Poland-Ohio Archives - Bob on Books

Old Stone Tavern (Fowler’s Tavern), built in 1804 in Poland, Ohio. Note that William McKinley, later president, enlisted into the Union Army here in 1861.

If the naming conventions used to name other villages and townships in Mahoning County had been followed, the village would have been called either Kirtland or Fowler (and yes there are towns in Ohio that have these names). Kirtland would be for Turhand Kirtland, who was the Connecticut Land Company agent who surveyed this part of the Western Reserve. It is the southeasternmost part and was designated “Town 1, Range 1” which may be seen on signs for the village and township to this day. Fowler was Jonathan Fowler, Kirtland’s brother-in-law and the first settler, with his wife Lydia in the township, coming there in 1799. A daughter, Rachel, was born to them in 1800, the first child born in the township. He built a sawmill and gristmill in 1801 and what is now know as the Old Stone Tavern (then Fowler’s Tavern) in 1804. Poland served as the gateway for many coming through Pennsylvania to the Western Reserve, up the Beaver and Mahoning River. Fowler’s Tavern was a good stopover, before going on to Warren or Cleveland or other places in the Western Reserve. Sadly, Jonathan Fowler drowned on the Beaver River in 1806 while engaged in merchandise trade that took him as far as New Orleans.

So how did the village and township get the name Poland? For a time it was known as Fowler’s Place. It has to do with two statues commemorating the Revolutionary War heroes, Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Kasimierz Pulaski. As I understand it, this is the only place, in Peterson Park, where the two are depicted together. Kirtland and Fowler decided to name the township “Poland” in honor of these heroes’ country of origin. And so it is to this day.

Poland’s second resident was John Struthers, who settled on 400 acres of land along Yellow Creek a few months later in 1799 than Fowler. He was involved with the second owner of the Hopewell Furnace, but business losses necessitated the sale of his land. He lost his wife and two daughters. His son, Thomas Struthers, prospered in a law practice, and recovered the land John had lost and eventually formed the new town of Struthers, down river from Poland.

For a small village, it has a lot of history associated with it. In addition to the many century-or-more-old homes, it was where William McKinley lived for a time, and, as noted above, it is where he enlisted to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. After the war, he returned to Poland for a time to read law, and then went to Albany to complete his legal training before moving to Canton, Ohio.

McKinley graduated from Poland Academy, which later became Poland Seminary in 1859. Poland Seminary was home for a time to a woman who eventually became one of America’s outstanding journalists, Ida M. Tarbell. Tarbell, investigated John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil and her stories contributed to the breaking up of his monopoly.

In the late 1800’s, the seminary struggled. In 1895 portions of its building collapsed. In 1909, the remaining facilities where sold to the local school district with the provision that the name “Seminary” be retained in the high school’s name, which is true to this day.

Poland Library, (c) Robert C Trube, 2014.

Poland wasn’t formally incorporated as a village until 1866, which means in 2016 that it celebrated 150 years. In 1938, the village acquired Poland Municipal Forest, a 265 acre park. In 2010, its population was 2,555. Along with Canfield, it is considered one of the best places to live in the Youngstown area, with good schools, a quaint town center, a gorgeous library, and parks and lots of history.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

President William McKinley — Photo Public Domain

Ohio is the birthplace of seven U.S presidents. One of these was born in and grew up in the Mahoning Valley. He was the 25th president of the United States. Probably the most significant event during his presidency was the Spanish-American war, at the end of which the United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, which later gained their independence. The other major event of his presidency was its end, six months into his second term. He was in Buffalo to attend the Pan-American Exposition, when an anarchist by the name of Leon Czolgosz came up to him in a receiving line and fired two shots into his abdomen. He died eight days later from his wounds on September 14, 1901, putting his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt into the White House. The presidency would never be the same.

William McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio. If you’ve ever driven through Niles, you likely have seen and gone past the National McKinley Birthplace Memorial. The birthplace home and research center is located nearby on 40 South Main Street. His father, William McKinley, Sr. settled in Lisbon as a boy where he met and married Nancy Allison. Both families made their living in iron-making and McKinley Senior had foundaries in Lisbon, Niles, Poland, and later Canton.

When McKinley was nine, his family moved to Poland, Ohio, where McKinley was enrolled in Poland Academy (later Seminary). Poland Seminary was a private institution, and as such, its finances later failed with the property being sold to the Poland City with the stipulation that the high school retain the name Poland Seminary, which it does to this day. One other famous connection to Poland Seminary was Ida Tarbell, who taught there before going on to a career in journalism where she gained notoriety as one of the “muckrakers,” particularly for her investigative reporting on John D. Rockefeller of nearby Cleveland, and his Standard Oil monopoly.

McKinley went on the Allegheny College, but had to return home to Poland after a year, in 1860, where he worked as a postal clerk and school teacher. He served under, among other officers, fellow Ohioan Rutherford B. Hayes, who became a mentor and friend and preceded him as Ohio’s governor and later U.S. President. McKinley began the war as a private but rose to the rank of major. He was decorated for his bravery on the battlefield. During Antietam, when he was serving as Quartermaster, his regiment was pinned down in the thick of fighting for hours without food, and McKinley made it through enemy lines and fire to bring them rations.

After the war, he returned for a time for Poland, decided on a career in law and read law with a local attorney before moving to Albany law school to complete his legal training. After this, he moved to Canton where he established his legal practice and began his rise in politics, first as country party chair, then serving several terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and then from 1892-1896 as Ohio’s governor.

McKinley was friends with at least two prominent Youngstown figures who I’ve written about in previous posts. Colonel Lemuel Talcott Foster (of Fosterville fame) was a boyhood and lifelong friend of McKinley. Joseph Butler was a political supporter and adviser of McKinley and wrote a biography of McKinley. Butler worked with the Niles Board of Trade to establish the McKinley Birthplace Memorial.

McKinley was not a dynamic leader like either of the Roosevelts. He was well enough regarded at the time to win a second term in an era with a string of one term presidents. Anyone who has taken a Hawaiian vacation can thank him, because he acquired Hawaii for the U.S. along with other territorial acquisitions. Hawaii would become a key base for projecting U.S. power in the Pacific. On balance, along with the many other people the Mahoning Valley has produced, we can be proud that we raised a civil war hero, lawyer, representative, governor and president who served honorably in all these roles.