About Poland, Ohio By Edward Kirtland Hine, Jr. ("Ted") - First Edition - March 2017 Introduction As I write this in 2017 the Village of Poland, OH is substantially a small suburb 7 miles southeast of Youngstown, OH with a population of around 2,500. In the late 1790's however it was one of the first communities in what would become the state of Ohio. While I've only visited there briefly 3 times in my life, Poland is of interest because my ancestral roots run deep there and it's the burial place of 5 generations of my Hine, Kirtland, and Frame ancestors including: My father Edward Kirtland Hine
(1916-1977) I note that my 2nd great grandparents Homer Hine (1776-1856) and Mary Skinner-Hine (1789-1882) lived in nearby Youngstown and are buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery there. Brief History
Poland, while technically not being the first settlement in what would become the state of Ohio, has the distinction of being the first charted township in what was then known as the Connecticut Western Reserve (today northeastern Ohio) and was thus designated as Township One, Range One, a surveyor's designation to identify the first of many official government land subdivisions. The Connecticut Western Reserve was a large tract of land which was deeded to the state of Connecticut by the new U.S. Government shortly after the Revolutionary War and thereafter sold to the Connecticut Land Company for development. Turhand Kirtland, a Connecticut resident at the time and investor in the Connecticut Land Company, became it's designated surveyor and land salesman and in the late 1890's traveled to the area and laid out Poland as Township One, Range One shortly after the official boundaries of the Western Reserve were identified and established in 1896 by Moses Cleaveland, the re-spelled town of Cleveland being named for him. (As the years went by Turhand Kirtland surveyed and facilitated the sale of much of the rest of the area). The site of Poland was likely selected because of it's location at the southeast entry point to the Western Reserve and it's location on a logical route between Pittsburgh and Cleveland (then a small settlement on the shore of Lake Erie offering access to the Western Reserve by boat).
The first permanent settlers in Poland were Jonathan Fowler and his family who arrived in 1799 a year or so after Turhand first surveyed the area and defined Poland Township and its Village of Poland. Mr. Fowler was married to Turhand's sister Lydia Kirtland. In the early days of Poland Turhand spent spent about half of each year living in Poland and the other half in his home of Wallingford, CT promoting land sales till he permanently settled in Poland and moved his family there in 1803. While Turhand wasn't technically the first settler, he is widely credited with being the founder of Poland since he surveyed it prior to settlement and is also considered one of the early driving forces in the early settlement of the state of Ohio. Poland was apparently originally named "Fowler" but was soon renamed Poland possibly to honor several prominent soldiers from the country of Poland who fought with the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
Poland would grow rapidly in the early 1800's as numerous settlers moved west to many locations in Ohio but would eventually be overshadowed in terms of population and industry by nearby Youngtown which proved to be a better manufacturing location as the area of the country became known as the "Steel Belt". By the mid 1800's Poland had become well known for it's quality schools, both elementary and others offering higher educations, which drew students from far and wide. At one time Poland was the home to at least 5 colleges including the Poland Academy, Poland Seminary, Poland Female College, Poland Law School, and the Poland Medical College. It would become the home of numerous educated and prominent northeastern Ohio citizens, many of whom descended from Poland's early settlers. Future U.S. President William McKinley (1843-1901) spent much of his youth living in Poland. Poland Today
Today Poland maintains a small town atmosphere and sense of community with a strong sense of it's history as a founding community in Ohio. Its sense of history manifests itself in many ways including its active historical society, its "Little Red School House" historical museum, and the numerous restorations around town of early and stately village homes, a number of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Included in the restorations are the home built in 1845 by George Kirtland (son of Turhand) and occupied by my Kirtland and Hine ancestors and relatives for 110 years till 1955 as well as the home of my 2nd great granduncle Jared Potter Kirtland built for him by his father Turhand around 1824. (George and Jared were brothers). Upon his death in 1942, Samuel Kirtland Hine (my great uncle) left a considerable sum of money to the Village of Poland for the perpetual maintenance of the several acre Village Green (and it's adjacent Presbyterian Cemetery) which is located immediately across the street from the old Kirtland/Hine home where he was born and grew up. This trust fund still pays to maintain the Green it to this day. Many of my Hine and Kirtland ancestors and relatives lived in and/or near Poland over a number of generations and I have distant cousins still living there today. In 2008 I visited Poland for several days to learn more about my ancestors and while there visited with the Campbell sisters who are my 4th cousins, our common ancestor being Turhand Kirtland. Two of the sisters and their husbands live in Poland and the 3rd in nearby Warren, OH. At the invitation of the current owners I was also honored to have dinner at the beautifully restored historic Kirtland/Hine home that was in my family for 110 years till 1955.
Additional Information Sources During the course of my research I've come upon a number of sources of information regarding Poland, many of which contain mentions of my ancestors and relatives there. Following is a list of some of them along with in some cases links to sections that I've captured which talk about the Hines and/or the Kirtlands.
"Poland In Early Days" A 10 page paper read by Mrs. Mary M. Maxwell at a celebration in Poland on October 21st, 1892. It discusses the early days of Poland starting with it's founding and frequently mentions the Kirtlands.
"Poland Historical Highlights" A 1/2" thick 11" by 8-1/2" paper back book published in 1966 by the Poland Centennial Committee. It covers the entire history of the community (including many pictures) and opens with 10 pages devoted to the Kirtland and Hine families. This publication provided me with the first written information I ever had about my Poland ancestors when I found a copy among my father's possessions when he passed away in 1977. It's the publication that ignited my desire to learn more about my ancestors some years later. "A Look At Poland, Ohio - 200 Years and Counting" By Robert A.
Wilkeson. This 42 page 11"x 8-1/2" spiral bound booklet covers
the history of Poland from 1796 to 1996. "Guidebook to Historical Sites and Points of Interest in Poland, OH"
This undated flyer contains information about the homes of
some Kirtlands and the Hines. Click here to view
selected pages from the above 3 publications regarding the Kirtlands and the
Hines: "Town One, Range One - Poland Ohio - Our Western Frontier" Compiled by Connie Coloutes and edited by Carole Klingler, this 5/8" thick 11"x8-1/2" spiral bound booklet was published in conjunction with Poland Township's Bicentennial (1796-1996) and has numerous mentions of the Kirtlands and Hines. The parts containing information about my ancestors are contained here:
"Riverside Review" Ted Heineman, a Poland resident, historian, and a longtime trustee of the Riverside Cemetery there and who is also a trustee of the Poland Historical Society, for a number of years published a newsletter-like periodical he called the Riverside Review which he mailed to interested parties. He researched and in each monthly issue published histories about those interred in the cemetery and/or topics related to the cemetery. Over the years he accumulated a considerable number of such histories about local residents and subjects from years gone by. Due to being prominent local families, the Kirtlands and the Hines were written up in a number of Riverside Review Issues and Ted Heineman and I often exchanged and compared information regarding my ancestors. When I visited Poland for 3 days in the fall of 2008, Ted was kind enough to act as my genealogical/historical tour guide. In 2010 Ted turned the Riverside Review into an online based publication and uploaded most of his earlier histories to his website. It was renamed The Riverside Cemetery Journal, I believe for copyright reasons. As I write this the web site can be found at: www.riversidecemeteryjournal.com I've put together a collection of the articles that Ted wrote and published in the paper version of the Riverside Review regarding my Hine and Kirtland relatives.
Histories of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties, Ohio - 1882 I found this source on the internet and captured the parts that applied to my research. The history of Poland starts on page 57 and biographical sketches of the Kirtlands start on page 73.
"Images of America - Poland" Written by "Robert L. Zorn with the Poland
Historical Society" and published by Arcadia Publishing this 2010 soft cover
publication is primarily a "picture book" containing many good historical photos
of Poland over the years and contains a few images of restored former Kirtland
and Hine homes. |
