Connecticut Western Reserve

[1] 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.

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

[4] The Reserve encompassed all of the following Ohio counties: Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie and Huron (see Firelands), Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Trumbull; and portions of Ashland, Mahoning, Ottawa, Summit, and Wayne.

The claim beyond Ohio included parts of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California.

[2] Connecticut gave up western land claims following the American Revolutionary War in exchange for federal assumption of its debt, as did several other states.

The initial eight men in the group (or possibly seven[2][10] or 35[9]) planned to divide the land into homestead plots and sell it to settlers from the east.

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.

This legal gray area caused queasiness by investors, so in 1797, the Connecticut legislature signed a bill to transfer the land to the federal government.

[15] In February 1800, a federal committee headed by John Marshall found that the titles and jurisdiction of the Western Reserve remained formally in the hands of Connecticut, observing that this created an exclave with significant practical problems for governance.

Many Underground Railroad routes ended with a trip through the Western Reserve to a boat to cross Lake Erie into what is today Ontario.

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.

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.

[20] Specifically, while the Western Reserve Land Conservancy managed natural resources, the Western Reserve Historical Society worked towards a collective story of the region, and the Fund for our Economic Future collaborated on tourism opportunities, there was no single institution coordinating all aspects of a possible Heritage Area.