In 1786 and again in 1793 Connecticut thought about surveying and selling these lands. Nothing came of this until after General Anthony Wayne defeated the Indians in Ohio and had signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. Connecticut then decided to sell the Western Reserve and use the money for a perpetual fund of which the interest would be used to fund Connecticut schools. By September 2, 1795, 35 men calling themselves the Connecticut Land Company acquired the land for $1.2 million. They named Moses Cleveland their General Agent and put him in charge of surveying the tract into townships, each to be 5 miles square.

In April of 1796, Moses Cleaveland and 50 men left New York. They followed a northern route up and around the Allegheny Mountains and arrived at Conneaut on July 4, 1796. At nearly the same time John and Mary Young’s party left New York. They took a southern route to Philadelphia and crossed Forbes Road to Pittsburgh. They followed the Ohio River to the Beaver River, then along the Mahoning River. They settled on the banks of the Mahoning River on June 27, 1796 making Youngstown the first settlement of the Western Reserve.