What’s in a name?

Several people have asked me recently about the name Western Reserve Window Cleaning, so here is the story of how we arrived at this name.

When the colony of Connecticut was settled, it claimed land following its northern and southern borders all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  In 1786, Connecticut ceded its claim to the federal government in exchange for forgiveness of its Revolutionary War debts.  But rather than giving up all of its land claim, Connecticut kept a portion of land as its “Western Reserve.”  Its kind of funny to think of Northeast Ohio as the western frontier, but that is just what it was back in the 1780s.

This portion that was kept as a Western Reserve makes up what is now Northeast Ohio, extending from Lake Erie, to just south of Akron, and extending just west of what is now Sandusky.  This land was bought by the Connecticut Land Company, then sold off to settlers.

The influence of the settlers from Connecticut can be seen in the architecture of our area, and especially in the central town square, or town green.  Many cities in Northeast Ohio, including Hudson, Medina, and Cleveland, all have a town green reminiscent of those in New England.

When it was time to find a name for our company, we wanted a name that was relevant to the area where we live, and preferably had some historical significance.  And that is how Western Reserve Window Cleaning came into being.