The house, on the corner of E. Liberty St. and North Spring Grove,  was built by an  English immigrant named Thomas Miller in 1841. It  had originally been located outside the village of Medina on ninety acres of farm land. Today, it is well within the city limits.

Sketch of house by Cindy Allman for the Medina CDC

The hiding places for fugitive slaves created by Thomas Miller remain intact.  Current owner, Marc  Milinkovich showed those areas to scores of intrigued visitors on Sunday, December 6.

Click here to see more photos of the Underground Railroad house:

Slaves were once hidden behind this ordinary appearing fireplace.

This is the entance to the area behind the fireplace.

This trap door in the floor (originally hidden by rugs) was another way to whisk slaves to safety. The walk-out basement once led to a barn.

Marc and Tracy Milinkovich filled their home with Christmas decorations popular in the mid-1800's.

Berries and pine -- celebrating Christmas in 19th century style.

The gazebo is actually the last of a series of structures to occupy the center of Public Square Park — the three acre plot donated to the village in 1817 by Medina’s founder, Elijah Boardman.  The park has served as the community’s gathering place for close to 200 years.

Here is what came before the gazebo.  These photos are from the collection of the Medina CDC.

This first picture is an 1846 sketch of Medina as depicted in Henry Howe's book , "Historical Collections of Ohio". It shows a simple flagpole planted in the center of the village green. Originally, the park was surrounded by a fence to keep out livestock. It was the setting for the first Medina County Fair and for regularly scheduled military musters.

The second photograph dates from 1868. It shows an early band concert in progress on a crudely erected platform in the center of the park. The popular Medina tradition of summer band concerts dates back to the 1850's.

In the 1890's, this classically elegant fountain, surrounded by a fishpond, graced the center of Public Square park. Note that the fencing around the park had disappeared. Presumably wandering livestock no longer presented a problem.

In 1914, for reasons unknown, the classic fountain was replaced by this rather fanciful creation. It was constructed of local rocks gathered by the pupils of Garfield School at the request of the Medina Improvement Association.

Many Medina residents still remember this fishpond equipped with revolving colored lights which at one time stood in the center of the park. It was donated in 1951 by the civic minded Freda Snyder, owner of Medina Farmers' Exchange, and was removed in 1976 to make way for the gazebo.

Matt Wiederhold, Executive Director of Main Street Medina

Matt Wiederhold, Executive Director of Main Street Medina, is feeling pretty good. The 25^th annual Medina Candlelight Walk is over and it exceeded his expectations.  He and a small committee of ten worked tirelessly to make that happen.

“It was huge,” said Matt.  “There were between eight and ten thousand people attending.  On Saturday evening the Square was so packed that you could barely walk.  And the shops were full – had the best sales in years.”

It was also a satisfying conclusion to his first full year running the Main Street program, during which time he produced two major events on the Square: the Chalk Art Fest  this past May, and the International  Fest in August.  Main Street also sponsored the World Tour of Music:  four concerts presenting a variety of musical offerings – from the St. Petersburg Quartet and Broadway show tunes, to Gospel music and steel drum bands.

Main Street’s mandate is to focus on revitalization efforts in the central business district around Public Square, a nine block area.  This includes not only creating exciting new events and programs, but also supporting existing businesses and recruiting new businesses.

“I am happy to say that four new businesses have opened in the historic area this year, in the worst economy in years,” Wiederhold said.

The Main Street concept was pioneered in the 1970’s by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, combining historic preservation with economic development to restore vitality to downtown areas. Nationally there are 2,000 communities utilizing the Main Street approach, 39 of them in Ohio.

“I have received a warm welcome in Medina,” Matt observed, “Although not everyone knows me yet.  One time I said to someone,  ‘Hello, I’m Matt from Main Street’.  And the response was, ‘Oh, we ate at your restaurant (The Main Street Café) last week.  It was great!”

Oh well, there’s always 2010.

“The Circle of Light around Hospice’s Tree of Light came about by accident.  We had too many luminarias and decided to place them in a circle around the tree.  And suddenly it became a place of reflection.  People came and stood quietly, some cried.  It was very moving.”

-Matt Wiederhold

For more pictures of the Candlelight Walk by Matt Wiederhold, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving.  See you in December.

Town Hall and Engine House

A long-held dream came one step closer to reality when a group committed to turning Medina’s 1878 Engine House into a museum met after a long interval. Such a museum would showcase vintage fire trucks and fire-fighting equipment, and tell the story of the two fires that ravaged Medina in the 1800’s.

The group has worked on the project for at least a decade, but for a variety of reasons, the project did not get beyond the drawing board.  Now, it seems, the timing might be more fortuitous.

In 1967 a group of citizens calling themselves the Community Design Committee (CDC) painted the Engine House bright red and  launched the successful and nationally lauded restoration of Medina’s Public Square. (For more details on this, click here.)

Now it’s time for Chapter Two in the life of the Engine House. Stay tuned.

Click here to see historic photos of  19th century Medina firefighters.