Medina

Medina, Ohio
—  City  —
Location of Medina, Ohio
Coordinates: 41°8′9″N 81°51′51″W / 41.13583°N 81.86417°W / 41.13583; -81.86417
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Medina
Area
- Total	11.3 sq mi (29.3 km2)
- Land	11.1 sq mi (28.8 km2)
- Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation [1]	1,089 ft (332 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	25,139
- Density	2,264.8/sq mi (872.9/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	44215, 44256, 44258
Area code(s)	330
FIPS code	39-48790[2]
GNIS feature ID	1061504[1]
Website	http://www.medinaoh.org

Medina (pronounced /mɨˈdaɪnə/ is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States. In 2009, CNNMoney named Medina the 40th best American city to live in.^[3] The population was 25,139 at the 2000 census. The 2008 projected population was estimated at 26,380.^[4] It is the county seat of Medina County.^[5]

Geography

Medina is located at 41°8′9″N 81°51′51″W / 41.13583°N 81.86417°W / 41.13583; -81.86417 (41.135899, -81.864069).^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.3 square miles (29.3 km²), of which, 11.1 square miles (28.8 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (1.68%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 25,139 people, 9,467 households, and 6,683 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,259.4 people per square mile (872.1/km²). There were 9,924 housing units at an average density of 891.9/sq mi (344.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.60% White, 2.77% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population.

There were 9,467 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 10.6% 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 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,226, and the median income for a family was $57,435. Males had a median income of $42,437 versus $26,893 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,709. About 5.1% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

History

Historic downtown Medina

Medina was founded in 1816 as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve and the county seat of Medina County.^[7] It was originally named Mecca, but another Ohio town had that name,^{[citation needed]} so the name was changed. Both Mecca and Medina are cities in Saudi Arabia and particularly significant to Islam.

Most early residents were farmers. In the 1830s growth of the community was aided by the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal, which helped transport agricultural products to markets.^[7] In 1869 Amos Root founded the A.I. Root Company in Medina as a manufacturer of beehives and beekeeping equipment, and the town became a center for beehive manufacturing. The Root company had 96 workers in 1886, making it the town’s largest employer.^[7]

On January 22, 2007, workers in front of Medina General Hospital (now Medina Hospital) struck a gas main and created a large fireball resulting in a community blackout and temporary closure of three area schools. The hospital was forced to use emergency power.^[8]

Economy

Due to Medina's location, approximately 30 miles south of Cleveland,^[4] many residents of Medina now work in the Cleveland area and the city has acquired a somewhat suburban status.^[7]

Medina is home to the first Super Kmart Center.^[9] The 24/7 grocery and general merchandise store opened in 1991 and continues to operate today. However, mainly due to Medina's boom in population throughout the 1990s, the novelty of having a Super Kmart soon wore off, and Kmart's lack of response to competition from Buehler's, Giant Eagle, Target, and especially Wal-Mart, left it on the brink of closure after Kmart's bankruptcy. Medina is also home to a Wal-Mart Supercenter, which is also an 24/7 grocery and general merchandise store. In recent years, Medina has encountered the arrival of other large retailers such as Borders, Home Depot, Starbucks, Bed Bath and Beyond, Old Navy, PetSmart and Pier 1 Imports. In October 2006, Target completed an extensive renovation.

Medina is still home to the A. I. Root Company, now a candle manufacturer. A. I. Root is also the name of the local middle school.

The Bil-Jac dog food company was founded in Medina in 1947. It is still locally owned and operated.

Notable natives

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)

• William G. Batchelder, judge
• Melissa V. Joseph, famous geoarchaeologist
• William J. Campbell, mica-based insulation pioneer
• Ryan Dunn, actor
• Heath Queen, Ohio State Football Letterman- 98,99,00
• Scott Fahlman, computer scientist
• Greg Paulus, college basketball player for Duke University, college football quarterback for Syracuse University.
• Bobby Rahal, auto racing team owner and former driver
• Amos Ives Root, noted for innovations in beekeeping
• Tony Stockman, Former Ohio St Basketball Player
• Lionel Dahmer, father of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

References

External links

• City website
• The Medina, Ohio Community Advocate - Interviews with the owners of over 800 businesses serving the Medina, Ohio community.

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Medina County, Ohio County seat: Medina Cities Brunswick | Medina | Rittman‡ | Wadsworth Villages Chippewa Lake | Creston‡ | Gloria Glens Park | Lodi | Seville | Spencer | Westfield Center Townships Brunswick Hills | Chatham | Granger | Guilford | Harrisville | Hinckley | Homer | Lafayette | Litchfield | Liverpool | Medina | Montville | Sharon | Spencer | Wadsworth | Westfield | York Unincorporated communities Homerville | Litchfield | Valley City Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties