Litchfield, Ohio

It appears from early records that the portion of Medina county now called Litchfield was wholly owned by Judge Holmes, of Litchfield, Connecticut, who caused it to be surveyed into lots, and an opening, ©r improvement, of several acres, to be made on the southwest corner of the Center, planted an orchard and erected a cabin. Some time- thereafter, the land reverted to the State of Connecticut, and, under the supervision of Mr. Beers, acting School Commissioner, it was thrown into market. During the time it was under the control of Judge Holmes, it was generally known by the name of Holmestown. When controlled, thereafter, by Mr. Beers, he called it, on his surveyed map, Litchfield, and by that name it was known at the date of its organization.

Passage source: Pioneer History of Medina County, published 1861.

Miss Jane T. Strait, aged thirteen year's, was the first person who died in the township, on the 13th June, 1831. A.t her funeral was the first public religious service ever observed by the settlers. On the following Sabbath, Asa Strait, by invitation, lecbured to the people, and may be said to have delivered the first sermon ever heard by the then residents of Litchfield township! If the names of all then present were called, how few would answer ! The moral and religious influence that prevailed in New England was cherished with respect; and as the children, one after another, left the homes of their parents and became parents in the wilds of the Western Reserve, they came together and worshipped as did their fathers. When the morn of the Sabbath came, they congregated, not at the sound of bell, but prompted by the impressions made in childhood ; and thankfully acknowledged the superintending care of Providence.

Passage source: Pioneer History of Medina County, published 1861.

The fourth July, 1832, was celebrated by the settlers of Litchfield meeting, selecting a site, cutting and hauling logs, and building a log meeting-house. To give sanction to such work on that day, the good wives, at the appointed time, came with baskets of cooked provisions, and, with their husbands, ate thaukfully and joyfully, when they reflected on the prospects before them. At the same place, and on the same day, they formed a Temperance and Moral Reform Society, which grew in influence and in numbers, and may really be considered one of the very necessary aids of moral reform. Nine names were obtained to the Temperance Pledge on that day ; and shortly thereafter, a Temperance Society was duly organized, which continued to meet and act until 1844, when its members adopted the Washingtonian Pledge. It still exists ; and, in 1861, numbers two hundred and twelve members, most of whom are active, exemplary, temperance men and women. Who will criminate the citizens of

Passage source: Pioneer History of Medina County, published 1861.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Litchfield Township - it names this place 2 more 2 times.