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CHistory
History · Medina

Medina’s post office opened in 1914, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #121 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Medina was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listings are the James G. Eddy House and Grounds and the Stuart House and Gardens. Its Register listings are the James G. Eddy House and Grounds and the Stuart House and Gardens. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1960.

1914first post office
2on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Medina’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Medina began

When was Medina founded?

1914

The Medina post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,285 in 19602020 census: 2,915112 years

How historic is Medina?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Medina post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 33% of U.S. towns, #121 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Medina’s overall grade.
Founding era1914, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19407.1% of homes (±3.9) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 6.8 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 33%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 58%

Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Medina’s 6.8 sits above most of its state (79% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18954 editions of the USGS map, 1895 to 1992. 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMedina ferry dock, Medina, May 30, 1914: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Medina on the map, 1895 to 1992

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 1895 USGS mapMedina on the 1968 USGS mapMedina on the 1973 USGS mapMedina on the 1992 USGS map1895Snohomish sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Medina came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Medina.

Read it all →

The eastern shore of Lake Washington between Meydenbauer Bay and Evergreen Point was a sparsely populated area that was cleared for its timber in the 1870s. Seattle businessman Thomas Dabney established a claim on the south side of modern-day Medina in 1886, becoming the area's first permanent white settler. Dabney built a ferry dock in 1890, naming it Dabney's Landing, while the surrounding area was turned into berry farms and fruit orchards. Other settlers arrived at Dabney's Landing, which was briefly named Flordeline by its founder until objections were raised by a group of women who proposed the Arabic name "Medina" in 1891. After a series of debates and sign-switching incidents, Medina won and was adopted as the name of the town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Medina, 1895 to 1994

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1914In the archiveMedina ferry dock, Medina, May 30, 1914
  5. 1914Post officeThe Medina post office opens
  6. 1926BuiltStuart House and Gardens is built
  7. 1994Born hereJake Eldrenkamp is born here
By decade

Medina, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Medina ferry dock, Medina, May 30, 19141914Medina ferry dock, Medina, May 30, 1914
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today11 recent
Bellevue, Washington - toll sign, heading west on Washington State Route 520 at Evergreen Point2020Bellevue, Washington - toll sign, heading west on Was…Blue Angels Sneak Pass2017Blue Angels Sneak PassSR-520 Grand Opening2016SR-520 Grand OpeningSR-520 Grand Opening2016SR-520 Grand OpeningSR-520 Grand Opening2016SR-520 Grand OpeningSR-520 Bridge Construction2015SR-520 Bridge ConstructionMedina city limits2015Medina city limitsUntitled photo2012Untitled photoSt Thomas School 012011St Thomas School 01James G Eddy House2011James G Eddy HouseSt. Thomas School green roof 012009St. Thomas School green roof 01
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Medina ferry dock, Medina, May 30, 1914
Retake this viewMedina ferry dock, Medina, May 30, 1914, 1914

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Medina’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Medina

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
James G. Eddy House and Grounds
James G. Eddy House and GroundsStuart House and Gardens, built 1926
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

English Georgian1
James G. Eddy House and GroundsBuilding
Stuart House and GardensEnglish Georgian · Built 1926

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Medina, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001960198020002020Peak: 3,455

Between 2,285 and 3,455 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Medina’s post office has been open since 1914.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Eastland

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bellevue1 historic placeCSeattle226 historic placesA−Hunts PointIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMercer Island2 historic placesC−Clyde HillIts storyD−

Questions about Medina’s history

What year was Medina founded?

The Medina post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Medina rank for history?

Medina is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #121 of 285 in Washington. 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.

What is on the National Register in Medina?

Two places: the James G. Eddy House and Grounds (listed 1982) and the Stuart House and Gardens (1983).

How old are the homes in Medina?

7% of Medina’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.