Medina County Grows 17.7%
Published August, 1999

Chief Running Deer stood at the peak of a hill and peered down into the valley that would one day become Medina County. His tribe had lived in this area for hundreds of years and he had grown comfortable with his life. Shady trees, a good supply of wildlife, and a beautiful lake called Chippewa made this area a good place to raise a family. One could not ask for a more perfect life.

But one day he saw something strange move into his land. A couple of European settlers were beginning to build a log cabin. Realizing for the first time that his paradise might be undergoing some changes, he angrily turned away and shook his head in disgust.

“There goes the neighborhood,” he cursed under his breath.

As time slowly slipped away into nothingness, Chief Running Deer and his family were replaced with people named Jones, Smith, and others. Years ticked by, the land remained, but the names and faces changed. The inhabitants of this area thought they owned the land, but really they didn’t. They were only borrowing it until someone else came along.

The release of 1998 population estimates shows that Medina County is growing more rapidly than census estimators had originally thought. In 1995, census estimates projected that the county would not reach 145,000 residents until the year 2005. We’re a good six years ahead of that pace already!

After seeing an 8.1% increase in population from 1980 to 1990, Medina County has doubled it’s rate of growth to 17.7% in the 1990s. That means about 22,000 more people live here now than did eight years ago.

Is this growth good for our County? You be the judge. Should we allow commercial growth in Medina County in order to create jobs and bring tax money into the schools and local governments? Or should we try to keep the area as rural as possible to maintain the quality of life?

No matter which argument you take, the other side has a really good point, too. If we start preventing farmers from selling their land to developers, is that really fair to the farmer? How would you like to have restrictions place on who you can sell your land to, or how much money you can earn from the sale. It seems kind of un-American, when you think about it. After all, your home is sitting on a piece of land that Chief Running Deer used to call his own.

But on the other hand, do we have a responsibility to the community to keep the area rural? After all, the saying goes, that’s why people moved out here in the first place!

Regardless of the never-ending debate on the pros and cons of growth, one can not ignore the reality that Medina County has two very large metropolitan areas to the North and to the East. A cup can only hold so much water, and people are naturally going to spill out from Cleveland and Akron. It’s doubtful that there is a way to stop people from moving.

So what can you do if you’re sick of making the incredible journey through Medina on Route 42? Tell everybody else to leave? Maybe there ought to be a seniority clause; if you were born here, you can stay. But everybody else has to moved back to Parma.

Like the choices we face today, Chief Running Deer could do one of three things. He could put up with the people who were moving into his community and welcome them with open arms, he could try to force them out, or he could leave. It was sad that he had to change his lifestyle, but he had absolutely no chance against the tide of thousands of colonists moving out to his land.

If he forced them to leave, more would come in their place. If he put up with the influx of settlers, his lifestyle certainly would change. And if he decided to leave, what was stopping people from following right along in his tracks?

I guess the only thing I can figure for certain is that next year there will be more people living in Medina County to pick up our newspaper - or maybe more people to NOT pick up our newspaper. Maybe it’s all a matter of perspective.

1998 POPULATION and INCREASE FROM 1990
Brunswick Hills Twp. 5,303, 22.2%
Chatham Twp. 2,198, 22.2%
Hinckley Twp. 7,142, 22.2%
Homer Twp. 1,461, 22.2%
Litchfield Twp. 3,062, 22.2%
Sharon Twp. 3,952, 22.2%
York Twp. 3,029, 22.2%
Granger Twp. 3,580, 22.1%
Medina Twp. 5,940, 22.1%
Montville Twp. 4,114, 22.0%
Wadsworth Twp. 4,114, 21.9%
Lafayette Twp. 5,850, 21.8%
Guilford Twp. 5,804, 21.6%
Liverpool Twp. 4,492, 21.0%
Medina City 22,928, 19.2%
Brunswick City 32,634, 15.6%
Spencer Twp. 1,999, 11.9%
Wadsworth City 17,567, 11.8%
Westfield Twp. 3,783, 11.5%
Harrisville Twp. 5,067, 6.1%
TOT. MEDINA CO. 144,019, 17.7%

*Village population is included within township figures

MEDINA COUNTY FACTS AND FIGURES
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POPULATION AND HOUSING (Bureau of the Census)
Total resident population:
1995...............................................................135,735
Percent 65 years and over............................10.1
1990................................................................122,354
1980................................................................113,150
Occupied housing units, 1990............................. 41,792
Percent owner occupied................................. 79.3
BIRTHS AND DEATHS (National Center for Health Statistics)
Births, 1993.............................................1,748
Deaths, 1993............................................. 894
EDUCATION (Bureau of the Census)
Percent high school graduates.......................... 82.4
Percent college graduates.............................. 18.0
LABOR FORCE (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Civilian labor force, 1994............................... 67,620
Percent unemployed..................................... 5.0
PRIVATE NONFARM ESTABLISHMENTS (Bureau of the Census)
Total establishments, 1993............................... 3,064
Percent retail trade................................... 20.9
Percent services.......................................31.3
Paid employees, 1993 (pay period including March 12).....38,143
Annual payroll, 1993 (in $1,000’s)............................ 827,262
PERSONAL INCOME (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
Per capita income (dollars)................................... 20,087
AGRICULTURE (Bureau of the Census)
Number of farms, 1992.................................... 906
Land in farms as percent of total land................. 39%