A different kind of experiment
Born in this community in 1874, John Robert Crouse, Sr. built his career in the electric-lamp industry — in 1901 helping to found the National Electric Lamp Association (NELA Park) near Cleveland. He carried its spirit of cooperation home when he retired to Hartland in 1926, and the Hartland Area Project became his great experiment: taking ideals worked out through industry and applying them to rural life. The industrial ideal of “Friendly Association for Wholehearted Service” became, in Hartland, “Friendly Association for Community Service” — the motto behind everything the Project did.
Its objective, in the Project’s own words, was to bring to a typical rural community “with generous adequacy, all creative and constructive social and educational influences, to the end of more rapidly and effectively evolving a richer and more abundant individual and community life.”
Foundations that made it last
The first step was the founding of the Cromaine Library in 1927. Crouse then created a series of financial foundations to carry the work forward: the Hartland Consolidated Schools Foundation in 1928 (a $25,000 gift for health, schools, and wholesome recreation in the school district), and the Heartland Foundation in 1929 — a $100,000 trust established with his uncle, Henry A. Tremaine — to advance education and community development across Hartland and adjacent communities.
Why it still matters
Hartland has grown, but the need to look after one another hasn’t changed. Through scholarships, community awards, volunteer support, and direct giving, the Project carries Crouse’s promise forward — asking, in every case, one simple question: how can we help?
John Robert Crouse, Sr., founder (b. 1874).
Our three tenants
How can we help?
Care for neighbors
The physical and social wellbeing of every individual in the Hartland area.
Grow minds & traditions
Scholarships, the arts, music, and cultural programs that enrich Hartland.
Strengthen the area
The people, organizations, and ideas that keep our community self-sustaining.
Our story, in order
A timeline.
- 1874 — John Robert Crouse, Sr. is born in the Hartland community.
- 1888 — The Crouse family moves to Cleveland for the Cleveland Carbon Company.
- 1893 — Crouse graduates from Cleveland Central High School.
- 1897 — Crouse graduates from the University of Michigan and enters the lamp industry.
- 1901 — He helps create the National Electric Lamp Association (NELA Park).
- 1926 — Crouse retires from business and returns to his boyhood home, Hartland.
- 1927 — The Cromaine Library is founded — the Project’s first step.
- 1928 — The Hartland Consolidated Schools Foundation is established with a $25,000 gift.
- 1929 — The Heartland Foundation is created with a $100,000 trust, together with Crouse’s uncle Henry A. Tremaine.
- 1930 — A committee is appointed to define the Hartland Area and launch its programs — adult education, dramatic arts, music, health & welfare, and more.
Drawn from HAP’s own foundation history.
“Things useful and beautiful”
The Project at work.
From the late 1920s on, the Hartland Area Project brought every creative and constructive influence to rural life — adult education, dramatic arts, music, crafts, and health & welfare. A few glimpses from the archive.
Historic photographs from the Hartland Area Project archive.
Meet the people behind the promise.
A volunteer board of your neighbors stewards the endowment and selects each year’s scholarships and awards.