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About the Historic
Kirtland/Hine Home
in Poland, Ohio
By Edward Kirtland Hine, Jr.
("Ted") - November 2013
About Family
Ownership and Occupancy
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The
old Kirtland/Hine home in the summer of 1955 when it was 110
years old.
The photo was taken from the Poland Village Green. |
All told, the Kirtland and Hine families
occupied this home for 110 years from 1845 till 1955. As I
write this in 2013 the home is 168 years and has been recently
beautifully restored.
According to multiple sources the large old home
at 441 South Main St. (originally the Pittsburgh Road) in Poland, OH
was built by George Kirtland in 1845. George was a son of
Turhand Kirtland (the founder of Poland), was a brother of my 2nd
great grandfather Billius Kirtland, and was the uncle of my great
grandmother Emma Kirtland-Hine. It is recorded that
George Kirtland sold the home in 1864 after a divorce from his wife
and that he moved to a smaller home immediately next door.
Samuel Hine purchased the home from George in
1864. A year later Samuel's first wife passed away and a year
after that in 1866 Samuel married George's niece Emma
Kirtland thus bringing the home back into the Kirtland family.
Samuel and Emma Hine (my great grandparents) would raise their 5
children in the home. Samuel lived there for 29 years before
he passed away in
1893. Emma lived in the home for 48 years before passing away in 1914. After
Emma's death her daughter Ellen Louise Hine ("Nell"), who never married
and had lived in the home with only her mother for many years,
continued to reside in the home for another 41 years till her 1955
death. Nell had lived in the home for the entire 86 years of her
life. In a mid 1940's manuscript passed on by Nell she wrote
regarding her and other Poland homes "How crammed with precious
memories these old homes are!..... What stories their old walls
could tell!". At the time her home would have been around 100
years old.
My
Experience With the Home
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1939 Post Card. |
As I was growing up my father would
periodically mention the home in Ohio which he'd visited as a child
and where his father, 3 uncles, and aunt had grown up.
I've visited Poland and the home only 3 times, first in 1955 when I
was 10 years old and on a family vacation and only a few week's after my great aunt Nell had
passed away there. At the time of my 1955 visit my brothers and I had a
day or two to explore and play in the then 110 year old home and it's
out buildings which had been occupied over many decades by my
ancestors. I recall during the 1955 visit that my father's first cousin Marnie Hine
(daughter of Alfred Hine and granddaughter of Samuel and Emma Hine)
was dealing with the considerable task of organizing and cleaning
out the home so that it could be sold. I can only now imagine
the "stuff" that would have accumulated in around a
century of
family occupancy. I recall that the home at the time, while
not a disaster, was in some need of repair which is not surprising
given that it had been occupied for decades only by my elderly great aunt
Nell. In a family history manuscript that Nell wrote in the
mid 1940's she suggests that there was a tennis court at the home as
she was growing up in the late 1800's but I don't recall seeing any
signs of one in 1955 (nor during my more recent visits).
My father took photos of our 1955 visit which are included in this
write up.
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Sometime in the 1930's |
I next visited Poland with relatives briefly
when I buried my father in the the family plot in the Riverside
Cemetery there in 1977. We went by the old Kirtland/Hine
house but no one was home. I recall seeing a placard on the
home then indicating that it had been designated a historic site.
In the early 2000's (and not long after
catching the "genealogy bug") I became aware from a Poland genealogy
source that the old
Kirtland/Hine home was for sale. (See the real
estate ad below). At the time the home was apparently in serious
need of repair. I have no idea how many owners the home may
have had in the 45 years since it left the family in
1955 and I'm sure that during this period the home must have had
some maintenance and upgrading but I guess the most recent owner had
really let things slip. There was local discussion as to
whether the home could be restored or whether it would need to be
torn down. In 2003 I learned from a brother who had just
visited Poland and driven by the home that it had recently been purchased
and was undergoing a major restoration. In 2008 I spent 3 day's
in Ohio (my third visit to Poland) researching my ancestors there
and, when I asked the current owners of my ancestor's home if I could
stop by for a quick tour they invited me for dinner and provided me
with a deluxe detailed showing of the by then almost fully restored home.
They are justifiability very proud of the work they've done and
every detail of the house looked as if it had been built that year,
not 163 years before.
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The
home from the back in 1955. The middle section
contained the
kitchen on the first floor and old servant's quarters on the
second.
The section closest to the camera was an attached shed containing
the
old 3 hole outhouse, a tack room, and other utility areas. |
About the Home and
Property
The home sits majestically slightly above the
street and directly across it from the Poland Village Green and it's
adjoining Presbyterian Church. Recent information
describes the home as having 3800 sq. ft. of living space not
including the formerly unfinished full basement with a dirt floor
which was recently upgraded by the current owners to include a
concrete floor. It had 4 bedrooms, servants quarters above the
kitchen, 6 fire places, a room on a smaller third floor, and a large
main floor kitchen, dining room, living room, and parlor.
Attached to and extending from the kitchen wing of the home was a
large shed which housed an outhouse and other support functions.
In back of the home was (and still is) a large carriage house/barn
which included caretaker living quarters on the second floor.
When the home was built in 1845 it would not have had indoor
plumbing, electricity, central heading, nor other amenities we
consider standard today. Over the decades these would have
been added as major upgrades to the home.
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Samuel Hine's 7 acre lot as published
in the 1874 Mahoning County Atlas.
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It's not known how much property the home had
when it was built in 1845 nor when Samuel Hine purchased it in 1864
but an 1874 map of Poland shows the home on 7 acres of land that
year. A 2001 real estate ad (below) indicated the home was
then on
2-1/4 acres and I suspect the current owners may have downsized the lot by
selling off all the land not occupied by the home and it's out
buildings.
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carriage house/barn behind the home in 1955. The
second floor contained caretakers quarters among other
things. |
The property included a small child's play
home which has always been known in my family as the Wee Mansion.
It's not clear when it was first built but one source suggests in the
1890's. Generations of Hine children as well as many, many
local children have played in this tiny house including my father
and aunt in the early 1900's and myself and my brothers in 1955.
Due to it's prominent location on South Main St. across from the
village green, local school children would pass by and play on their
way home from school and there are family stories of how Emma
Kirtland-Hine would offer the children milk and cookies, a tradition
carried on by her daughter Ellen Louise Hine ("Nell") for decades
after Emma's 1914 death. The Wee Mansion is still a well known
local landmark in Poland and like the rest of the property has been
magnificently restored. Note that there are references below
to a stone bear statue that apparently adorned the side yard near
the Wee Mansion and became another local landmark on the property.
This was apparently added by owners after Nell Hine passed away in
1955 and thus was not part of my ancestors legacy.
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The
Wee Mansion in 1913 or 1914. The child is my aunt
Ruth Hine-Darling at age 2 or 3. I believe Ruth's
grandmother Emma
Kirtland-Hine is in the doorway
but I can't be sure. |
In
the summer of 1955. L-R: The author at age 10,
brother
Greg (age 8) and brother Henry (age 4)
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Youngstown Vindicator
article from around 1949 about
the home, occupant Ellen "Nell" Hine, and the Wee
Mansion. |
Undated photo inside
the home. The large photo above the piano is of
Samuel Hine. I don't recognize the others.
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Undated but older color photo. |
The
holiday season 2006. |
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More About the
Property
The following real estate ad from 2001 and
2003 Christmas Tour of Homes brochure pages provide more specifics
about the home.
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A December 2001 real
estate ad for the home. While it indicates the
home was built by Samuel K. Hine it was in
fact built by George Kirtland. Samuel Kirtland
Hine was the son of Samuel and Emma Kirtland-Hine and he
was born and grew up in the home. |
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From the "2003
Christmas Tour of Homes" brochure sponsored by the
Poland Township Historical Society.
Both the indicated builder (Stephen Kirtland) and year built
(1854) are incorrect.
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Additional Photos
Below are photos of the home primarily from three
periods: the early to mid 1900's from my grandparents photo
collection, those taken in 1955 by my father when my family briefly
visited the home, and some taken by the author more recently in 2008
after the home's restoration. When possible and
appropriate I've attempted to match views of older photos with their
new equivalents.
You'll note that in
the earlier pictures the property was heavily wooded but that most
of the trees are now gone. The currently owners have indicated
that when they purchased the home in 2002 most of the trees were
old, damaged, and couldn't be saved. I suspect that over the
last 168 years many trees have come and gone.
Click on photos to enlarge them.
Clicking some a second time will display an even bigger
enlargement.
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1924 |
Sometime in the 1930's |
2008 |
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2008 |
1955 |
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The author with his
family's brand new 1955 Buick
station wagon. |
2008
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2008 |
1955 |
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The attached shed in
2008 |
2008 view of the home from
the carriage house. |
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Right side view
in 1955 and 2008. |
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Left side view of
the porch in 1955 and 2008. |
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The carriage
house/barn in 2008 and 1955. |
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Carriage House in
2008. |
Upstairs in the
carriage house. |
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The Wee Mansion
in 1955 and 2008. |
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Outside and
inside the restored Wee Mansion in 2008. |
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Two small ponds
on the restored property (2008). |
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Two views of the
grape arbor in 2008. |
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The grown
children of Samuel and Emma Kirtland-Hine in front
of the grape arbor during a 1933 family reunion.
At the time Ellen Louise Hine ("Nell", second from
right in right hand photo) was the sole full time
occupant of the home.
In the left hand photo L-R: Alfred Blakelee
Hine, Homer Henry Hine, Charles Potter Hine and
Samuel Kirtland Hine. |
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The dining room
in 1955 and 2008.
The main section of the home (not including the
kitchen wing) had/has 4 first floor fireplaces which
shared two large chimney's, one each in the
living room, dining room and two parlors.
There
were 2 other fireplaces elsewhere. |
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A parlor/sitting
room in 1955 and 2008. The photo above the
fireplace in the left side photo is of Samuel Hine
who
purchased the home from George Kirtland in 1864 and
in 1866 married George's niece Emma Kirtland.
Samuel and
Emma's eldest child was Samuel Kirtland Hine who is
sometimes confused with his father. |
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The other
parlor/sitting room in photos taken 53 years apart. |
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A Few Historical
References
From "Poland Historical Highlights" (Poland
Ohio, 1966):
"The Hine home in Poland is located at 441 South
Main Street (Pittsburgh Road) opposite the Village Green and the
Presbyterian Church. The house was built by George Kirtland, son of
Turhand Kirtland in 1845. The last of the Hine descendants to occupy
the home was Miss Ellen L. Hine."
From "Guidebook to Historical Sites and Points
of Interest In Poland, Ohio" regarding the home at 441 South Main
Street:
"The George Kirtland-Hine House, built ca. 1845 in the Greek Revival
style for Turhand Kirtland's fourth son George. When George's
marriage failed, his niece Emma, Mrs. Samuel Hine, occupied the
house and George moved next door. The house is notable for its flush
board siding and elaborate Ionic portico. The top of the portico
once had a carved wooden balustrade made to imitate cast iron. The
interior woodwork, arches and fireplaces of the front parlors are
intact. The 1890's play house belonged to Nell Hine. The stone bear
was added in the late 1950's by Billie and John Aiken. The original
woodshed and barn with slate roof and cupola are well preserved."
From "Guidebook to Historical Sites and Points of Interest In
Poland, Ohio" regarding the home at 433 South Main Street:
(The house next door to the Kirtland/Hine home):
"In the 1840's George Kirtland, Turhand's fourth son, lived in the
house. In 1887 Billius Kirtland, the third son of Turhand Kirtland,
bought the property when he retired so that he might live next door
to his daughter, Emma C. Kirtland Hine. In 1892 Emma C.K. Hine
bought this house to use as a guest house. Emma's first child,
Samuel Kirtland Hine, established a trust for the maintenance and
improvement of the Village Green and Old Cemetery across Main Street
fro their properties."
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