If you drive through the area of Ohio still called the Western Reserve today, you will find towns named Norwich, Saybrook, New London, Litchfield, Mansfield and Plymouth. Many of these towns have a town green or square and the ubiquitous white-steepled church common in Connecticut.
When Europeans began settling the Atlantic seaboard of what became the United States, no one knew how far the land extended. As a result, many colonies, including Connecticut, were given vague charters of conveyance that implied they had rights to land far to their west. This led to numerous boundary disputes between the states. The new federal government stepped in to settle these disputes, and on September 13, 1786, Connecticut relinquished its claims except for a 120-mile long strip along Lake Erie, called the Western Reserve.
The western portion of the Reserve was used to compensate individuals who had lost their homes when the British burned Fairfield, Danbury and New London in the Revolution, and was known as the Firelands. The State sold the eastern portion of the Reserve to the Connecticut Land Company. The Company then hired Moses Cleaveland to survey the land and lay out townships, and settlers began traveling to the Reserve via Lake Erie.
The Hart and Jarvis families of Hartford and Saybrook were among those who purchased land in the Western Reserve. The town of Hartsgrove, Ohio, located about fifty miles east of Cleveland, is named for Connecticut’s Hart family. The family also purchased land in Sheffield, Ohio, west of Cleveland. The Hart and Jarvis family papers at the Connecticut Historical Society include letters between William Hart and his agent, Simon Perkin and maps of their western land purchases. Like many others, Hart bought western land as an investment and hired agents to sell the land to people wishing to migrate.
In 1800, when the Western Reserve became part of the Northwest Territory, it was named Trumbull County after Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull. In 1803, Trumbull County became part of the new state of Ohio.
