Mendon

How Mendon began

Mendon was laid out as Guilford in 1834 by Justin Hamilton and Thomas Parrott on the south bank of the St. Marys River, with the plat acknowledged on May 29 and recorded on June 2; the proprietors soon changed the name to Mendon, which is also the name of the post office that has operated since 1839. For years it was a schoolhouse, a horse mill and a store. The railroad that became a branch of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton brought trade, and the village was incorporated in 1881. Fires destroyed the west side of Main Street in February 1906 and the east side on January 12, 1907. The Town Hall, built in 1904, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Settled 1834, platted May 29, 1834 (as Guilford; recorded June 2), incorporated 1881, by Justin Hamilton and Thomas Parrott.

Where the name comes from

Justin Hamilton and Thomas Parrott laid the town out as Guilford in 1834, and "the proprietors soon after changed the name to Mendon," says the 1907 county history, which does not say why. The post office has been called Mendon since 1839.

Before the town

No Native village, trail or treaty site specific to Mendon is recorded here.

Timeline

1. 1834 — The village is platted under the name Guilford.
2. 1836 — Jacob Panabaker builds a saw and grist mill on the St. Marys River at Guilford (Mendon).
3. 1839 — A post office called Mendon begins operating, the name that eventually supersedes Guilford.
4. 1870 — Village population recorded at 164.
5. 1881 — Mendon is incorporated as a village, with L. A. Barber as first mayor.
6. 1888 — A two-story, eight-room brick school replaces the earlier frame schoolhouse.
7. 1895 — The weekly Mendon Herald is established.
8. 1902 — The Mendon Bank is organized in February by L. F. and Edward Voke as a private bank with $10,000 capital.
9. 1904 — The Town Hall is built jointly by the village and township for $12,000.
10. 1906 — A fire in February destroys the west side of Main Street.
11. 1907 — On January 12 a second fire destroys most business houses on the east side of Main Street.
12. 1910 — The census counts 621 residents.
13. 1980 — The census counts 749 residents, the highest on record.
14. 2009-03-13 — Mendon Town Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
15. 2020 — The census counts 628 residents.

Stories

A village that outgrew its first name

Mendon was platted in 1834 as Guilford. A post office called Mendon opened in 1839, and the village came to be known by that name. The population was 164 in 1870 and 621 in 1910, and the census high is 749 in 1980. The Town Hall, built in 1904, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Two fires in twelve months

By 1907 Mendon was a village of about 600 with a bank, a hotel, a newspaper, a steam grist mill, an elevator and implement dealers, and the railroad had made it a shipping point for the farm country. Then, in February 1906, a fire on the west side of Main Street destroyed some of its best business buildings; the 1907 county history says the loss was nearly total. On January 12, 1907, a second fire swept the east side of Main Street, opposite the burned district, and few business houses were left standing there. The fire also destroyed the records of the local Grand Army post, so that its early membership list could only be partly recalled. The village had built a Town Hall in 1904 for $12,000 jointly with the township, and that building, still standing, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 13, 2009.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org

Every historic place in Mercer County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Mendon Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Public libraries (1)

Police stations (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2023: 1 of 1 passed.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

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