The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

in what is now mostly the northeastern region of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms of its charter by King Charles II. Connecticut relinquished its claim to some of its western lands to the United States in 1786 following the American Revolutionary War and preceding the 1787 establishment of the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

. Despite ceding sovereignty to the United States, Connecticut retained ownership of the eastern portion of its cession, south of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also ha ...

. It sold much of this "Western Reserve" to a group of speculators who operated as the Connecticut Land Company; they sold it in portions for development by new settlers. The phrase Western Reserve is preserved in numerous institutional names in Ohio, such as

Western Reserve Academy , motto_translation = Light and Truth , address = 115 College Street , city = Hudson , state = Ohio , zipcode = 44236-2999 , country = Unite ...

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

, and Western Reserve Hospital. In the 19th century, the Western Reserve "was probably the most intensely antislavery section of the country". John Brown Jr. called it, in 1859, "the New England of the West".

Location

The Reserve encompassed all of the following Ohio counties: Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie and

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawato ...

(see Firelands), Geauga,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, Lorain,

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

Portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

, Trumbull; and portions of Ashland, Mahoning,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...

, and Wayne.

History

Western Reserve Including the Fire Lands 1826

Prior to the arrival of European colonizers, the land surrounding the southern shore of Lake Erie was inhabited by the

Erie people The Erie people (also Eriechronon, Riquéronon, Erielhonan, Eriez, Nation du Chat) were Indigenous people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvan ...

. At the close of a war against the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

from 1654 to 1656, the Erie were almost completely exterminated. Their towns were destroyed, and any survivors were assimilated into neighboring tribes, mainly the Seneca. After the American Revolutionary War, Connecticut was forced by the federal government to surrender the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

portion ( Westmoreland County) of its "

sea-to-sea grant The English overseas possessions, also known as the English colonial empire, comprised a variety of overseas territories that were colonised, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England during the centuries before the Ac ...

" following the

Pennamite–Yankee War The Pennamite–Yankee Wars or Yankee–Pennamite Wars were a series of conflicts consisting of the First Pennamite War (1769–1770), the Second Pennamite War (1774), and the Third Pennamite War (1784), in which the Wyoming Valley along the North ...

s. Nevertheless, the state held fast to its claim on the lands between the 41st and 42nd-and-2-minutes parallels that lay west of the Pennsylvania state border. The claim within Ohio was for a -wide strip between

and a line just south of present-day Youngstown,

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

, New London, and Willard, about south of present-day

U.S. Highway 224 U.S. Route 224 (US 224) is a spur of US 24 that runs through the states of Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It currently runs for from US 24 in Huntington, Indiana, east to US 422 Business (US 422 Bus.) and Pennsylvani ...

. The claim beyond Ohio included parts of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The eastern boundary of the reserve follows a true meridian along Ellicott's Line, the boundary with Pennsylvania. The western boundary veers more than four degrees from a meridian to maintain the 120-mile width, due to convergence. Connecticut gave up western land claims following the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

in exchange for federal assumption of its debt, as did several other states. From these concessions, the federal government organized the

(formally known as the "Territory Northwest of the River Ohio"). The deed of cession was issued on September 13, 1786. As population increased in portions of the Northwest Territory, new states were organized and admitted to the Union in the early 19th century. Connecticut retained in Ohio, which became known as the "Western Reserve". The state sold the Western Reserve to the Connecticut Land Company in 1796 (or possibly 12 August, 2 September, or 5 September 1795) for $1,200,000. The Land Company were a group of investors who were mostly from Suffield, Connecticut. The initial eight men in the group (or possibly seven or 35) planned to divide the land into homestead plots and sell it to settlers from the east. But the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

titles to the Reserve had not been extinguished. Clear title was obtained east of the

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so m ...

by the Greenville Treaty in 1795 and west of the river in the Treaty of Fort Industry in 1805. The western end of the reserve included the Firelands or "Sufferers' Lands," reserved for residents of several

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

towns which had been destroyed by British-set fires during the Revolutionary War. The next year, the Land Company sent surveyors led by Moses Cleaveland to the Reserve to divide the land into square townships, on each side (. Cleaveland's team also founded the city of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

along Lake Erie, which became the largest city in the region. ( The first "a" was dropped by a printer in the early years of the settlement, as Cleveland takes less space on a printed page than Cle''a''veland.) In 1798 surveyors laid out the Girdled Road, indicated by girdled trees, which ran from Cleveland to the Pennsylvania state line near Lake Erie. A modern portion of Girdled Road still exists by that name. The territory was originally named "New Connecticut" (later discarded in favor of "Western Reserve"), and settlers began to trickle in during the next few years. Youngstown was founded in 1796, Warren in 1798, Hudson and

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...

in 1799, Ashtabula in 1803, and Stow in 1804. Connecticut finally ceded sovereignty over the Western Reserve in 1800. The United States absorbed it into the

, which organized

Trumbull County Trumbull County is a county in the far northeast portion of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 201,977. Its county seat is Warren, which developed industry along the Mahoning River. Trumbull County is part of the ...

within the boundaries of the Reserve.

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in Northeast Ohio, northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39 ...

is the former county seat of the Reserve and identifies itself as "the historical capital of the Western Reserve." Later, several more

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

were carved out of the territory. The name "Western Reserve" survives in the area in various institutions such as the " Western Reserve Historical Society" and

. The Western Reserve was arguably the most anti-slavery region of the country in the pre-Civil War period. Many

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

routes ended with a trip through the Western Reserve to a boat to cross

into what is today

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The three oldest sons of the abolitionist John Brown— John Jr., Jason, and

Owen Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

—together with other participants in

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, were all living in

Ashtabula County Ashtabula County ( ) is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,574. The county seat is Jefferson. The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1811. The name Ashtabula der ...

, for security; the Governor of Ohio,

William Denison Sir William Thomas Denison (3 May 1804 – 19 January 1871) was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866. According to Percival S ...

, refused to honor Virginia's request for Owen's arrest and extradition. A U.S. Marshall, attempting to serve a warrant requiring Owen to testify before a U.S. Senate committee, reported that without "an armed force" he could not be arrested; "in Ashtabula County...there is a secret and armed organization numbering several hundred." They proclaimed themselves safer there than in any other place in the U.S., or even in Canada. This area of Ohio became a center of resource development and industrialization through the mid-20th century. It was a center of the steel industry, receiving iron ore shipped through the Great Lakes from Minnesota, processing it into steel products, and shipping these products to the east. This industry stimulated the development of great freight lakers, as the steam ships were known, including the first steel ships in the 20th century. Railroads took over some of the freight and commodity transportation from the lake ships. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, these cities attracted hundreds of thousands of European immigrants and migrants (both black and white) from the rural South to its industrial jobs.

Seeking Heritage Area designation

At the request of Congress in 2011, the National Park Service prepared a feasibility study for declaring the 14-county region of the Western Reserve as a

National Heritage Area In the United States, a National Heritage Area (NHA) is a site designated by Act of Congress, intended to encourage historic preservation of the area and an appreciation of the history and heritage of the site. There are currently 62 NHAs, som ...

. This is a means to encourage broad-based preservation of such historical sites and buildings that are related to a large historical theme. Such assessment and designation has been significant for recognizing assets, and encouraging new development and businesses, including heritage tourism, often related to adaptive re-use of waterways, and buildings, as well as totally new endeavors. The United States has designated 49 National Heritage Areas, including two in Ohio: the Ohio Canal of the

Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth. It a ...

and the National Aviation Heritage Area. The NPS study coordinator said that while the region had the historic assets, and there was considerable public support for such a designation, the Western Reserve lacked "a definitive coordinating entity or supporting group," which is required to gain Congressional approval."Western Reserve loses bid as heritage area"
''Akron Beacon Journal'', June 18, 2011, retrieved November 29, 2012 If such a body develops in the future, it might seek federal designation as a Heritage Area.

Architecture

The settlers in northern Ohio repeated the style of structures and the development of towns with which they were familiar in New England; many buildings in the new settlements were designed in the Georgian, Federal, and

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

styles. Towns such as

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, Canfield, Chagrin Falls, Gates Mills, Hudson,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, Norwalk, Oberlin,

Painesville Painesville is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Ohio, Lake County, Ohio, United States, located along the Grand River (Ohio), Grand River northeast of Cleveland. Its population was 19,563 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cens ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, and Tallmadge exemplify the expression of these styles and traditional New England town planning. For instance, Cleveland's Public Square reflects the traditional New England central town green.

References

Notes Bibliography * Hatcher, Harlan, ''Western Reserve: The Story of New Connecticut in Ohio'', Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1949. (2nd edition, Cleveland: World Publishing, 1966). (''2nd edition paperback'', Kent State University Press, 1991, ).
Taylor Upton, Harriet, ''History of the Western Reserve''
New York: Lewis Publishing Co., 1910, (1996 edition). Further reading ::Connecticut State Library (CSL) collection *The Public Records of the State of Connecticut istRef ConnDoc G25 1776- This multi-volume set contains the record of transactions of the Connecticut General Assembly. Each volume covers a given time period and has an index. Researchers interested in the Western Lands should consult these volumes to gain knowledge of the legislative actions and petitions granted by the Connecticut General Assembly. *Burke, Thomas Aquinas. ''Ohio Lands: A Short History''. olumbus, OH Auditor of State, c1997 SL call number HistRef HD 243 .O3 B87 1997 *Cherry, Peter Peterson.
The Western Reserve and Early Ohio
'. Akron, OH: R. L. Fouse, 1921 SL call number F 495 .C52 *Fedor, Ferenz. ''The Yankee Migration to the Firelands''. s.l.: Fedor, 1976? SL call number F 497 .W5 F43 1976 *Mathews, Alfred.
Ohio and Her Western Reserve, With a Story of Three States Leading to the Latter, From Connecticut, by Way of Wyoming, Its Indian Wars and Massacre
'. New York: D. Appleton, 1902 SL call number F 491 .M42 *Mills, William Stowell.
The Story of the Western Reserve of Connecticut
'. New York: Printed for the author by Brown & Wilson Press a. 1900

SL call number F 497 .W5 M6 SL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * SL (rapper), a rapper from London * ''Second Life'', a multi-user 3D virtual world * Sensei's Library, an Internet site dedicated to the game of Go * Subdominant leittonwechselklänge * Leica SL, a mirrorl ...

*Peters, William E. ''Ohio Lands and Their Subdivision''. Athens, OH: W. E. Peters, 1918

SL call number F 497 .W5 P47 1918 SL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * SL (rapper), a rapper from London * ''Second Life'', a multi-user 3D virtual world * Sensei's Library, an Internet site dedicated to the game of Go * Subdominant leittonwechselklänge * Leica SL, a mirrorl ...

*Rice, Harvey.
Pioneers of the Western Reserve
'. Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1883 SL call number: F 497 .W5 R5 1883 *Upton, Harriet Taylor. ''History of the Western Reserve''. Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1910 SL call number: F 497 .W5 U7br>Volume 1, onlineVolume 2, online
*Wickham, Gertrude Van Rensselaer. ''Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve''. .l. Whipporwill, 97- SL call number F 497 .W5 W63 1970z :: Internet archive * * * * * * * * * * * ::Special topics * * * * * Western Reserve Historical Society Selected Manuscripts
Volume 69-86, 78, onlineVolume 85, online
* ::Church history * * * *

External links

The Western Reserve Heritage Feasibility Study

Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Ohio Historical Society — Connecticut Western Reserve

* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4139192 Connecticut Western Reservearticle on

h2g2 The h2g2 website is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project. It describes itself as "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication '' The Hitchhiker's Guide to ...