Celebrate rich historical heritage of Poland, Ohio

Few small communities in the Mahoning Valley and Ohio can boast of such deep historical roots as those enriching Poland Township and the incorporated Poland Village.

History is woven inextricably into the town’s fabric. Its name pays honor to two foremost U.S. Revolutionary War heroes from the nation of Poland – Gens. Casimir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko – whose statues grace the village’s Peterson Park. It has strong ties to this nation’s 25th president William McKinley and was the onetime home of Ida Tarbell, one of America’s leading muckraking journalists, suffragists and Progressive Era reformers.

Clearly, there is much to celebrate in the heritage of Poland, Ohio. Conveniently enough, this weekend’s Celebrate Poland festival provides a golden opportunity for residents to show off their pride and visitors to soak in the charm, beauty and historic flavor of the community.

Celebrate Poland, which began Friday, continues throughout today with a robust schedule of events that range from a Civil War encampment near Village hall, Chalk the Walks, craft show, Poland Idol competition, musical performances, duck races and more. The event will end with a fireworks display tonight at 10 at Baird Mitchell Field.

POLAND VILLAGE SESQUICENTENNIAL

A highlight of the celebration will take place today at 11 a.m. when a new Ohio Historical Marker will be dedicated for the Poland Village and Town Hall. The new marker in Poland commemorates the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of Poland Village in 1866 and also the Town Hall, which was built first as a private residence in 1845.

The marker is the seventh in the community. Others of note include:

The Old Stone Tavern on South Main Street that was built in 1804 by Jonathan Fowler, one of the founders of Poland when it became the first chartered township in the Connecticut Western Reserve in 1796.

The site of the boyhood home of McKinley. His family moved to Poland to attend its superior schools.

Poland Academy on College Street, which was established in 1830 and which in 1862 became Poland Seminary, was one of the first schools in Northeast Ohio to admit girls on an equal basis. Furthermore, Tarbell, author of the landmark “A History of the Standard Oil Company,” taught there for two years in the 1880s before her journalistic career took off.

Other landmarks dot the community’s landscape as well, including those honoring the Little Red Schoolhouse and Judge Turhand Kirtland, a Trumbull County judge and Revolutionary War hero from Poland.

As the township, village and entire Mahoning Valley celebrate Poland today, we congratulate and commend the active and engaging work of the Poland Historical Society and wish it the best as it continues its mission of preserving the best of Poland’s past for the betterment of the community’s future.