School Days

 

Oak Grove Academy 1874 photographed by F. D. Foster (cropped) courtesy of Hudson Museum.  The Tinder Michigan Photographers' file shows a Frank D. Foster in Hudson during 1874-1875, so that appears to be the date of this great photo.  We may be able to discover the teacher(s) name(s) now that we have a year.  I have seen an earlier photo, probably circa 1860 that I may be able to get posted whenever I am able to get permission from the owner.  The trees are smaller and the girls' dresses are more obviously Civil War-era, bulky skirts and aprons.  The trees were planted in 1853 when the school was built, so the trees in this photo are around 22 years old.  I am guessing the man with beard and arms folded is Professor John Drake as shown with his family in the 1870 US Census.  Some of the students may be of the families Strobeck and  Worcester; the preachers' kids of the two churches; children of Dr. Seeley; and there are many students with different last names shown living with many village families.  There are several female teachers including Eudora Harrington and Addie Heydenberk.  These names are from the 1870 census.  There is no known student list from Oak Grove Academy--the Academy register only records board minutes with references to teacher hiring, building maintenance and other policies.

Medina Village School  circa 1885. Back row:  Will Tew, Carrie Darr, Ellis Guss, Genie Bennett, Minnie Mann, Clara Gambell, Val McLouth.  Second row from back:  ____Avery, Clyde Tew, Roy Farnsworth, Electus McCormick, John Manning, Bert Trumbill TEACHER, Milly Kime,   Annie Gambell, Lizzie Farnsworth, Effie Gambell.  Bottom row:  Sam Darr, Allie McLouth, Jim Avery, Clyde Manning, Jay Cooley, Clark Rorick, Lewis Guss, Maggie Darr, Mattie McLouth, and Florence Colvin.  Photo courtesy of Hudson Museum.

Tiffin (Peg Town) School on Medina Road circa 1894

Girl marked with 'x' looks like Maude Burdick--and about 12 yrs old-- (1882-1908) and probably some of her brothers (ages 14, 8, 6 and 4) are here also, unmarked--Loren (1880-1958), Harry (1886-1960), Ralph L (1888-1957) and Louis A (1890-1964); brother Clarence (1893-1897) is buried at Medina Village cemetery.  Their parents were Geo. Washington Burdick (1846-1921) and Clara E. Lawrence Burdick (1849-1907).  Geo. W. Burdick was a hired hand on the G.W. Moore farm in 1870; later the family lived at the John Foster farm (later owned by Cooleys).  Mrs. Burdick's sister Effie was married to Geo. Daniel, son of G. W. Moore, and lived across the road in the big square house on the Hudson Twp. side of Medina Rd. near the school.  Some of the children of Geo. and Effie are probably in this photo:  Mabel (b. 1878), Wm. A. (b. 1880), Jessie (b. 1886), Ettella (b. 1887), and Guy aka Jack (b. 1891).  Data from FamilySearch.org Family Trees.  Photo courtesy of Hudson Museum.

Medina Village School  May 20, 1904.  This photo donated to Hudson Museum by Lynn Huff, sitting behind the "X" on the desk in front of him.  We may be able to identify some of these students and the teacher, as time goes by.

Medina Village School 1918-19

FRONT 1sr row:  (Robert Guss and Malcom Johns not in school at this time), Euletta Shaffer, Pauline Johns, Alice Guss, Virginia Rhoads, Vivian Shadbolt, Margaret Distler.

SECOND row:  Gaylord Darr, Rex Robinson, Glen Robinson, John Shadbolt, Jr., Lee Hayes, Howard Fike, Norman Darr, Oliver Keller, Ray Fike.

THIRD row:  Vaughn Hayes, Ruth Tew, Helen Guss, Thelma Keller, Murial Stone, TEACHER MIles Root, Helen Milliken, Virginia Hayes, Harriet Tew, Marjery Johns, Elizabeth Stone.

FOURTH row:  Carl Mackey, Glen Guss, Earnest Rhoads, Joe Milliken, Clair Moyer, George Tew, Albert Griffith, Alfred Griffith, Charles Fike, Lester Fike.

Photo courtesy of Lenawee Historical Museum.

Medina Village School 1922-23

FRONT 1st row:  Anna Shadbolt, Alice Hayes, (Ivy?) Thomson, Pauline Shaffer, Maviery Flemming, Angeline Shadbolt, Vivian Shadbolt, Euletta Shaffer, Grace Scott, Ruth Shadbolt.

SECOND row:  Oliver Keller, Eugene Scott, Paul Distler, Kenneth Hayes, Howard Fike, Ray Fike, unknown, unknown, Robert Distler, Robert Guss, Sanger Punches, Gerald Brink. 

THIRD row:  Eudora Griffith, Alice Guss, Margaret Distler, John Shadbolt, Jr., Lee Hayes, Guy Punches, Lloyd Grubaugh, Vaughn Hayes, Glenn Guss, Fred Shadbolt, Donald Guss.

BACK row:  Elizabeth Stone, Carl Mackey, Carl Punches, Loren Tew, Lester Fike, TEACHER Floyd Lerche.  Photo courtesy of  Lenawee Historical Society.

Yellow brick school--Medina Fractional District Number 2, built 1872.

Photo:  David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography, Wm. L.Clements Library, University of Michigan

This school is believed to have been built on an expanded piece of land where the original frame school house was also located, the one that was also used by the Baptist Church at an early time prior to 1846.  The lots were once owned by one of the Daniels brothers and there were a couple of residences along an extended Eagle Street to the west.  This school faced Warner Street.

Detail from above Photo:  David V. Tinder Collection of Michigan Photography, Wm. L.Clements Library, University of Michigan

2022 UPDATE:  In some handwritten stories by Annis Darr sometime in the past year I have seen reference to the original frame school house being located on "the road to Canandiagua"!  

1929 Cyclone

View of Main St. from the south.  Photos taken by Stanley Stone, Publisher of the Hudson Post Gazette and Medina native.  Photos from Hudson Museum.  Huff/Colvin house is in center with the ell on back and damaged water tower; directly across the street from Huff house is the Shadbolt house, damaged on it's east side. Photo from Hudson Museum.

“Village of Medina:  Entire Western Half of Lenawee Suffers Damage from High Winds”  Loss Placed at $40,000 with thirteen buildings nearly or partially destroyed.  Luckily there were no serious injuries inflicted. Beautiful trees ruined

Hudson Post Gazette (next issue after Friday, June 28, 1929) by Stanley Stone, Publisher

(From articles on file at  Lenawee Historical Museum, thank you to Kathy Julian)

One of the oldest settled sections of Lenawee county, the village of Medina, settled, according to the records published in Bean Creek Valley, was visited shorly after midnight Thursday night by one of the most destructive wind storms that has ever visited Lenawee county, at least since the early settlers slowly wended their way in.  Medina was settled some 90 years ago and in the terrific storm of Thursday night, or early Friday morning, some of the original houses built in the early days of this old settlement bore the brunt of the twisting cyclonic storm.

The entire loss to the home-owners of Medina village and the farmers just to the east will without doubt total upwards of $40,000.00.  Four of the homes are entirely without wind insurance of any kind.  The balance are pretty well covered.

Friday morning the work of removing the limbs and branches from the highway and street commenced and spectators turned in and helped with the work with a will.  Throughout Friday, Saturday and all of Sunday a constant stream of autos wended its way to the village to view the wrecked homes and see the terrible damage accomplished by the cyclone.

The storm came from the southwest and traveled across the village without damage till it reached or passed the main four corners, when it reached down with fingers of diabolical fury and the first house to receive the full fury of its terrific force was the home of D. C. Nye, ripping the roof and chimney from this home; it threw them across the Manley and Gertie Kime home, just east, smashing in their roof and rear part of the house.

The storm then traveled almost directly eastward along the south side of the village and every house, yard and all the many beautiful shade trees felt the twisting force of the cyclone with the result that thirteen buildings all told were damaged to such an extent that they were rendered uninhabitable.  Every shade tree was either toppled over or stripped of its branches.

When morning dawned the entire eastern end of the village street presented a mass of tangled wreckage with huge limbs and twisted tree trunks covering the broad roadway.

Of these thirteen buildings four were entirely without wind insurance and their loss will be heavy.  Just to show the ready sympathy that responds to every great disaster, to every real financial loss of those least able to bear it.  A subscription paper was immediately started Friday and kept passing among the thousands of visitors from all over this section of the country who commenced to drive in to witness the effects of the storm and the disaster that had come to the owners of the homes.  The collection of money was steadily mounting and without doubt will reach to an amount that will very appreciably help every sufferer from the storm and possibly may entirely place their homes and buildings in just as good shape as they were before the storm.  Although money can never replace the big, beautiful shade trees that are totally ruined and are gone forever.  The entire eastern end of the shady shreet is wrecked in this way for many years to come.

In this connection it is somewhat interesting to note that the famous oak monarch that has stood in front of the Oliver Hotchkiss home (now Wirick home) withstood the storm with the loss of only a big branch.  However, in the same yard was another monarch of the forest, a big hickory, three feet in diameter that ws tipped over and various other trees in the beautiful yard full of trees are also destroyed.

Following the demolition of the roofs of the Nye and Kime homes the Joseph Dilworth house next east was similarly visited and ten trees torn down, the roof torn away and the walls of the house damaged extensively.

The George Huff home next east of Dilworths was about the worst damaged house in the village, the roof being torn off of both the upright and the ell running to the southward.  Mrs Huff was pinned in her home and her husband who works in a Jackson factory being away, it was several minutes before she was extricated from the wrecked home and taken to a place of safety.  

The Hugh Shaneour home suffered severely with the roof town off and the three magnificent maples located in the front yard reduced to twisted tree trunks and shapeless masses of foliage.  These trees each had a spread of some thirty feet and were beautiful trees.  They can never be replaced except by the slowly working hand of nature.  Then across the Canandaigua roadway and next in line on the same side of the street was the Punches home with was not damaged so badly.  

Next in line was the Wirick home (formerly the old Oliver Hotchkiss home) famous for its big yard full of big trees, which we have mentioned before.  The house was not damaged, but at least a half a dozen of the fine trees of different varieties were uprooted and destroyed, including the 100-foot tall hickory, three feet in diameter at the base.

At the diversion of the Canandaigua road from Main street the storm evidently parted and took a northeastern route.  However the damage begon on the north side of the street one block back where the Masonic hall now used by the ladies of the Baptist church suffered damage with shingles ripped off the roof, windows blown out and other damages.

Next east, the John Shadbolt house received damages and as the storm came up Mrs. Shadbolt started up the stairway to look after the children.  Nine children were sleeping there.  She started to close the bedroom windows when a board came hurtling through the window striking her in the back; one daughter, Frances, was struck on the face by flying debris and cut slightly.  The entire roof of the house was carried away and the side walls ripped out.  Repairs to the house seem useless.  A barn in the rear was also leveled to the ground, but the debris so fell that it did not damage a Ford car much.  Mrs. Shadbolt’s husband was in Toledo at the time the storm came; he works in a Toledo factory.

The Ed. W. Smith home next east was badly damaged when two large trees toppled over into the roof.  The porch was crushed in and other damages done.  Next came the Elmira Hemmingway residence and here the division of the storm was marked for the house itself was not damaged, but shade trees on each side of the house were uprooted and denuded of foliage and shrubbery of all kinds was destroyed.  A small auto was turned over on its side.

The farmhouse of Samuel Fike was damaged somewhat, and a barn in the rear, forty by sixty feet was leveled to the ground.  The windows in the house occupied by Geo. Miller were blown out and shingles torn off.

 

Next came the fine farm home of Ralph Tew, who is well known as a chicken farmer, with several thousand of white leghorn pullets and young chickens just now being brought to maturity.  One chicken house 20 X 52 feet was swept clean of its foundations, blown several rods to and on top of a tool house demolishing it.  The northwest corner of the barn was also demolished.  West of the house six shade trees were blown down and destroyed, the yard was full of debris of all sorts and kinds.  A new wire fence on the west side of the farm had so much debris blown up against it that flattened to the ground and will have to be reset.  Mr. Tew counted __00 (cut off) pullets killed or maimed and he estimates his loss at about $1,000.

__ storm lifted after damaging his property and one mile east dipped

__ the farms of his two brothers, Miland and Alton Tew, where the big

__s so twisted with roofs town off and sidewalls and beams town out

__on as to be a total loss.  A toolshed, one hundred feet long was also

____ destroyed.  The next farm visited was John Roberts, two miles

__st, where the damage was comparatively slight.

(Last few lines of this article was cut off on far left side)

And a week later this article from Lenawee Historical Society Museum clipping:

Huff home, previously belonging to the Colvin family and believed to have been built by Dr. Carlos Hampton in the 1850's (present site of the Mero house) This house was a total loss despite the curtains still hanging inside--see cyclone panoramic view above.  Photo from Hudson Museum.

Unknown foundation.  Photo from Hudson Museum.

Looks like Almira Hemenway place, later known as the Bluntschley place. Photo from Hudson Museum. 

Once home of Ben Heydenberk and others, with a large barn in back once used as a cooper's shop (see panoramic cyclone view); at time of the cyclone it was the Edward W. Smith place.  Smith's family continued to live there and the house still exists on Main St. today with an enclosed porch. Photo from Hudson Museum.

Could be at Fike's (on Eagle St.) or Tew's (old Lyon farm on east Main St.) Photo from Hudson Museum.

Dillworth home on left (once the Fessendens and later home of cheese maker Fred Bryan);  Kime home on right (once home of shoemaker Mac McGibbon)  The Kime house was a total loss and the Tew benefit was held primarily for brother and sister Manly and Gertie Kime, whose  late father Chris Kime was a village blacksmith. Photo from Hudson Museum.

This appears to be the Shadbolt house from the looks of the front (see cyclone panoramic view) and from the presence of so many children.  Nine children were sleeping upstairs when roof was carried away (the side away from the camera) and sidewalls were ripped out.  This house was immediately west of the Smith/Heydenberk house with the damaged porch, on the corner of what was once Center St. and Main St.  It can also be seen in the Smith house photo above at far left.  The Shadbolt house was previously home to many including Dwight Buck, Edwin Carter, the Sharr's; it was usually associated with the workmen's shop or wagon or blacksmith shop to the rear.  Chris Kime used to live at the very rear of this section on the south side of Eagle St. Photo from Hudson Museum.

Not sure what house this is where the tree is uprooted. Believed to be in the village. Photo from Hudson Museum.

Believed to be Mary Norine McVay Blaker and friend, somewhere in Medina village.  Norine was in the village the night of the cyclone, and according to her daughter Sandy she stayed that night in a house that sustained damage.  Joyce felt one of these young women was their mother (see her photo at Find-a-Grave posted by Joyce).  I scanned as high as I could but could not get detailed enough.

Back of the photo says Near Hudson and 1928 Chevrolet.  The house looks nearly identical with dark siding (see Vintage Aerial, which I can't post as it's copyrighted) to the Burns place SW corner of Tomer and Bothwell.  I lived nearby and the upward sloping to the house looks right, though it's always possible it could be another place.

Temperance Hall

 

This is a photo of the Baptist Ladies Hall in the early 1900's, situated at Section 8 Lot 5 in Medina Village.  In the early 1840's this building was known as Temperance Hall and owned by E. C. Coats, village tailor--full name Elisha Coats. See the location on the 1864 map below.  Keep in mind that the Red Brick Store had not yet been built at Section 8 Lot 8, and there was an earlier, smaller business building there at that time of this map.  Temperance Hall at Sec 8 L 5 is shown in RED while the other lots are shown in BLUE.  See the next photo below with Lot numbers above the buildings.  That is another early 1900's photo, so the buildings are slightly different than in the map.  I used this map as it's the only one with both building symbols AND lot numbers.

The link to the entire 1864 map above is available at the "Maps" tab on this website.

In the property tax records at Lenawee Museum, the earliest recorded owner of Section 8 Lot 5 that I could find is E.C. Coats.  That is in 1844 and there is a notation that it is "Temperance Hall."  

Now for the discussion of this building:  Joyce Longo devotes a page to it in her Historic Calendar, see the tab for it on this website, go to the month of August.  Joyce believed that this building was once the original Baptist Church--but that was before seeing the property records research.  Also, we discussed the possibility because of the bell on top, and also before we knew the existence of any "Temperance Hall," which is is referred to many times in the property records from 1844 onward past 1860.  Joyce admitted to me that this could be incorrect, but she went with the information she had at the time.

Annis Darr called this building the Baptist Ladies Hall (the photo post card is labeled Ladies Hall at the bottom) and it was used for suppers and bazaars for many years.  In Annis Darr's HANDWRITTEN history notebook at Hudson Museum, I later saw reference to the bell being added after the Oak Grove Academy closed--this was the original Academy bell.  That was in the early 1890's.  

Annis' typed history also says Baptist Ladies Hall was once the Masonic Hall; and also that after John Christopher died in 1895, his brick store closed and was sold to the Masons.  So that was around the same time the Academy closed and became a Grange Hall.

I have never seen reference to the location of the original village school and church, that is the church prior to 1846 that was when the present main section was built--until I read the website of Medina Federated Church which claims the school and church shared a building in the beginning.  Now Mr. Ron Hauter donated on behalf of Medina Township the early Township record books, including the school records to Hudson Museum.  I looked all through the District 2 book that was for Medina village and I was unable to see a definitive location.  There was reference to a small dwelling next to the original frame school--and the frame buildings were sold and hauled away AROUND THE TIME OF the building of the brick school in 1872.  I don't recall what happened to the small dwelling, but the school building was hauled across from the "House on the Hill" on Warwick Rd., according to Annis Darr.  There were several dwellings on west Eagle St. north of the school that no longer exist.  

In addition, I believe that I've seen a property tax reference to a "Village Lot" owned at an early time by one of the Daniels brothers on the west side where the school lot was.  It never said for church or school, but I suppose it COULD have been what was meant by Village Lot.

Therefore, I believe the original church and school shared a small frame building on Warner St. near the corner of Eagle St. where only an old garage exists today.  I doubt that Joyce Longo would disagree and I do not wish to diminish in any way her very interesting Historical Medina Calendar.

Mr. Ron Hauter also has recently donated to Hudson Museum a CHAIR decorated with the writing "Sons of T" which I believe to refer to Sons of Temperance, probably a group that met at Temperance Hall.  If anyone has any additional information, please leave a comment.below.

See Hudson Museum public Facebook for a photo of this excellent example of a Sons of Temperance chair.  

In 1856 Medina men formed the Medina Thief Detecting Society with officers John G. Smith (brother-in-law of G. W. Moore who lived on the farm to the west of Moore on Medina Rd.) and Charles Brown (Proprietor of Old White Store after E.D. and John Allen moved to Morenci).  The meetings of the society were held at Temperance Hall as laid out in the introduction to their constitution and bylaws as shown below.

We are indebted to the Lenawee County Historical Society for access to this document from our past.  I failed to scan any more of this document but the rules for the society are laid out in the pamphlet.  It was printed by A. E. Allen, apparently Augustus Allen, son of Erasmus Darwin Allen, the first publisher of the Observer in Morenci (called the New Era in 1872).  For this history see State Line Observer of Morenci under Morenci History Part 2.  We are also indebted to the State Line Observer for access to their excellent historical online archives created by publisher David Green.

Medina Village

Is this the location of the old cheese factory on the left?  or is it on Mill St. looking north to the main four corners?

Spring 2020 Medina Federated Church, main section built 1846 as a Baptist Church during the days of Reverend Lauren Hotchkiss.

2020 Medina Federated Church now with large gymnasium and attached hall for events.  It has a very large and active congregation

Old Bothwell Hwy. looking north toward Lake Hudson (In the past it was the road to Big Bear and Little Bear Lakes, Haley Rd. and Tomer Rd.) Once the "Old Town Road" between Hudson and Medina Twps. was about 1/4 mile beyond the hill.  The landscape was rolling all the way to Tomer.

Colvin House with Mrs. Chas. Colvin, the former Nellie Ely (daughter of Dr. Ely who lived corner of Warner and Main).  Colvin house was destroyed in the 1929 cyclone and replaced by Mero house.  Mrs. Colvin was a WW1 Gold Star Mother because her son Delancey Colvin died in France.  I believe she traveled there once to visit his grave.  He is one of the namesakes of the Hudson American Legion Hannan-Colvin Post, along with Dennis Hannan.  This house was built in the 1850's by Dr. Carlos Hampton.

This house was the childhood home of Medina historian Annis Darr--the family lived in the small portion until her father Ruben Cooley bought the old Gardner house that sat adjacent to the east side of the Baptist Church--for fifty dollars.  He had it moved here and converted the two homes into a larger house for his family.

Old schoolyard site.

One of the oldest houses in the village, believed to be the home of a young Mr. Ludden, the first Miller for Medina Milling Company in the village.  I'm pretty sure he was married to a daughter of Baxter Lyon, and the old census records show Mrs. Ludden and some young children on their own later on.  Given the danger involved in the occupation, he may have met an early demise and his burial place is not certainly known.  This house must be built of very strong timber such as walnut, to survive so long as over 180 years.  Many prominent persons of the past have lived at this residence.  Dr. Hamilton used to live directly across the street, in the foreground of this photo.  A reader reports that most of these old buildings were framed from white oak and that accounts for their longevity.

Joyce and I called this Strobeck house as Mr. Strobeck the woodworker used to live here for a time.  It was probably built by Lauren Hotchkiss as he owned it once in the 1840's, and perhaps it was built in stages.  It was only torn down this past year of 2020 after a fire.  I retrieved a pretty smooth stone from the rubble that was probably a part of a cobblestone foundation.  Many others lived here, including Hudson Post Gazette publisher Ed Potter.

This looks like the grave of Mr. Mumford, Civil War veteran.  (see Photographs page, City Fathers picture)  He lived a little east of the Baptist Church on same side of street, before the blacksmith shop.

Beautiful Medina Cemetery

At the head of Mill Street looking south.  Harrington/Gambell house is on left while home of Charlie Brown, proprietor of White Store (before Aldrich McLouth) on right.  The Old White Store has been replaced by a white house, though part of the foundation can still be seen in the front yard.  Joyce said the White Store was still in existence in 1939, so my Grandpa and Dad would have seen it.

Charles "Charlie" Brown, proprietor of the Old White Store after Allen Daniels, from the mid-1850's to around 1881.  He lived behind it on Mill Street and his house is still there.  Mr. Brown married a widow, the mother of Ed Farnsworth, whose family owned a farm to the west of the village.  Ed later lived in a house across Eagle St. that no longer exists, the one with the decorative spindle work described by Joyce Longo to me.  I believe Ed was a US Sharpshooter in the Civil War, and after that did jewelry and watch repairs at the store.  Mr. Brown held many positions of prominence in the county--from Portrait and Biographical Records of Lenawee County, Volume 2--Medina Twp. Postmaster 24 1/2 years, Medina Twp. Clerk 14 years, County Superintendent of the Poor 3 years, Notary Public 32 years, and he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1874, serving for 2 years  Charlie was followed at the White Store in 1881 by Aldrich McLouth, who remained at that location until his son-in-law Abner Griffith took over in 1906.  But McLouth's lived on Main Street at the NE corner of Bothwell and Main.  Charles Brown remained in the village after retirement.  Charlie's first wife was buried back in Cayuga County NY, and his second wife was Elizabeth, widow of C. G. Farnsworth and mother of Elizabeth and Edward.

Civil War veteran Thomas Hemenway and wife Almira with their one and only daughter.  They lived in various locations, but this one is believed to be the home built by Dr. Increase Hamilton when he first moved to the village.  The house that was 'stolen' from Canandaigua was reportedly so wrecked from the trip that the doctor built a new one at NW corner of Main. and Finch St.  When he left Medina, Dr. Brown lived at this house until he built the Red Brick House in 1853.  Today these lots are the site of a newer home.  The Shadbolt family is related to Mrs. Hemenway, and Joyce once showed me a scrapbook kept by her that included GAR ribbons belonging to Thomas.  They lived for a time in Canandaigua, and his obit says he is buried there, while there is a stone for her in Medina.  I find it hard to believe that his obit is correct.  UPDATE-- I see in the Gravestone Records of Lenawee for Canandaigua Cemetery that Almira's parents, the Newarks, are there--so I am changing my mind and now think Thos.' obit is correct.  Almira died last by 30 years, in 1949, and apparently wanted to be in Medina, pretty much her lifelong home. Joyce told me she got this photo scan from the archives of Medina Federated Church.

This is the old Mann/Stone farm south of Medina village and it is still owned by descendants of the Stones--by the Potters.  The Alvah Stones who lived here were related to the Charles Stones at Tiffin Mills area; I believe they were not directly descended, rather they were some sort of cousins.  

This is Bean Creek off the village bridge south of the old main four corners.  I took this in the winter around a year ago. It is interesting that all the clearing of the pioneers has given way to nature again and the forest is returning to old Bean Creek.  What would they say if they could see this now?  This is looking to the east where the Mills once were located. 

Medina and Vicinity Photos

 

"Strobeck House" SE corner of Bothwell and Eagle St.,

now demolished after a fire.

Old Charles Stone house on Medina Rd. at Tiffin Mills (Pegtown).  In the late 20th century this was the farm home of the large Graves family.

Joyce and I always called this "Sutton House," as one of the Suttons from south of the village moved into town and lived here once; but it was also the home to many others through the years.  Perhaps the longest residents were the family of Elisha Coats, pioneer whose business was tailoring for the community; he and his wife appear to also have boarded Oak Grove Academy students (for example see 1870 census).  Directly to the west of this house was Ernie Palmer's blacksmith shop (operated by the Rice family in earlier years).

The old Oak Grove Academy building, later Medina Grange Hall, and now a residence--built in 1853.  If there are any original trees still here, then they are now around 167 years old.

"Strobeck House" again.

To the west of the Church where several houses used to stand.  The earliest house probably built by Ebenezer Daniels of the famous Allen Daniels mercantile, in around 1840.  It was a carpenter gothic style, probably with ornate trim that did not survive into the 1960's when it was demolished.  There is a photo of it at the top of  Page 2 of Joyce's large "Foldable Map" scan, shown under the page/tab "MAPS"  Joyce's grandmother McVay used to live there, and earlier a Robinson family, so that she called it Robinson-McVay House.

Cropped scan of the rare post card photo of the Medina Village mills.  Joyce considered this her luckiest find on Ebay, not something she ever expected to see.  I handled it once and the back was printed with the name of the photographer, Perley Lord.  The young Mr. Lord was of the family from south Dover Twp., working at photography in Hudson in the early 1900's.  The image was sepia toned and fading fast.  After Joyce's death I was unable to locate the rare postcard, so we are lucky to have this scan she gave me.  If you look at the 1893 Lenawee Atlas you can see the service road to the left; if you look at the 1864 map you will see the Grist, Saw and Carding mills in a row south of the main four on Mill St.

According to Imogene Bennett, all three mills were still going strong in the 1880's.

Charles, Nellie and one of their children on the drive behind their barn, probably 1880's.  Joyce traveled to Bay City to meet descendants of the Colvin family to obtain scans of these great photos.

Charles Brown house, later home of his step-son Ed Farnsworth.  At an earlier time this was the home of Alexander Blake, often listed as "furnace man" on the tax rolls.  Mr. Blake has a memorial stone in the cemetery and may have built the house.  His business place was an earlier, smaller building at the Red Brick Store site.

This house was built by George Washington Moore's son, George, for his wife Effie Lawrence and their family.  It sits across the road from where he grew up on Medina Rd. near Tiffin Mills.

This house is located behind the Red Brick Store lot, and was home to the Gambell family; and at an earlier time (and perhaps built by) Clark Harrington, Sr., husband of Samantha and father of Eudora Harrington McLouth and Almond Harrington, and perhaps a Martha at a very early date; there were probably other children of this family. This is a very old home still in use and in very good condition.

This looks to be a very old house in excellent condition and it's located on Main St. in Canandaigua.  I am sorry that I have not studied the village in as much detail as Medina, but it looks to be a similar layout to the Harrington House shown directly above.

This is a clipping from a scrapbook at Lenawee Historical Society Museum in Adrian.  The article said this is the Tew family in their new automobile and they were photographed sitting in front of the Colvin place where they came to show the car to Mr. Isaac Colvin.  In the background is the large horse barn along Eagle St., at that time belonging to the Fikes.  It was located at the junction of Finch St.

Strobeck House yet again--I always felt this house was doomed and sadly I was right.  I guess that's why I liked to take pictures of it so much.

This house still exists and now appears inhabited; it is on Lawrence Rd. near Haley, and during my childhood was the home of Lawrence Lamb.  I was shocked to learn that Mr. Lamb was actually a son of Sylvetus Lamb, son of original pioneer of Rollin named Roswell Lamb.  Sylvetus was the youngest son of Roswell, being born to the second and younger wife; likewise, Lawrence was the absolute youngest child of Sylvetus, possibly 20 years younger than his oldest sibling.  It just seemed incredible to me that a grandson of an original pioneer would be alive in my lifetime, but it is true!  At an early time (see the 1857 map under the MAPS tab/page that shows the outline of a larger house) this place was owned and possibly built by Medina village miller Lawrence McCarty.  Mr. McCarty also owned a place in the village on the 1857 map, showing his name on the original Dr. Hamilton house that was moved from Canandaigua--oldest house in the village.  I believe Mr. McCarty passed away in 1861, and of course I wonder if it wasn't a work-related accident.  HIs parents are also buried in Medina cemetery and lived to the north in the Hughes/Tomer vicinity.  According to the 1857 village map, Lawrence McCarty was not just a miller, but an owner of the Medina Village Grist Mill, along with an Allen, probably Ebenezer.  This country house was built in the Italianate style that was popular from the 1840's on past the Civil War era.  

This is the Darr family who lived on the "Old Town Road," W 1/2 of SW Qtr. of Sec. 36, Hudson Twp.  Samuel Burnett and wife had one child, daughter Sarah (1855-1929), who married Nelson Darr.  The Burnett's owned a fancier house (I forgot to scan that photo yet) on their farm, and apparently built this simpler place (or perhaps this was their first residence, is more likely) on the same farm where Sarah and Nelson Darr and family lived.  Their children are in the photo along with a daughter who married into the Moyer family.  The ages of the small children and the style of this photo enabled us to date this photo at 1898.  We believe this photo was taken the same day as the school children's group photo and the old city father's photo, along with the photo of Grandpa Brazee working his saw horse in his yard--that was Oct. 20, 1898.  It would be really great if any other photos taken that day would surface!