Medina County Historical Society

04/03/2026

INTERESTED IN JOINING MEDINA COUNTY YOUNG HISTORIANS CLUB?

High Schoolers:
The Medina County Young Historian Club brings the past to life through curiosity, creativity, and hands on action. We will explore big ideas, uncover hidden stories, and jump into real world volunteering—like helping local museums, supporting community events, and preserving neighborhood history. Together, we make history engaging, relevant, and something we can actually use to shape the future.

For more information contact Medina County Historical Society [email protected] or
Sheila Benson [email protected]
Lisa Pettry [email protected]

04/03/2026

THEN & NOW:

Posting this again for the benefit of our new followers!

A section of the basement at the McDowell-Phillips House Museum at 205 S. Prospect Street, Medina Ohio with before/after photos. The Medina County Historical Society purchased the home in 2019. In November/December 2020 we worked on cleaning out the basement.

The well was likely dug out in the 1840s for the Blake house that originally sat on this site and was moved just south to build the McDowell house. It was a source of fresh water versus a cistern that held water from gutters. The well is 14 feet deep with about 7 feet of water. It is an amazing artwork of stone walls without any mortar holding the stones together.

Come visit us and see it on April 12 at our Open House. 1-4pm. Tour details on our website: www.medinacountyhistoricalsociety.com

04/03/2026

Paving bricks under Prospect Street. Medina started paving in the 1890’s so it is likely the McDowell’s and Spitzer families that owned the banks would want their street paved to reduce mud.

04/01/2026

From:
https://www.facebook.com/MedinaChorus
As be begin our 92nd year of performing for the Medina area, we are very excited to be presenting a World Premiere at our Sunday concert in conjunction with the Sing Me a Story Foundation honoring Lexi Cerio, who passed away last year from cancer. The song is composed by a Medina native, Tadd Russo, and the words are from a story written by Lexi’s brothers.

Get your tickets now for our up coming spring concert A Century of Song.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/a-century-of-song-music-through-the-decades

03/29/2026

Medina Coaches, circa 1990s. Recognize anyone?

03/29/2026

Today we attended the Ohio Local History Alliance regional meeting. We presented ideas about our capital campaign to construct the new History Center and we also heard ideas from other museums.

Networking with other museums yields very productive ideas and we share ideas openly. It makes history even more fun!!

Thank you Ohio Local History Alliance and Strongsville Historical Society for hosting the Region 3 meeting!

03/27/2026

Can you guess location?

Photograph states " Williams Building" in Medina Ohio.
We do not know the location or date of demolition.

Help us out! There may be clues within the picture.

03/26/2026

Who remembers Eat’ n Park in Medina Ohio?
Photo of hot air balloon over Medina —date unknown.

03/25/2026

The cabinet is from the Gowe family donated by Nancy Gowe. It was inherited from the Deibel family — Jim Gowe’s maternal side —and is likely from 1870’s with beautiful tiger maple trim and large dovetail joints.
The china is also from the Gowe’s and it is a Johnson Bros. from England, old Britain Castle series in beautiful red tones.

03/24/2026

James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur campaign banner.

This banner was given to MCHS in 1949 and believed to have been painted by Archibald Willard from Wellington Ohio.

The oil on canvas painting is in need of proper restoration. The estimated cost is $10,000 so we are looking for donations to restore and properly display the 2 sided banner.

James Garfield worked with H. G Blake to recruit soldiers from Medina County Ohio during the Civil War.


DONATE button is below photos.

For those who prefer to mail a check:
MCHS 206 N Elmwood Ave, Medina, OH 44256
write on check memo "banner"

Thank you for your support!

03/22/2026

On Saturday March 21, a window found in the McDowell -Phillips barn was carefully uncrated from its original packing crate.
This was no ordinary window and why it was so heavy was a mystery.
Once we carefully pulled each nail from the boards, we found a remarkable piece.
It turns out the heavy pressed glass is framed like a honeycomb and was encased by a cast iron and steel frame.
The casting had the patent dates of 1845 and extended to 1866(unusual to see that wording)
It was made by Brown Brothers Mfg in Chicago. These heavy glass windows were used a secure windows to vaults , buildings as well as sidewalk illumination to allow light but not open.
The interior pieces are secured with lead and the exterior is a cast iron grill.
Why this window was in the barn and where was it going to be installed is a mystery.
Could H.G Blake have thought about using it in the Phoenix Bank after the 1848 fire??
Or maybe after the 1870 fire?? Could be since it was in HIS barn at that time
Did the company market these windows ? It’s obvious they were well crated to avoid damage in shipping.
We plan to incorporate this window in the new Medina County History Center.

03/22/2026

The 38th annual Victorian Feast served in the John Smart House Museum. This elegant dinner raffle has been a tradition for 38 years and the lucky winners enjoyed a sumptuous meal prepared by John Kolar of Thyme Restaurant .

Tickets for 2027 will be on sale soon. The elegant Victorian atmosphere and fine menu makes a wonderful evening of memories.