pre-K through 12th grade. The Medina County University Center is a quarter-mile south of the city and offers employers a well-trained workforce with opportunity for ongoing career development. Medina also is home to the Walton School of Auctioneering. The Medina County District Library Main Library is in Medina.

Media

Medina is served by a daily newspaper, The ''Medina County Gazette'' which is published every day of the week except Sundays, and a free weekly newspaper, ''The Medina Post'', published every Saturday. In addition, the '' Akron Beacon Journal'' and the ''

Cleveland Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of M ...

'' occasionally cover the city and Medina County. Medina is served by numerous television and radio stations from both the

Greater Cleveland The Cleveland metropolitan area, or Greater Cleveland as it is more commonly known, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census results, the five-county ...

, Greater Akron and Greater Canton areas.

Transportation

Medina is served by the

Medina Municipal Airport Medina Municipal Airport ( FAA LID: 1G5) is a public use airport in Medina County, Ohio, United States. It is owned by the City of Medina and is located four nautical miles (7.41 km) east of the city's central business district. According t ...

, which is 4.6 miles (7.41 km) east of the city. US-42 traverses the city. State routes include OH-3,

OH-18 The 18th congressional district of Ohio is an obsolete congressional district last represented by Republican Bob Gibbs. The district voted for the majority party in the House of Representatives in every election since 1954. After the 2010 ce ...

and OH-57. Medina is also served by the Medina Transit Authority, which runs buses around Medina and Medina County. Rail service reached Medina in the 1800s, and at one time it was served by three rail lines, the Baltimore & Ohio, the Akron, Canton & Youngstown, and the Cleveland Southwestern interurban. Today the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad maintains numerous sidings and spurs serving many industries, mostly on the city's west side. Many other rights of way have been converted to hiking and biking trails.

Notable people

Drew Allar Drew Patrick Allar (born March 8, 2004) is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Early life and high school Allar grew up in Medina, Ohio and attended Medina High School. He became Medina's start ...

, quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions * Matt Amodio, game show contestant known for winning over $1,500,000 on

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...

* William G. Batchelder, former judge and former Speaker of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

Ryan Dunn Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011) was an American stunt performer, television personality, actor and comedian. He was best known as one of the stars of the MTV reality stunt show ''Jackass (TV series), Jackass'' and its fi ...

, actor, stuntman ('' Jackass'') *

Scott Fahlman Scott Elliott Fahlman (born March 21, 1948) is a computer scientist and Professor Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute and Computer Science Department. He is notable for early work on automated planning and s ...

, computer scientist and credited creator of the emoticon * Wayne Gift, NFL

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

* Kyle Juszczyk, NFL fullback *

Daryl Morey Daryl Morey (born September 14, 1972) is an American sports executive who is the president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He co-founded the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Con ...

, NBA basketball executive * Matthew Patrick, founder and host of the YouTube channel The Game Theorists & GTLive *

Greg Paulus Gregory Russell Paulus (born July 3, 1986) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team. He previously served as an assistant basketball coach for Louisville, Ohio Sta ...

, head coach Niagara Purple Eagles, basketball player for Duke University, football quarterback for Syracuse University *

Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 ...

, auto racing team owner and former driver * Amos Root, noted for innovations in beekeeping *

Jon Teske Jon Teske (born May 4, 1997) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. He was part of the 2017–18 team that reached the Championship Game of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's ...

, NBA

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player *

Donna VanLiere Donna VanLiere is an American author of fiction, primarily novels about Christmas. Her first book, ''The Christmas Shoes'', was a ''New York Times'' bestseller, as was ''The Christmas Blessing'', ''The Christmas Hope'', ''The Christmas Secret'' ...

, author of the ''Christmas Shoes'' series of books and other publications * Ricky Wysocki, professional disc golfer

References

External links

City website
{{authority control Cities in Ohio Cities in Medina County, Ohio County seats in Ohio Populated places established in 1816 Cleveland metropolitan area 1816 establishments in Ohio