Kirtland

History

After the founding of the United States, northern Ohio was designated as the Western Reserve and was sold to the Connecticut Land Company. The area was first surveyed by Moses Cleaveland and his party in 1796. Kirtland is named for Turhand Kirtland, a principal of the Connecticut Land Company and judge in Trumbull County, the first political entity in Ohio that included Kirtland township. Kirtland, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, demonstrated "both breadth of vision and integrity" in his fair dealings with the local Native Americans. He was known for his bravery, resourcefulness, and passion for justice. Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland was the son of the former; he helped to found a medical college in nearby Willoughby, Ohio, and he compiled the first ornithology of Ohio. The bird Kirtland's warbler is named for Jared Kirtland. This rare species has been documented in the city during migration, but it does not nest in Ohio. The densely forested, clay soiled, high, hilly, land of Kirtland was settled later than surrounding townships: Mentor in 1798, and Chester in 1802. Kirtland's first European settlers were the John Moore family, soon followed by the Crary family who came to Kirtland in 1811. In 1893 Christopher Crary wrote a memoir of his Kirtland life, which provided a great deal of material for Anne B. Prusha's 1982 history of Kirtland. From 1831 to 1832 and again from 1833 to 1838, Kirtland was the headquarters for the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Smith moved the church to Kirtland in 1831, shortly after its formal organization in April 1830 in Fayette, New York. In Kirtland, Latter Day Saints built their first temple, the Kirtland Temple. The temple was built with a degree of opulence, considering the underdeveloped nature of the area and the…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Kirtland is located south of the lake shore plain of Lake Erie and is situated on the higher elevations of the Allegheny Plateau. The principal geographic features are the East Branch of the Chagrin River, Pierson's Knob, and Gildersleeve Mountain, Daniel's Mountain, is the high point. Native vegetation is northern hardwood forest. Hemlock-hardwood forest is found in the higher elevations and along ravines, beech-maple forest is predominant in other areas. A few stands of old growth oak-hickory forest can also be found in the city. Kirtland is located in the snowbelt region of Lake Erie, and has snowfall and weather patterns similar to nearby Chardon. In this area, annual snowfall averages over per year, and anecdotal evidence indicates seasonal snowfall can exceed in some microclimate areas. Kirtland is primarily a residential community. Over 20 percent of the land area is forest preserve or park land. The Holden Arboretum at is the largest of these, but not all of Holden's land is located in Kirtland. Three metropolitan parks are also in Kirtland. The largest is Chapin State Forest, at , which includes much of Gildersleeve mountain. Also in Kirtland are Penitentiary Glen, and the Lake Farm Park. Lakeland Community College is located largely in the City of Kirtland, the campus dominating the northern part of the city.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,966
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,891
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  27,035
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  24,716
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  22,612
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  21,849
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  21,141
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,053

Largest nearby schools

• Mentor High School
  High · Mentor · 2,405 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• North High School
  High · Eastlake · 1,216 students · 21.3:1 ratio
• South High School
  High · Willoughby · 1,093 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Memorial Middle School
  Middle · Mentor · 897 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Harvey High School
  High · Painesville · 832 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• Shore Middle School
  Middle · Mentor · 728 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Ridge Elementary School
  Elementary · Mentor · 704 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Royalview Elementary School
  Elementary · Willowick · 703 students · 14.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-03-05
  3 km SW of Madison, Ohio
• M 2.7 — 2026-01-06
  4 km ENE of North Madison, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2025-05-12
  4 km ESE of Madison, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2024-06-01
  1 km E of Madison, Ohio
• M 3 — 2024-03-30
  2 km SSW of Maple Ridge, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2024-01-05
  3 km SE of Madison, Ohio