Poland

By Robert L. Zorn and Poland Historical Society

Poland Township was the first township to be chartered in the Connecticut Western Reserve and was settled by Connecticut pioneers. Jonathan Fowler founded the township and owned an inn near Yellow Creek. This building still stands and is Poland s oldest structure. An important stagecoach stop on the main highway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Poland s population soared in the early 1800s. The first blast furnace west of the Alleghenies was built here, and William McGuffey, of the famous McGuffey readers, taught school in Poland before going on to national fame. Poland s education legacy did not stop there. Poland s College Street was home to eight colleges at one time, including the Poland Academy, Poland Seminary, Poland Female College, Poland Law School, and the Poland Medical College. William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was a graduate of the Poland Academy and Senator, and later Ambassador William Calhoun graduated from the Poland Seminary. Poland today maintains a quaint New England atmosphere, showing its colonial heritage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Apr 12, 2010
• ISBN: 9781439639559

Robert L. Zorn

Robert L. Zorn has been the superintendent of the Poland school system since 1976 and holds a degree in history. He worked closely with the Poland Historical Society to compile this photographic history.

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One

TOWN ONE, RANGE ONE

In the 1700s, several major Iroquois Indian pathways crossed through what is now known as Poland, Ohio. In 1795, since Connecticut relinquished its rights to the vast Western claims, the Connecticut assembly decided the 3 million acres should be sold for no less than $1 million or not less than 33¢ per acre. Pictured here is the Western Reserve boundary marker on State Line Road in Poland Township. The marker was set July 1, 1796, by Connecticut land surveyors as the starting point for the township in the Connecticut Western Reserve.

Poland’s unique honor as Town One, Range One in the Western Reserve means it was the first area to be surveyed and settled west of the Allegheny Mountains in 1796.

Turhand Kirtland, 1755–1844, was one of Poland’s founders, along with Jonathan Fowler. (Courtesy of Poland Historical Society.)

An ad was placed in the American Mercury Newspaper on March 19, 1807, by Turhand Kirtland, one of the founders of Poland, to sell land in the Western Reserve area owned by the Connecticut Land Company. This is a photograph of the old ad, donated by Edward Kirtland Jr. in fall 2008 to the Poland Historical Society.

The Ohio historical marker for Turhand Kirtland, near the front of the Poland Presbyterian Church, denoting Kirtland’s contributions to the founding of the city is seen here. Kirtland is buried in the cemetery behind the marker in land he gave in 1804 to be used as a cemetery for the