Elijah Boardman 1789, ( Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Medina’s founder, Elijah Boardman, was born in 1760 in New Milford, Connecticut. He was a Revolutionary War veteran who eventually became one of the wealthiest men in New England.

This portrait by noted American artist, Ralph Earl, tells us a great deal about Boardman.  He was tall and handsome, and judging from the writing materials and books on his desk, quite literate, which was no mean feat in the eighteenth century.  The elegant clothing tells us that he was a man of taste and means, and the bolts of cloth piled on shelves in the room behind him point to the source of his prosperity — he was a dry goods merchant.

In 1807 Boardman invested $60,000 with the Connecticut Land Company — a group of investors buying land west of the Ohio River. Eleven years later he  created a town that he named, but never came to visit.

Some historical background: The Colony of Connecticut had owned a large portion of what is now northern Ohio, granted by King Charles of England in 1662. After the Revolutionary War, the new Federal government forced Connecticut to give up most of this land.  Connecticut kept the western portion for its citizens who had suffered property damage during the war and named it the Firelands.  The remainder, about 3,000,000 acres called the Western Reserve, was sold to the the Connecticut Land Company. These investors, (who included Moses Cleaveland, founder of Cleveland) purchased the land for $1,200,000 — or approximately 42 cents an acre.

A lottery was held for the Western Reserve lands and each investor drew parcels out of a hat, according to how much he had invested.  Elijah Boardman drew  Medina Township and Boardman Township (near Youngstown.)

In April of 1817, Boardman assigned 227 acres of Medina Township for the purpose of creating a town to serve as a county seat. Originally he called it Mecca, until he was informed that a town by that name already existed in Trumbull County.  He then chose the name Medina.

He also hired Rufus Ferris as his land agent to divide the parcels and sell them.

In later life, Elijah Boardman, having prospered greatly from this land investment, entered politics and after first serving in the Connecticut State Legislature, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1821. He came to Ohio a few times — but only as far as Boardman Township, to visit his youngest son, Henry.  He never ventured further west than that.

In 1823, Elijah Boardman died during a visit to Boardman, Ohio.  His family then took his remains back to his birthplace, New Milford, Connecticut.