Kirtland
 
About Kirtland
Country : United States of America
State : Ohio
County : Lake County
Population:6.670 (census 2000) 
In 1796, when Moses Cleaveland and his party completed the initial survey of Northeast Ohio for the Connecticut Land Company, the area that is presently known as Kirtland was just one of the hundreds of five-mile-square sections dividing the "Western Reserve" into an arbitrary but uniform grid. At first these sections (“townships”) were merely identified

A significant era in Kirtland’s history began in 1831 with the arrival of Joseph Smith and his followers, seeking a home for their fledgling Mormon Church. Whitney became an early convert to Mormonism, and his store became the temporary headquarters for the movement.
 by numbers on a map. Upon settlement a name was chosen, and Kirtland Township would derive it’s name from Turhand Kirtland, one of the stockholders in the Connecticut Land Company and its general sales agent. 

The first known resident of Kirtland was a man named Christopher Crary, who cleared his land for a small farm around 1810. Others soon followed, most seeking the self-sufficiency provided by small farms but some possessing the entrepreneurial ambition to build a sawmill, a grist mill, a wool carding factory, a chair-making factory and other small industries along an eastern branch of the Chagrin River that passes through Kirtland. A pocket furnace here produced the first cast iron plows made in the Western Reserve.
Although religious freedom is a founding principle of the United States, many aspects of the Mormon’s beliefs, practices and communal way of life were considered extremely radical by their neighbors, resulting in heavy persecution everywhere they went. It was no different even in a remote place like Kirtland. Through great personal sacrifice and communal effort, the group built the first great Mormon Temple at Kirtland, a large and striking stone edifice finished in 1836. The failure of a bank organized and mismanaged by Smith caused the group to flee Ohio in 1838 to avoid prosecution, but the temple they left behind remains standing today as a National Historic Landmark and a primary attraction to visitors, especially those of the Mormon faith. Whitney’s original store is now a museum and a Mormon-led effort to recreate the historic early settlement around it is presently underway.
Another early resident, Newell K. Whitney, opened a successful general store.
Another historic church structure that that is a landmark in Kirtland lies at the opposite side of the town.
  Known as Old South Church, a congregation began meeting here in 1819 in a log cabin used for their religious services. This church burned down and its replacement was nearly destroyed in a hurricane. The present structure, a stately, classic New England design, was built in 1859 with a belfry and steeple added later. 
It was used by surveyors for many years as a fixed point to establish property lines in Kirtland.
Kirtland remained a tranquil, predominantly agricultural area well into the 20th century. Residential growth was slow, 
and most of these new residents worked in businesses in neighboring towns.

Testifying to the natural beauty of the area and rustic character of Kirtland’s surroundings is the vast amount of parkland contained within the township.
It was not until 1970 that Kirtland reached the level of 5000 residents necessary to be classified as a “city” under Ohio law.

Kirtland is home to the Holden Arboretum, the largest such facility in the United States covering 3400 acres (although overflowing into adjacent townships). Additionally, three major parks in the Lake County Metropark System fall within Kirtland’s boundaries: Chapin Forest Metropark (390 acres), the Penitentiary Glen Nature Center (400 acres) and Lake Farmpark (235 acres), each attracting many thousands of visitors annually. 
 
 During the 1990's Kirtland centralized its municipal functions into a newly constructed Community Center, incorporating the Town Hall and Police Department, a new Public Library Building and meeting facilities for numerous public organizations and community functions. A park area in front of this center contains the bandstand that you see here, which was dedicated in 1997. It is a simple, generic wooden design, typical of the Amish-crafted construction seen at numerous locations through the Western Reserve. During the summer months, a regular schedule of Sunday-evening concerts are held at the bandstand for the enjoyment of the Kirtland public. 
August 6,2006
Ed Michaels Jazz Group
at Kirtland 

With its historic old churches and numerous splendid of parks, 
Kirtland’s city motto seems quite factual and appropriate: “A City of Faith and Beauty.”  

 
Crédits
Mormon Kirtland Note,
Ohio, $10, 1837-1839
Links
Pictures and information
Vic Cooke
pbase Artist Vic Cooke
To see it on Google-Earth
Lattitude : 41.61852
 Longitude : -81.35714