, OH
Ice Age glaciers formed the distinct landscape of the Oak Openings Region, which is dominated by rolling sand dunes and wet prairies interrupted by clusters of oak trees. Although the sandy soil did not support agriculture well, the early settlers of Springfield Township and the Village of Holland raised cranberries and other fruits. Encompassing nearly 130 square miles, the Oak Openings Region was designated as one of America’s “Last Great Places” by The Nature Conservancy and is home to over 180 rare and endangered species. Local legend holds that prior to the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, Miami Chief Little Turtle and Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket passed through the Oak Openings and met at a council with Wyandot chiefs on the hill near the Springfield Township Cemetery.
, OH
Mesopotamia Township, Trumbull County was a part of the Western Reserve, 3.3 million acres in Northeast Ohio claimed by Connecticut. After the Treaty of Greenville extinguished American Indian title in 1795, the state sold most of the land to the Connecticut Land Company (except for the Firelands to the west). The company’s proprietors then sold the land to settlers from Connecticut and the east and they in turn brought to the west their ideas for what a solid home should look like. (Continued on other side)
, OH
In 1798, Judge Turhand Kirtland came to Township 1, Range 1 as an agent of the Connecticut Land Company. In 1804, Kirtland donated the Village Green and the graveyard adjoining the church to the residents of Poland. On the Green, the settlers built a log meetinghouse and school. Prior to 1812, the local militia drilled here and, in 1861, young men trained here before leaving to fight in the Civil War. The graveyard contains some 450 graves of early families of Poland, including settlers such as Kirtland, Fowler, Walker, Morse, Arrel, Adair, Lee, McCombs, and Truesdale. Among those buried here are thirteen Revolutionary War veterans, thirteen veterans of the War of 1812, and ten men who fought in the Civil War. In 1862, Samuel K. Hine provided in his will for the maintenance of both the Graveyard and the Green.
, OH
Completed in 1915, the Gate Lodge is one of several service buildings located at Stan Hywet Hall dedicated to the operations of the estate. Located at the front entrance gates, this two-story Tudor Revival structure was designed by the Seiberlings’ architect Charles S. Schneider. Originally, the Gate Lodge served as a residence for the estate’s superintendent. The first to fill this role was William Dennis who moved in with his family to the Gate Lodge after its completion and resided there until his death in 1923. Between 1923 and 1944, Fred, the eldest child of F.A. and Gertrude Seiberling, lived in the Gate Lodge with his wife Henrietta and their three children. In 1935, Henrietta brought here the two men who would formally found Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson of New York and Dr. Bob Smith of Akron.
, OH
Poland Township’s school board built the Center School- the “Little Red Schoolhouse”- in 1858. The brick school replaced a previous wooden building dating to the early 19th century. One of several schools in the township in the latter half of the 19th century, the Center School served children living within a surrounding two mile radius. Under state and county-wide reorganization plans, the Poland Village and Poland Township schools consolidated to educate all children within the village and township. Consequently, the Center School closed in 1915 and the building came to be used for other purposes, such as 4-H activities, public meetings, a church, and township equipment storage. In 1979 the Poland Township Historical Society formed to preserve the school. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
, OH
In 1887, John Eisenmann designed this stick-style building for the Peninsula Board of Education so that it could consolidate two one-room school houses. The Peninsula and the Boston Township Boards of Education merged in 1919. The brick addition, designed by architects Harpster and Bliss, was built in 1920. The trustees of Boston Township purchased this property in 1939 from the Board of Education. Union Grange #2380 occupied the first floor for nearly 50 years. The non-profit Boston Township Hall Committee, Inc. was formed in 1990 to work with the township trustees to restore the building.
, OH
In 1829, Samuel and Charlotte Hale Shaw came to Bath Township from Bristol, New York. They purchased 145 acres of land where Samuel, a carpenter, built a two-story frame house. They had six children; two died in infancy. Their two year old daughter, Charlotte, was the first to be buried in Shaw Cemetery. They conveyed one half acre of land to the township for a “burying ground” in 1836. Samuel died in 1836; Charlotte then married Lyman Doolittle. They had five children; two daughters survived to adulthood. In 1892, Virgil E and Genevieve Doolittle Shaw sold one acre to Bath Township to expand Shaw Cemetery. Samuel’s parents, Constant and Mercy Pitts Shaw, migrated to Bath Township along with his brothers and their families.
, OH
This cemetery is the resting place of many of the Hale, Hammond, and Cranz family members who were integral in founding and developing Bath Township. Connecticut natives Jonathan Hale and Jason Hammond were the first to purchase land in the area that would become Bath Township. In 1810, Jonathan Hale and his nephew, Theodore Hammond, arrived at Township 3, Range 12 of the Connecticut Western Reserve. Jonathan and Mercy Piper Hale’s family built a brick home in 1827. The Hale family lived in this home until 1956, when it became the Hale Farm & Village of the Western Reserve Historical Society. Jason and Rachel Hale Hammond’s family started construction on a frame home in 1818 that was completed in 1836. The Hammond property extended from the valley to Hammond’s Corners. (Continued on other side)
614.297.2300
Contact Us
