No talk of Medina history would be complete without touching on the life and influence of H.G Blake. Blake arrived in the area as a 12-year-old orphan. By 1863, he had become a successful merchant, and attorney, and Ohio state senator, a colonel in the 166th regiment of the army, and a 2 term US congressman. He had also started a small bank called the Phoenix Bank, today called First Merit Bank. He would later become the mayor of Medina, and the editor of the Gazette. The 2nd picture show the home that Blake purchased and maintained a station for the Underground Railroad there. The house still stands today on East Washington. The last picture shows the H.G. Blake building taken sometime around the time of his death. Blake died on April 16th, 1876 just short of his 57th birthday. Medina mourned his death. All of the buildings in the square were draped in black, and a banner was hung from the building with the words, Peoples Friend. The newly constructed Phoenix building was only around 5 years old at the time of his death. The building still stands today as the grandest building in the square.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 15:51:08 +0000
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