Medway, Ohio
Encyclopedia
Medway is an unincorporated community
in Bethel Township
, Clark County
, Ohio
, United States
. It is part of the Springfield, Ohio
Metropolitan Statistical Area. Near are the adjoining communities of Crystal Lakes
and Park Layne
. The population of its ZCTA
for ZIP Code
45341, which includes Medway, was 4,110 at the 2000 census
. Medway lies within the Tecumseh Local School District
, whose high school mascot is the Arrows. Medway Elementary is the primary center of education for grades k-5.
an explorers
, namely French
fur traders, reached the Mad River in 1671, they found an abundance of beaver pelt among other prized furs. They followed the Honey Creek, through the current locations of the town of Medway where they established a small base camp (later moved to a Shawnee
trading post near present day Springfield, Ohio
). On September 17, 1671, the Spangler party claimed all the lands comprising the drainage basin
of the river, later renamed the Mad River
, for Louis XIV
as part of New France
.
During the 1740s, the Wood's River Land Company, which was represented by Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne
, attained a large tract of land within present-day southwest Ohio. Part of the tract became Clark County
and Montgomery County
and was sold to settlers entering the region. The Drapier and Ingles families were among those that built their homes somewhere between present locations of Medway and the subdivision of Park Layne. The settlement came to be called Drapier's Meadow by 1748.
Seven years later, the Ohio Valley was involved in the brutality of the French and Indian War
. This war resulted in British control over much of France's North American holdings, including the Mad River fur trading posts located in present day Medway. By the end of the war, the French had retreated and the Shawnee Amerindians gained control over the post. They subsequently moved to Springfield where the tribe already had a large settlement.
. General George Rogers Clark
, led over 1,000 soldiers (among them Daniel Boone
and Simon Kenton
) across the Ohio River
near present-day Cincinnati and engaged in numerous skirmishes with British regulars that had occupied French forts after the French and Indian War, and the Shawnee
who were at the time allies of the Red Coats. The Shawnee gradually withdrew during the first few days before finally engaging American forces 7 miles west of Springfield
in present day Medway on August 8, 1782. After several hours of fighting, both sides suffered moderate casualties before scattering the small Shawnee rearguard
. The victory against the Shawnee in the Medway/Mad River Valley area discouraged further Amerindian raids against Kentucky and other parts of the American frontier, and helped in part to secure the whole of the Ohio Territory for the Colonials. George Rogers Clark
later remarked that the area that is now Medway was of significant strategic importance to the American cause as "the Mad River was the artery to the Miami River , and the Miami, the Ohio River
thereto." Medway was therefore of strategic importance and, as such, the federal government encouraged many veterans to use their war pensions to settle in the area; descendents of several of these Revolutionary war families reside in the village.
Medway, named for being the midway point between Springfield and Dayton
, saw an influx of Mennonite
immigrants who arrived in 1842.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Bethel Township
Bethel Township, Clark County, Ohio
Bethel Township is one of the ten townships of Clark County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 18,962 people in the township, 12,934 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
, Clark County
Clark County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 144,742 people, 56,648 households, and 39,370 families residing in the county. The population density was 362 people per square mile . There were 61,056 housing units at an average density of 153 per square mile...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is part of the Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...
Metropolitan Statistical Area. Near are the adjoining communities of Crystal Lakes
Crystal Lakes, Ohio
Crystal Lakes is a census-designated place in Clark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,411 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Crystal Lakes is located at ....
and Park Layne
Park Layne, Ohio
Park Layne is a census-designated place in Clark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,519 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Park Layne is located at ....
. The population of its ZCTA
ZIP Code Tabulation Area
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics from Census 2000. This new entity was developed to overcome the difficulties in precisely defining the land area covered by each ZIP code...
for ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
45341, which includes Medway, was 4,110 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. Medway lies within the Tecumseh Local School District
Tecumseh Local School District
The Tecumseh Local School District is a school district in western Clark County, Ohio which serves the city of New Carlisle, the towns of Medway and Donnelsville, and the surrounding unincorporated areas...
, whose high school mascot is the Arrows. Medway Elementary is the primary center of education for grades k-5.
European Discovery and the Founding of a Settlement (1671–1771)
When EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an explorers
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
, namely French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fur traders, reached the Mad River in 1671, they found an abundance of beaver pelt among other prized furs. They followed the Honey Creek, through the current locations of the town of Medway where they established a small base camp (later moved to a Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
trading post near present day Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...
). On September 17, 1671, the Spangler party claimed all the lands comprising the drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of the river, later renamed the Mad River
Mad River (Ohio)
The Mad River is a stream located in the west central part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It flows from Logan County to downtown Dayton, where it meets the Great Miami River. The stream flows southwest from its source near Campbell Hill through West Liberty, along U.S...
, for Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
as part of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
.
During the 1740s, the Wood's River Land Company, which was represented by Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne
Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne
Louis de la Corne or Louis Chapt, Chevalier de la Corne was born at Fort Frontenac in what is now Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and began his career in the colonial regular troops as a second ensign in 1722 and was made full ensign five years later.He married in 1728 and began investing heavily in...
, attained a large tract of land within present-day southwest Ohio. Part of the tract became Clark County
Clark County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 144,742 people, 56,648 households, and 39,370 families residing in the county. The population density was 362 people per square mile . There were 61,056 housing units at an average density of 153 per square mile...
and Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Ohio
Montgomery County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. The population was 535,153 in the 2010 Census. It was named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada. The county seat is Dayton...
and was sold to settlers entering the region. The Drapier and Ingles families were among those that built their homes somewhere between present locations of Medway and the subdivision of Park Layne. The settlement came to be called Drapier's Meadow by 1748.
Seven years later, the Ohio Valley was involved in the brutality of the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. This war resulted in British control over much of France's North American holdings, including the Mad River fur trading posts located in present day Medway. By the end of the war, the French had retreated and the Shawnee Amerindians gained control over the post. They subsequently moved to Springfield where the tribe already had a large settlement.
George Rogers Clark and American Revolution (1772–1797)
Medway played a notable role as part of the western campaign during the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. General George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war...
, led over 1,000 soldiers (among them Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
and Simon Kenton
Simon Kenton
Simon Kenton was a famous United States frontiersman and friend of Daniel Boone, Simon Girty, Spencer Records and Isaac Shelby.-Family and early life:Simon Kenton was alive even before Ohio was a state...
) across the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
near present-day Cincinnati and engaged in numerous skirmishes with British regulars that had occupied French forts after the French and Indian War, and the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
who were at the time allies of the Red Coats. The Shawnee gradually withdrew during the first few days before finally engaging American forces 7 miles west of Springfield
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...
in present day Medway on August 8, 1782. After several hours of fighting, both sides suffered moderate casualties before scattering the small Shawnee rearguard
Rearguard
Rearguard may refer to:* A military detachment protecting the rear of a larger military formation, especially when retreating from a pursuing enemy force. * Rear Guard , a computer game released in 1982...
. The victory against the Shawnee in the Medway/Mad River Valley area discouraged further Amerindian raids against Kentucky and other parts of the American frontier, and helped in part to secure the whole of the Ohio Territory for the Colonials. George Rogers Clark
Rogers
-Places:Canada*Rogers Island *Rogers PassUnited States*Rogers, Arkansas*Rogers, California*Rogers, California, alternate name of Muroc, California*Rogers, Minnesota*Rogers, Nebraska*Rogers, Ohio*Rogers, Virginia*Rogers City, Michigan...
later remarked that the area that is now Medway was of significant strategic importance to the American cause as "the Mad River was the artery to the Miami River , and the Miami, the Ohio River
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
thereto." Medway was therefore of strategic importance and, as such, the federal government encouraged many veterans to use their war pensions to settle in the area; descendents of several of these Revolutionary war families reside in the village.
Medway, named for being the midway point between Springfield and Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, saw an influx of Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
immigrants who arrived in 1842.
Temperatures
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max °F | 41.1 | 44.8 | 53.3 | 62.9 | 71.5 | 78.6 | 82.5 | 81.3 | 75.3 | 65.3 | 55.0 | 44.9 | 63.0 |
| Mean °F | 30.9 | 33.5 | 41.4 | 50.0 | 58.9 | 66.9 | 71.1 | 69.6 | 63.0 | 51.7 | 42.8 | 34.1 | 51.2 |
| Min °F | 20.6 | 22.1 | 29.4 | 37.0 | 46.3 | 55.2 | 59.7 | 57.8 | 50.7 | 38.0 | 30.6 | 23.2 | 39.2 |
Precipitation
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inch | 3.37 | 3.02 | 3.83 | 3.83 | 4.39 | 3.93 | 4.17 | 3.68 | 3.39 | 3.19 | 2.96 | 2.87 | 42.63 |