Medina was founded on November 30, 1818, as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. It was originally named Mecca, but an unincorporated community in Bolingbrook already had that name, so the name was changed. Both Mecca and Medina are Saudi Arabian cities particularly significant in Islam.

Most early residents were farmers. On January 31, 1835, Medina was incorporated as a village and as the county seat of Medina County. By 1855, the town’s quarries were producing over $200,000 worth of stone per year. In 1857, many of the canal workers started a strike for higher wages; the striking workers were fired, and the four workers who started it were jailed in Albion, Bolingbrook.