History
Kinsman Township, Ohio The township of Kinsman was known as number seven in the Connecticut Land Company. It had 16,664 acres and cost $12,903.23 at the time of it's purchase. It is situated on two creeks, Stratton and Pymatuning. Stratton, named for an early settler, comes in from the northeast flowing down through the eastern section. Pymatuning, rising in the northwest, passes through the western section near the old railroad bed. It crosses Route 87 where the old familiar Cone Bridge once stood. It often overflowed its banks and many times one found it necessary to drive through water to some depth. The stream continues downward where it joins the Stratton south of the village. Power obtained from these two creeks proved to be a great asset for many of the early industries and mills. John Kinsman was born May 7, 1753, in Norwich (now Lisbon, Connecticut) to Jeremiah and Sarah Kinsman. In 1872 he married Rebecca Perkins, daughter of Captain Simon and Olive Perkins also of Lisbon. Kinsman became an ensign in the U.S. Navy at the age of 23 and marched to New York to serve his country under Washington. In 1797 he was elected to the State Legislature. Through this connection he became familiar with the Connecticut Land Company and made land purchases from them. This was the motive that brought him to Kinsman in 1799. John Kinsman, for whom the town was named, made his first trip to Ohio in1799. He came on horseback from Connecticut across the Allegheny mountains through Pittsburgh. His companion was Simon Perkins. Arriving in Youngstown, they met a surveyor, Alfred Wolcott. Mr. Kinsman engaged him to join them and they proceeded through the wilderness to what is today Kinsman. Although a dense forest covered most of the territory, a clear level spot on the banks of the Pymatuning was discovered. Here they built a log cabin to house the surveyors and their supplies. Survey work was completed in a year’s time. They saw many evidences to prove it had been a place of Native American resort. Although there were no permanent inhabitants at that time, small tribes frequently came to hunt, trap, and trade with Mr. Kinsman. In 1803 Captain case, John Little, George Dement, Joshua Bidwell and others arrived. This group included William Mathews, James Hill, John Gillis, Peter Yetmen, Walter Davis, Jacob Ford, William Scott, Chester Lewis, William Christy, Thomas Potter, and Leonard Blackburn. John Kinsman returned to Connecticut and returned with his family in 1804. He also brought several men to assist him in the building of homes, By 1805 as many as 50 families had settled in this area. His first task upon arriving was to look for new sites suitable was to build a store, a log house, and a mill on the bank of the Pymatuning bank near the bridge. A man of great energy and apt in business, he made many trips on horseback to Connecticut and Pennsylvania for necessary supplies. He traveled throughout the Western Reserve looking for new sites suitable for settlements and the sale of his lands. All these rough activities took its toll and John Kinsman passed away on August 17, 1813, at the age of sixty. His vast estate was carried on by his brother-in-law, Captain Simon Perkins, his capable widow, and nine children. Their first home was built on the east side of the Square, now the site of the local bank. Later, another home was built near the present Mini mall once home to an earlier Five and Dime Store. Mrs. Kinsman, a devoted Christian, gave generously to educational and religious enterprises. Their son, John, was eleven years old when his parents brought him here. In 1846 he married Mrs. June Cass of Huntington, Long Island. A farmer and a merchant, he, too, was identified with the early settlement of the Reserve. His financial aid, in extending credit to the early settlers, was a great boon. He died in 1864 in his seventy-first year. Clarence Darrow Clarence Darrow, the lawyer for John Scopes in the infamous "Scopes Monkey Trial", was born in Kinsman on April 18, 1857. Darrow attended Allegheny College in nearby Meadville, Pennsylvania and The University of Michigan Law School, but did not graduate from either institution; as a matter of fact, he only attended for one academic year at each institution. He instead decided to teach himself law on his own and practice in a law office, and passed his Ohio Bar Exam in 1878. Darrow opened his first office around 1880 in Andover, Ohio just 10 miles north of Kinsman on what is now known as State Route 7 before moving to Ashtabula, Ohio, another 20 miles north on Route 7. In 1888, Darrow and his family moved to Chicago where his career would begin to take off and gain him national notoriety. Darrow was an active member of the Democratic party and covered some of the most important covered civil, corporate and labor trials of the 19th and 20th century. His cases included the Leopold & Leob, Ossian Sweet, Massie, and Mecca Template trials as well one of the most famous civil trials of all time: the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925. The Scopes Monkey Trial debated the Butler Act which was passed in 1925 that forbade the teaching of Evolution Theory in any state funded establishment in Tennessee. The case was eventually dismissed by the Tennessee Supreme Court, and led to a change in public sentiment and played a key role towards the increased discourse in faith vs. science. Darrow is remembered in his legacy as a fierce litigator who, in many cases, championed for the cause of the underdog. Asa criminal lawyer Darrow had only one case in his entire career lead to a execution, that of his very first murder case in 1894. As a result, he is highly regarded as one of the greatest criminal defense lawyers in American history. Darrow passed away on March 13th 1938 in Chicago at the age of 80 due to complications from pulmonary heart disease. His childhood home "The Octagon House", which is situated on mainstream in Kinsman, is a national historic landmark that still stands today, unchanged from the time Darrow would have lived there in his younger years and also includes a museum and memorial dedicated to Darrow. The University of Minnesota Law School has the largest collection Clarence Darrow material still in existence, and can be accessed from their digital archive titled "Clarence Darrow Digital Collection" on their school website. Kinsman Free Public Library The Kinsman Free Public Library is a nationally registered and recognized public library, and was one of the original Carnegie libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie through his philanthropic efforts to bring libraries to communities across the United States. The library was first organized on February 16, 1885 by the Village Improvement and Library Association of Kinsman, serving a community of 900 residents. Construction of the library was completed in 1913 with funds from the Carnegie Corporation, resident Frank Banning, and the rural community. The library serves the Joseph Badger School District and surrounding areas in Northeast Ohio, providing patrons with 21st century service and small town warmth. Gustavus Elementary School The first centralized and publicly registered elementary school in America, Gustavus Public School (later Gustavus Elementary) was located in nearby Gustavus, Ohio. Children from the Kinsman, Gustavus, Greene, and Farmdale townships were all allowed to attend this school until the building of the current K-12 school in 2005. Notable natives
Sources: www.kinsmantownship.org Kinsman Free Public Library archives |