Side A: 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.
Side B: This marker is set in the center of Township One, Range One, the first township surveyed in the New Connecticut Western Reserve. In July 1796, the Connecticut Land Company’s survey established the southeast corner of the Western Reserve, which coincides with Poland Township. In 1798, Turhand Kirtland sold the township’s first lots to John Struthers, who moved to the area in October 1799. By 1802, American settlers reportedly named the township to honor the native land of two Polish-born Revolutionary War generals, Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski. In 1840, Poland Township, with a population of 1,561, had approximately 500 more inhabitants than Youngstown. The crossroads here came to be known as Poland Center and during the middle of the 19th century it was a hub of community business and activity. As of 2016, only the Little Red Schoolhouse and cemetery remain.
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