Poland was briefly called "Maple Valley" and "Russia Flats" when it was first settled around 1800 on land owned by Samuel Wright. The first post office, established in 1838 in the hotel at the corner of Main and Case streets, was known as "Danielsville", after Nahum Daniels, who owned a large amount of land in the village. The first postmaster, Joseph Benchley, soon changed the name because of the confusion with Dansville in western New York. The simplest explanation for the name "Poland" is that the village is adjacent to and southwest of Russia, New York, just like Poland in Europe. In 2019, Poland Central School caught on fire from a wiring issue in the basement.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2) and Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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