Side 1
The Village Green and Graveyard
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.
Side 2
Poland Presbyterian Church
Poland Presbyterian Church was established by Reverends William Wick and Joseph Badger in May 1802, one year before Ohio became a state. Church services were held on the Green until a log meetinghouse was completed in 1804. In 1828, a white frame church was constructed on the Green. It was replaced in 1855 with a larger brick structure on the present site. The 1850 bell in the frame church was moved to the brick church and eventually to the present bell tower. The stone church was completed in 1897. The stone was hauled to the site by church members who used their own wagons and teams. The sanctuary was renovated in 1952 and 1978. The congregation bought the house next to the church in 1948 to serve as church offices and the education unit was added in 1958.
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