Comprehensive Study Notes on the History, Surveying, and Settlement of Medina County, Ohio
Frontier Surveying and Early Land Division
Purpose of Early Land Surveys:
Townships were surveyed and mapped to evaluate features of the unsettled wilderness prior to being marketed and sold.
The chief surveyor compiled specific field notes documenting the geographical characteristics of the terrain, recording whether the land was wooded, swampy, hilly, or flat.
These terrain assessments directly determined the commercial valuation and pricing of the tracts of land.
Organization and Composition of Surveying Parties:
Surveying teams were organized into crews of approximately .
Each party was led by an experienced frontiersman designated with the title of "colonel" who possessed intimate knowledge of frontier dangers and survival skills.
Essential Surveying Equipment and Supplies:
Scientific and technical equipment included a magnetic compass, a Gunter's chain, and a specialized set of plotting instruments.
Wilderness survival and defense provisions included firearms, gunpowders, rifles, blankets, and essential personal provisions needed to survive complete wilderness immersion.
Notable historical figures worked in this trade early in life; surveying served as one of the first professional occupations held by George Washington.
Scientific Mapping Procedures and Calibration:
Surveyors determined true north by taking astronomical sights of stars to establish accurate longitudinal lines for mapping.
Meridian stones were placed at prominent municipal and geographical points across counties to allow subsequent surveying parties to calibrate field instruments.
Two historic meridian stones remain preserved in the local county (referred to variably as McKenna County and Medina County):
One stone is situated in front of the church adjacent to the county courthouse.
The second stone is located at 201 Friendship (a location noted for seasonal spider activity).
Most interstate and territorial boundaries across the United States trace directly along latitudinal lines, establishing statutory jurisdictional borders that coincide with these parallel coordinates.
Standardized Federal Survey Grid:
Government surveys divided land into ranges or townships containing .
Each section measured ().
Sections were systematically numbered, with () representing the smallest individual unit offered for public sale at an established price of .
The Connecticut Western Reserve and Native American Relations
Connecticut's Western Territorial Claims:
Over time, the State of Connecticut saw its expansive western charter land claims reduced, but it retained a tract bordering the coast of Lake Erie in northern Ohio.
This retained region was bifurcated into two distinct territorial parts: the Firelands and the Western Reserve.
The Firelands:
During the American Revolutionary War, British troops conducted destructive raids along the Connecticut maritime coastline, burning numerous coastal towns to the ground.
Following the war, Connecticut compensated citizens whose coastal residences were destroyed by awarding them land in the westernmost section of the Western Reserve, designated as the Firelands.
Municipalities within this tract were named directly after burned Connecticut towns, including Norwalk, Greenwich, Fairfield, New Haven, and Plymouth, and the region is home to Firelands High School.
The Western Reserve Land Sale:
The Connecticut state government sold the remaining portion of the Western Reserve to the private Connecticut Land Company in the year .
The transaction yielded .
Every cent of the proceeds from the sale was placed into a perpetual fund dedicated exclusively to financing public education in the State of Connecticut.
Indigenous Populations and Differing Concepts of Property:
Regional Native American groups operated on nomadic patterns, migrating seasonally across hunting grounds, harvesting salt from saline springs, and mining high-quality mineral flint from local pits.
Indigenous tribes present in the region included the Chippewa, Miami, Potawatomi, Shawnee, Delaware, and Wyandot (referenced as Hawaiian Dot).
Early European relations saw French explorers establishing trade networks focused on animal pelts and furs.
British interaction diverged by focusing on executing binding treaties to obtain legal land ownership.
The European concept of individual, alienable real estate ownership was foreign to Native American traditions; entering such treaties was analogous to being asked by a stranger to sign a commercial contract purchasing the surrounding atmospheric air in exchange for currency and rations while being told plenty of air remained.
Moses Cleveland's Surveying Expedition:
Moses Cleveland was dispatched by the Connecticut Land Company to lead an official surveying expedition into the Western Reserve.
At Buffalo, New York, an indigenous delegation of Mohawk and Seneca leaders confronted Cleveland's party, contesting their legal passage into territory they claimed as sovereign land.
The Mohawk and Seneca waived their territorial objections after receiving cash and trade goods valued at approximately .
Subsequent encounters with other indigenous tribes along the expedition route were negotiated by trading whiskey and ornamental glass beads in exchange for survey passage.
General Cleveland reached the mouth of the Cuyahoga River on Lake Erie, selecting that geographical point as the ideal location for the founding of the city of Cleveland.
Foundation, Geography, and Demographics of Medina County
Federal Land Reservations in Early Townships:
Section number of every surveyed township was permanently designated as "school lands" to finance local public schooling.
Section numbers , , , and within each township were legally reserved for future sale by the federal government, anticipating higher future revenues once adjacent areas became settled and developed.
The United States Congress reserved a mineral royalty of of all gold, silver, copper, and lead mines for federal use, though the geological strata of Ohio possessed negligible quantities of gold or silver.
Moses Cleveland’s Surveying Methodology:
Moses Cleveland rejected natural topographical features—such as rivers, ridges, and geological contours—which typical surveyors utilized to define township borders.
Cleveland drew rigid, balanced paper grid lines creating square townships measuring exactly .
This strict grid format created severe operational hardships for his surveying crews, who had to manually traverse and chain through steep ravines, hills, and dense brush without regard to terrain.
Pioneer Settlement and Early Transport:
The pioneer settlement of Medina County (referred to variously in administrative records as Annette County, Menom County, McDonough County, Medallion County, and Madonna County) began when the first family settled in Liverpool Township rather than Medina or Westfield.
Settlers traveled in wagons and ox carts from Connecticut, traversing an overland route of approximately with all their material possessions.
The longest recorded pioneer journey took across January and February, enduring extreme winter weather and snow accumulation.
A jurisdictional distinction exists between Liverpool and Valley City: Liverpool designates the township government, whereas Valley City designates the local post office address.
County Evolution and Boundary Reorganization:
Early records date the arrival of the first pioneer family to , with Medina County officially organized in .
The original county boundary was an expansive rectangle containing .
Demographics documented in the United States Census recorded a total population of approximately .
By , the count of townships shrank to as land was severed to form neighboring counties such as Cuyahoga, while the county population rose to .
The modern configuration of the county comprises forming a distinctive profile resembling a staircase or a checkerboard.
Modern population surges resulted from the post-World War II baby boom and the construction of Interstate , which routed major transit corridors directly adjacent to the city of Medina.
The War of 1812 and Naval Battles on the Great Lakes
Origins of Conflict in the Old Northwest:
Southern Ohio settlements (such as Dayton) developed well before the northern townships of Medina County.
Lingering hostility following the American Revolution flared during the War of (historically described as the "Secondary Revolutionary War") amid simultaneous Anglo-French conflicts in Europe and Canada.
The British Royal Navy enforced a naval blockade of American coastal shipping ports and engaged in the forced impressment (kidnapping) of American sailors into British naval service.
Hostilities erupted across New England and the Great Lakes; British forces controlled all the Great Lakes except Lake Huron.
The Engagement of the USS Chesapeake and HMS Shannon:
In late May , British Captain Philip Broke sailed his flagship, the HMS Shannon, into Massachusetts Bay to challenge American naval forces.
On June , , Captain James Lawrence of the USS Chesapeake engaged the Shannon.
Lawrence was critically disadvantaged: he had commanded the Chesapeake for only two weeks, half his crew was inexperienced, untrained, and had not received their military pay, whereas Captain Broke had commanded the Shannon for more than seven years with a battle-hardened crew.
The engagement began at and concluded by , lasting only .
The British colors were hoisted over the captured vessel at .
American casualties totaled and .
The Chesapeake's sails and steering wheel were obliterated; Captain Lawrence suffered fatal wounds and was carried below deck.
Lawrence's attending physician recorded his final tactical command: "Don't give up the ship."
British forces boarded the vessel moments later, struck the American colors, raised the British ensign, and took possession of the ship upon Lawrence's death.
Oliver Hazard Perry and the Battle of Lake Erie:
Lawrence’s comrade, naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry, had the phrase "Don't give up the ship" stitched onto an official battle ensign.
Perry deployed this flag aboard his flagship during the Battle of Lake Erie in September .
Perry utilized small, highly maneuverable vessels to outmaneuver British naval positions.
Perry forced the surrender of the entire British naval squadron—marking the first time in military history that an entire Royal Navy squadron surrendered—and transmitted his dispatch to General William Henry Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they are ours."
The battle is commemorated by a national monument at Put-in-Bay (referenced as Putnam Vey).
Early Pioneer Education in Medina:
Following the cessation of the War of , heightened security encouraged civic and educational settlement.
Eliza Northrop, born in Connecticut in October , migrated as part of Medina’s pioneer families.
In April , at the age of , Northrop established and taught the first public school in Medina Township.
On March , , Northrop married Giles Barnes in the first formal wedding ceremony celebrated in the township.
Contemporary legal and social restrictions barred married women from holding teaching contracts, requiring her to retire from teaching.
Northrop bore nine children in the settlement of Weymouth and died on April , .
Eliza Northrop Elementary School was established in Medina in in her honor.
Early Community Life, Wildlife Management, and Industrial Roots
Frontier Predation and the Hinckley Hunt of 1818:
Frontier farming faced constant threats from food scarcity and native carnivores, particularly wolves and bears that preyed upon penned livestock and attacked travelers along forest paths.
On December , , approximately assembled from surrounding settlements equipped with muskets, rifles, pitchforks, clubs, and fortified with supplies of whiskey.
The hunters organized along the four perimeter boundaries of Hinckley Township, executing a synchronized drive inward toward the township center to eradicate all predatory wildlife within the encirclement.
Two hunters sustained accidental wounds during the drive.
The hunt yielded a tally of: , , , and large quantities of raccoons, wild turkeys, and foxes.
Salt Scarcity and the Formation of Hardscramble:
Pioneers required large supplies of sodium chloride for preserving livestock meats, but importing sea salt over the Appalachian Mountains was cost-prohibitive.
Surveyors actively located natural subterranean brine and salt springs, which dramatically increased the commercial value of real estate tracts.
Natural salt contains a measurement of of salt per tablespoon.
In , pioneer Justus Warner (referenced as Justice Warner) purchased a tract in Liverpool containing a flowing salt spring, establishing the first manufacturing industry in Medina County.
Warner transitioned from agriculture to commercial salt production, expanding his operation from to .
The industrial settlement was originally called Salt Springs, was subsequently renamed Marysville, and was later designated Hardscramble in reference to the severe physical struggles of early pioneers.
By , the settlement of Hardscramble was abandoned and deserted.
Industrial Expansion: Wadsworth Salt and Match Production
The Wadsworth Salt Company:
Wadsworth developed the dominant commercial salt enterprise in the county, operating as one of the largest corporate employers in the municipality despite employing only .
Situated in the southern portion of Wadsworth, the industrial facility operated that injected water into deep rock salt beds located below the surface.
The extracted brine was evaporated to produce an unrefined, highly saturated product marketed as the "saltiest salt," which required no chemical purification prior to wholesale distribution for dairy and table use.
The historic plant was situated at the site later associated with Morton Salt.
The Ohio Match Company:
Match manufacturing eventually displaced salt refining as Wadsworth's premier manufacturing industry.
In , industrialist E. J. Young chartered the Ohio Match Company to manufacture friction "blue tip" matches.
The corporation grew to employ over , more than half of whom were female employees.
The plant ceased local operations after the industrial complex was incinerated in a massive fire in .
Wadsworth commemorates this industrial heritage through an annual municipal civic celebration known as the Blue Tip Parade.
Seville's Giants: The Lives of Martin Van Buren Bates and Anna Swan
Physical Development and Early Career of Martin Van Buren Bates:
Martin Van Buren Bates was born in in Kentucky to parents of ordinary physical stature, the youngest of twelve children ( and ).
Though born at a typical birth weight, his physical growth accelerated rapidly; by the age of , he stood over tall and weighed nearly .
Reaching full adulthood at of age, Bates stood in height (surpassing the tallest modern NBA athletes, who average around ).
Bates worked as a schoolteacher before resigning at the outbreak of the American Civil War to enlist as an officer in the Confederate States Army.
After the war, Bates was hired by P.T. Barnum to perform as an exhibition attraction with the Barnum Circus, earning the billing of the "Kentucky Giant."
Marriage to Anna Swan and European Tour:
During a performance tour through Canada, Bates met Anna Swan, a fellow circus performer who attained a height of by the age of .
Bates and Swan married on June , , at the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, England, while touring abroad.
Queen Victoria hosted the couple and presented them with two custom, oversized, diamond-encrusted solid gold pocket watches crafted to fit their wrists.
Settlement in Seville and Later Years:
In , the couple settled in Seville, Ohio, commissioning the construction of a custom residence with ceilings built high and oversized custom furniture.
The couple had one child who died shortly after delivery.
Anna Swan Bates died in her sleep on August , , shortly before her .
Martin Bates died following a lingering chronic illness on June , , at the age of .
Martin, Anna, and their infant son are interred in Mound Hill Cemetery (referenced as Mount Hill Cemetery) in Seville, Ohio.
Disasters, Architecture, and Municipal Development in Medina Square
The Fires of Medina Square:
The commercial center of Medina suffered catastrophic conflagrations across three distinct years: , , and .
The primary cause of repeated widespread destruction was the wood-frame construction of the downtown commercial district.
The American Hotel Site:
The American Hotel was erected out of timber in to lodge stage and wagon travelers commuting the turnpike corridor between Cleveland and Columbus.
After burning down in the downtown fires, the hotel was reconstructed out of masonry brick.
The brick hotel structure was later purchased by a banking institution, which partitioned a section of the property to allow the coffee shop Cool Beans to install a vehicular drive-through window.
The historical building was subsequently demolished; the parcel now accommodates a public park feature with a decorative water fountain, an official historical marker plaque, and municipal public restrooms.
Structural burn scars and scorch marks from the fires remain visible on the exterior brick masonry of adjacent historic commercial walls.
Civic Emergency Services:
Following the destructive fire of , the municipal citizenry of Medina formally chartered and organized the community's first municipal fire department.
The Criminal Case of Martha Wise
Early Life and Marriage:
Martha Wise was born in the settlement of Hardscramble in .
She met her spouse, Albert Wise, at a local box social, an event where women prepared decorated dinner baskets to auction to male suitors.
The marriage was fraught with domestic unhappiness; Albert Wise died when Martha was of age, leaving her destitute with four dependent children.
Conflict and the Poisoning Spree:
Within a year of her husband's death, Wise pursued a romantic relationship with Walter Johns, an adjacent farmhand.
Her mother and aunt vehemently opposed the courtship and forced her to terminate the relationship.
At Thanksgiving in , multiple extended family members fell acutely ill with severe abdominal distress; her mother's condition progressively deteriorated, culminating in death on December , .
Over the New Year holiday season, severe gastrointestinal illnesses struck her aunt, uncle, and several young cousins, resulting in the deaths of both her aunt and uncle by February .
In total, were poisoned, and four surviving children suffered permanent partial paralysis.
Investigation, Confession, and Trial:
Police detectives discovered that Wise had purchased large quantities of arsenic from a local pharmacy.
A post-mortem autopsy performed on Wise’s mother revealed lethal concentrations of arsenic throughout her digestive tract.
Wise initially stated the arsenic was purchased to eradicate household rodents, but subsequently signed a full confession admitting she introduced arsenic into communal water buckets and household coffee pots.
Wise entered a formal plea of not guilty at trial.
She testified before the grand jury that she possessed an uncontrollable psychological compulsion to attend funerals, stating that when funerals were infrequent in the community, she poisoned relatives to manufacture them.
The legal defense claimed Wise was criminally insane and alleged she committed the homicides under the direct duress and instructions of Walter Johns.
The jury deliberated for before finding her guilty of first-degree murder, including an official plea for judicial mercy.
The presiding judge sentenced Wise to life imprisonment, specifying that release could occur only through executive clemency granted by the state governor.
Parole, Return, and Death:
In , following decades of documented good behavior, the Governor of Ohio commuted Wise's conviction to second-degree murder, granting her parole at the age of .
Surviving family members refused to offer her shelter, and regional rest homes for the aged denied her admission.
Having no residence, Wise returned to the state penitentiary within three days of release; her parole was formally revoked.
Wise remained incarcerated until her death in prison on June , , at the age of .
Questions & Discussion
Audience Inquiries on Pioneer Settlements:
Question/Prompt: Where in Medina County did the first pioneer family settle?
Audience Guess: Suggestions offered included Medina and Westfield.
Clarification: Historical settlement records document that the pioneer family settled in Liverpool Township, having completed a trek of from Connecticut.
Audience Inquiries on County Geometry:
Question/Prompt: What physical object or pattern does the contemporary boundary map of Medina County resemble?
Audience Responses: Suggestions offered were a "checkerboard" and a "staircase."
Clarification: The staircase configuration accurately identifies the modern county boundaries, reflecting the historical division that reduced its original down to .
Audience Inquiries on Historic Town Square Sites:
Question/Prompt: What currently occupies the Medina Square site formerly housing the American Hotel and the proposed Cool Beans drive-through?
Clarification: The original brick structures were demolished, and the site now contains a municipal water fountain, an interpretive historical plaque, and public restrooms.
Discussion on Martha Wise Folklore:
Dialogue Exchange: An exchange took place with audience attendees (identified as Leanne and Mrs. Garber) regarding local family knowledge and historical lore associated with the Martha Wise arsenic poisoning trials in Medina County.