Medina

Medina was a part of the "Big Woods," a vast region of hardwood forest, broken only by lakes, marshes, and streams. The first settlers arrived in Medina in 1855. In 1858, County Commissioners gave the City an official designation as "Hamburg Township." Local residents preferred the name, "Medina," after the Arabian holy City that was in the news that year and in May, residents voted unanimously to officially change the name.

The Hamel area of Medina was platted as a City as early as 1879, but its efforts to incorporate failed, in part, because of the complication of straddling the borders of both Medina and Plymouth. Built on the road from Minneapolis to Rockford, Hamel was a busy town. At the turn of the century Hamel boasted a school, two hotels, the Church of St. Anne's, a hall for the Ancient Order of United Workman and numerous stores. The town decreased to its present size after Highway 55 bypassed it in the 1950's.

As it grew, Medina graduated from "township" status to become a "village" in 1955; it incorporated as a City in 1974. Now Medina is a prosperous, suburban edge city and its residents are eager to preserve its rural heritage.