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D−History
History · Medina

Half of Medina’s homes were built after 2000

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Medina was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1860.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

About Medina’s history

How historic is Medina?

D−

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Medina’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Medina is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Medina’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.6) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical MN town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 3%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)#272 of 273

Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Medina’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Medina’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Medina are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew 8-fold.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Medina, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19094 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1993. Watch Medina change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Medina’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Medina’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Medina, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,5001900195020001,462 in 1880Low: 840

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew 8-fold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Medina’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Leighton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Leighton
1857–1878
Hamel
1886–today
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DitterHamelLeighton
Gone or out of use
Leighton Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Medina
Holy NameSaint Anne'sSaints Peter and Paul

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Medina came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Medina.

Read it all →

Originally named Hamburg Township, it was soon after, on May 11, 1858, renamed after the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia, which had been in the news that year. The township of Medina extended as far south as Lake Minnetonka until Orono Township was formed in 1889. On May 26, 1955, Medina Township was incorporated as a village. It became a city in 1974 when Minnesota changed its statutes.

For almost all of Medina's history, it has been a rural community with a large farming presence. But beginning in the 1970s, it became more urbanized, with paved roads, street signs, and some suburban developments.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Medina, 1881–1895

Passages that mention Medina, cut from the printed page as they were published.

when, by petition of voters, on the north shore of Bake Minnetonka, that portion of the lake was made a part of the town of Medina, owing to the difficulties in crossing the lake, at the time of the annual election. In 1891, the boundary was again changed, so as to cut off Minnetonka Beach, and ad¬
Vol. 21895 · page 1282Read the page →
Read the text

when, by petition of voters, on the north shore of Bake Minnetonka, that portion of the lake was made a part of the town of Medina, owing to the difficulties in crossing the lake, at the time of the annual election. In 1891, the boundary was again changed, so as to cut off Minnetonka Beach, and ad¬

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
them on the north, extending their settlement, which has been previously mentioned as beginning in 1854, through the town of Medina, during the year 1855, in about the following order, as to names and locations, be¬ ginning in the spring of the latter year, nanie^’: George Reiser, John
Vol. 21895 · page 1317Read the page →
Read the text

them on the north, extending their settlement, which has been previously mentioned as beginning in 1854, through the town of Medina, during the year 1855, in about the following order, as to names and locations, be¬ ginning in the spring of the latter year, nanie^’: George Reiser, John

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Co. II. 3d Miiui.: was lionorahly discliarijfd in l.S(>o, and returned to his farm. He has lilled tlie offices of Clerk, Super\'!sor. and Assessor in the town of Medina, wliere iie has since resided. IVter Miller, horn in Prussia. ]s.s.{. emigrated to Anieriea and lived in Illinois lor two years.
History of Hennepin county and the city of Minneapolis, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota1881 · page 276Read the page →
Read the text

Co. II. 3d Miiui.: was lionorahly discliarijfd in l.S(>o, and returned to his farm. He has lilled tlie offices of Clerk, Super\'!sor. and Assessor in the town of Medina, wliere iie has since resided. IVter Miller, horn in Prussia. ]s.s.{. emigrated to Anieriea and lived in Illinois lor two years.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Medina, 1857 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Leighton post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Leighton post office closes
  4. 1886Post officeThe Hamel post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1986Born hereRyan Saunders is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2003Born hereCaden Clark is born here
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 6,837
By decade

Medina, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Loram railgrinders aerial, September 20242024Loram railgrinders aerial, September 2024Loram headquarters aerial, Medina, Minnesota, August 20242024Loram headquarters aerial, Medina, Minnesota, August …Historic Cabin2024Historic CabinFarmers State Bank of Hamel2014Farmers State Bank of HamelMedinaHennepin2007MedinaHennepin
On the map

Medina on the map, 1909 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Medina. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Medina on the 1909 USGS mapMedina on the 1958 USGS mapMedina on the 1981 USGS mapMedina on the 1993 USGS map1909Rockford sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Medina.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Medina

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Caden ClarkAmerican soccer player · b. 2003
Ryan SaundersHead coach · b. 1986
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

PlymouthIts storyC−Orono1 historic placeB−Corcoran1 historic placeC+IndependenceIts storyC

Questions about Medina’s history

How does Medina rank for history?

Medina is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Medina?

0.0% of Medina’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 2000.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.