Chippewa Lake, OH

Chippewa Lake is a Medina County village on Ohio's largest natural inland lake. It was incorporated in 1920, and the 2020 census counted 654 residents. The village took its name from the lake, which in turn preserves a name associated with the Ojibwe. In the 1880s, Oscar Townsend and the Cleveland, Lorain and Wheeling Railroad developed a resort on the shore, eventually known as Chippewa Lake Park.

Lake access still organizes the village's current map. The village maintains a council, hall, streets, and local services, while Medina County Park District manages the lake and Chippewa Lake Park area. Village parks pages handle beach passes, watercraft access, and parking, so the shoreline is part of ordinary local administration as well as a regional recreation destination. The old resort history remains visible in the name, the lakefront roads, and the park landscape. Chippewa Lake is a small village built around a body of water that has served as an Indigenous name, a railroad resort, and a county recreation site across different generations.