History of Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Journey back in time to Cleveland, Ohio, USA

• 1796 - July 22 - Cleveland, Ohio, founded by Gen Moses Cleaveland
  
  historyorb.com
  
  
•  1812 - June 1 - Snow whitened the ground in Cleveland OH .
  
  WeatherForYou.com
  June 1, 1812
  
  
• 1832 - Cleveland is spelled differently than its founder's name Moses Cleaveland. In 1832, the editor of the Cleaveland Gazette newspaper dropped the first "a" to fit the title on one line. The new spelling caught on.
  
  www.ereferencedesk.com/ resources/ state-facts/ ohio.html
  
  
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  The New Store of the Sterling & Welch Co., 1910
  
  Sterling & Welch began in 1845 when Thos. S. and Wm. Beckwith opened a dry goods store on Superior St. In 1857 the store replaced its dry goods line with floor coverings and curtains. Both Frederick A. Sterling and Geo. P. Welch joined the company in its early years and by 1889 they had control of the partnership which was incorporated in 1902 as the Sterling & Welch Co. In 1909 the firm moved from its location on lower Euclid Avenue to... Read MORE...
  
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  Cleveland From Scranton's Hill
  
  Picturesque America: Or, the Land We Live In. A Delineation by Pen and Pencil of the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes... With Illustr. on Steel and Wood, by Eminent American Artists, Volume 1
  William C. Bryant
  Appleton, 1872
  
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  Superior Street, Cleveland, From Presbyterian Church
  
  Picturesque America: Or, the Land We Live In. A Delineation by Pen and Pencil of the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes... With Illustr. on Steel and Wood, by Eminent American Artists, Volume 1
  William C. Bryant
  Appleton, 1872
  
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  Euclid Avenue, Cleveland
  
  Picturesque America: Or, the Land We Live In. A Delineation by Pen and Pencil of the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes... With Illustr. on Steel and Wood, by Eminent American Artists, Volume 1
  William C. Bryant
  Appleton, 1872
  
  Artwork
  
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  Mouth of Cuyahoga River, Cleveland
  
  Picturesque America: Or, the Land We Live In. A Delineation by Pen and Pencil of the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes... With Illustr. on Steel and Wood, by Eminent American Artists, Volume 1
  William C. Bryant
  Appleton, 1872
  
  Artwork
  
• 1854 - Cleveland
  Cleveland, city and port of entry of Ohio, and capital of Cuyahoga county, on the S. shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth of Cuyahoga river, 135 miles by railroad E. N. E. from Columbus, 255 miles N. E. from Cincinnati, and 195 miles by water S. W. from Buffalo. Lat. 41° 30' N., Lon. 81° 47' W. Next to ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  1890s
  White Sewing Machine Co.
  Cleveland, O.
  
  The White Sewing Machine Company was a sewing machine company founded in 1858 in Templeton, Massachusetts, by Thomas H. White and based in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1866. Founded as the White Manufacturing Company it took the White Sewing Machine Company name when it was incorporated in 1876. wikipedia
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  City of Cleveland from Reservoir Walk
  Picturesque America... Oliver Bell Bunce, William Cullen Bryant
  New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1872-1874.
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•  1874 - 3 Votes Not Enough
  An enterprising voter of Cleveland, Ohio, voted three times for a sheriff of Cuyahoga county in the late election. Of course, a candidate so ably voted fro was elected, and the voter, having been convicted of voting, was sent to the penitentiary for three years. One good turn deserves another, and t...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Cleveland Yacht Club, Rocky River, Cleveland, Ohio
  
  The CLEVELAND YACHTING CLUB, INC., originally organized in 1878 as the Cleveland Yachting Assn., was founded by GEO. W. GARDNER, a pioneer in yacht racing who also served as mayor of Cleveland. case.edu
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•  1879 - Cleveland became the world's first city to be lighted electrically in 1879 when Charles Brush successfully demonstrated arc lights on the streets.
  www.e-referencedesk.com/ resources/ state-history-timeline/ ohio.html
  
  
  ...At five minutes before eight o'clock there was a flicker in the lamp nearest the Telegraph Supply Company's headquarters and immediately the twelve lights beamed forth from their various stations. The lamp posts are much h...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1880 - Children Under 14 Working During School Hours
  Arrests are being made in Cleveland, Ohio, under the school laws prohibiting employers from having children under fourteen years of age in their employ during school hours, when not compelled to work on account of poverty.
  genealogybank.com
  Macon Weekly Telegraph
  Macon, Georgia
  March 5, 1880
  
  
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  Wade Park
  
  In 1882, Jeptha Wade gave Cleveland its first zoo. He donated over 70 acres of land from his estate and 14 deer along with their enclosure. This was the beginning of a zoo in what later became Wade Park. Along with the zoo attractions, Wade Park also housed a lagoon, tennis courts, picnic areas, and ball fields. clevelandhistorical.org
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  Western Reserve University, Woman's College
  
  Western Reserve College was founded in Hudson, Ohio, in 1826. It moved to Cleveland in 1882, changing its name to Western Reserve University. britannica.com
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  North Randall Driving Park
  
  RANDALL PARK RACE TRACK was a noted horse track for runners and trotters for 60 years. With its neighbor, THISTLEDOWN RACE TRACK, Randall Park provided the village of NORTH RANDALL with its major industry. Formerly located in an area bounded by Northfield, Harvard, Warrensville Center, and Miles roads, the track was originally part of the Forest City Farm, established by Christopher F. Emery in 1883 as a horse-breeding farm. The land was bought in 1905 by... Read MORE...
  
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•  1885 - They are having a cholera scare in Cleveland, Ohio. Two members of the same family died after an illness of twelve hours duration.
  The disease certainly resembled cholera. Three other members of the same family were stricken, with every prospect of a fatal termination in their cases.
  genealogybank.com
  Bismarck Tribune
  Bismarck, North Dakota
  April 16, 1885
  
  
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  Hollenden Hotel, Cleveland's most fashionable Hotel
  
  When Liberty E. Holden opened the Hollenden Hotel in 1885, it quickly became an important part of the city. This massive building was designed by architect George F. Hammond and originally was eight stories tall, with 1,000 rooms and 100 private bathrooms. For its time, the Hollenden was a technological marvel with fireproof construction and electric lighting. The hotel had beautiful chandeliers illuminating the lobby and the hotel rooms... Read MORE...
  
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  Central Viaduct
  
  The CENTRAL VIADUCT, built between 1887-88, was a high-level bridge that linked the east and west sides of Cleveland. It stood where the Innerbelt Bridge (I-90) is now located...
  
  Opened on 2 Dec. 1888, the Central Viaduct consisted of 2 bridges. The first structure, known as the Central Viaduct, was 2,839' long and extended from Jennings Ave. (W. 14th) to Central Ave. (Carnegie). Known as a "stilt" type, the bridge consisted of a series of braced towers and deck spans of... Read MORE...
  
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• 1890 - May 31 – The 5-story skylight Arcade opens in Cleveland, Ohio.
  
  wikipedia.org
  May 31, 1890
  
  
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  The Arcade, 1909
  
  The Arcade Cleveland opened in May of 1890 as the first indoor shopping center in America. It quickly became one of downtown Cleveland’s most popular landmarks, and was nicknamed Cleveland’s Crystal Palace. theclevelandarcade.com
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  Garfield Memorial
  
  U.S. President James Garfield died on September 19, 1881. Cleveland was chosen as the President's place of entombment, and after lying state in the rotunda of the Capitol for two days, Garfield's casket was taken to Lake View Cemetery by special train. Countless grieving citizens viewed the casket en route from the Capitol to Cleveland.
  
  The casket was sealed in a temporary crypt while the permanent monument was constructed. Situated on a commanding hill in Lake View... Read MORE...
  
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•  1893 - DEATH IN A STORM. Loss of Life and Property in a Hurricane.
  FOUR KILLED IN CLEVELAND.
  
  Number of Others Injured, Some of Whom May Die - Many Buildings Destroyed and Crops Damaged -
  
  CLEVELAND, May 24. - A terrific windstorm struck this city a 9 o'clock yesterday morning. Four men were instantly killed and many injured in the numerous casualties.
  
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•  1894 - The May Day Riots (against unemployment) break out in Cleveland, Ohio.
  
  wikipedia.org
  May 1, 1894
  
  
• 1895 - Blizzard - THE STORM STILL HOVERS OVER THE UNITED STATES. IT IS SEVEREST IN THE EAST. TRAFFIC ALMOST ENTIRELY AT A STANDSTILL -- RAILROAD TRAINS BLOCKADED -- BUSINESS PARALYZED -- PEOPLE FROZEN TO DEATH AT SEVERAL PLACES...
  ...Cold In Cleveland.
  Cleveland, Feb. 9. -- The blizzard raged with unabated fury throughout the day, causing more or less delay to railroad traffic and a demoralization of streetcar service. A heavy gale from the west with the thermometers slightly below zero prevailed throughout the day, causing ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1895 - Cleveland
  Cleveland, a port of entry, the second city of Ohio, and the county seat of Cuyahoga co., is delightfully situated on the south shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, which flows through the city, affording a fine sheltered harbor, to which has been added a commodious ship channel, ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1898 - Struck by a Motor.
  Had it not been for the rude action of a horrid, old, Big Consolidated motor Martin Wing of Rhodes avenue would not have been carried to Charity hospital in McGorray’s ambulance last night. There was a sort of ambulance men’s convention on the Superior street viaduct shortly after Wing tried to driv...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio
  
  The new Lakeside Hospital at Lakeside Avenue and East 13th Street, pictured here, opened in 1898. Lakeside Hospital eventually merged with two other institutions to form University Hospitals of Cleveland in 1925. clevelandhistorical.org
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•  1899 - CALL OUT TROOPS. The Strike Situation in Cleveland is Becoming Quite Serious. POLICE CANNOT CONTROL. Cars Are Stoned and Dynamite Bombs Placed on the Tracks.
  Cleveland, O., July 22 - Orders were issued today for the assembling of four companies of the Fifth regiment, O. N. G., located at Cleveland, to do strike duty in the streets of the city during the present street railway trouble...
  
  All available military force in Cleveland is under arms... The ad...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Euclid Beach, Cleveland, O.
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  Lake Shore Drive, Gordon Park
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  Street Scene - Euclid Ave. Shopping District, Cleveland O.
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  Public Square and Union Terminal Tower, Cleveland, Ohio
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  Horticultural Gardens Stadium and Boat Docks, Cleveland, Ohio.
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•  1901 - Bath Tub Famine is the Latest. Plumbers Are Entirely Unable to Supply the Demand. Extensive Building Operations Cause the Scarcity.
  There is a crying need of bath tubs in Cleveland. In fact a bath tub famine has been in progress in this city for some time and also in almost every city in the United States, where building operations are booming.
  
  The demand is far in excess of the supply and the plumbing supply houses have now...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1901 - TURNED HOSE ON STRIKER. This Was the Revenge Non-Union Men Took Upon a Former Comrade.
  CLEVELAND, Ohio, Aug. 26 - Because Thomas Oldecker, a non-union workman in the Crescent Tin Plate Mill, deserted twenty-five of his non-union comrades, who still remain at work, to-day they turned a water hose on him, drenching him thoroughly...
  
  The New York Times
  New York, New York
  August 27, 1901
  
  
• 1901 - Cleveland - The Pleasant City by Charles F. Thwing
  The first thing to be said about Cleveland is what, with the change of a pronoun, a Cambridge poet said about one of whom he wrote: "It is so pleasant." Its streets are pleasant to live in and to look upon; its parks are pleasant to stroll in or to ride in; its houses are, on the whole, pleasant to ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Lincoln High School
  
  Lincoln High School is a Cleveland, Ohio, public high school, founded in 1901 at Scranton Road and Castle Avenue on Cleveland's west side.
  ead.ohiolink.edu
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•  1902 - A Massachusetts Man's Big Luck - Gate Tender on a Railroad to Get a Large Slice.
  The Times Special Service.
  WORCESTER, Mass., Saturday, June 7. - Family records expected daily from the parish priest at Lanoraie in Quebec are expected to establish the claim of Joseph A. Demars, a gate tender of the Boston & Albany Railroad to a share of the $8,000,000 which has been in possessio...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  New West Side Market
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  American Trust Bldg., Old Court House, Old Stone Church, Cleveland, Ohio
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  Citizens Bank Building, 1905
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  A view of Scenic Railway and Ball Grounds, Euclid Beach, Cleveland, Ohio
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  Hippodrome Theater, opened December 31, 1907
  
  The Hippodrome Theater was located at 720 Euclid Ave in Cleveland, Ohio. In its day, it was a very lavish theater and ranked as one of the world's greatest playhouses. Performers appearing at the Hipprodome included Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, W. C. Fields, Will Rogers, Al Jolson, and John McCormack. The auditorium had two balconies and seating for 3,548.
  
  The stage of the Hippodrome could handle large productions and measured 130' wide,... Read MORE...
  
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•  1908 - March 4 – The Collinwood School Fire, near Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., kills 174.
  
  wikipedia.org
  March 4, 1908
  
  
•  July 18, 1908: Fireworks banned in Cleveland, Ohio
  
  The Old Farmer's Almanac www.almanac.com
  July 18, 1908
  
  
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  City Hall, 1908
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  Superior Ave. and Public Square looking West, Cleveland, O.
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  Rocky River Camping Grounds
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  Standard Oil Works
  
  Standard Oil, in full Standard Oil Company and Trust, American company and corporate trust that from 1870 to 1911 was the industrial empire of John D. Rockefeller and associates, controlling almost all oil production, processing, marketing, and transportation in the United States.
  
  The company’s origins date to 1863, when Rockefeller joined Maurice B. Clark and Samuel Andrews in a Cleveland, Ohio, oil-refining business. In 1865 Rockefeller bought out Clark, and two years ... Read MORE...
  
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  Y.M.C.A. and The Born Steel Range Co.
  
  The Born Steel Range Company was originally founded by Charles Born (d. 1876), and then the company was reorganized with his two brothers Frederick & Henry prospering with F. & H. Born Steel Range Co. until Frederick's death in 1891. The company would eventually become the Cleveland Range Co., and then part of Alco Standard Corp. abebooks.com
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  Panoramic view of Cleveland, Ohio
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  South High School
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  Chamber of Commerce Building, 1911
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  Franklin Circle, 1911
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• 1912 - Clarence Crane in Cleveland invented Life Savers.
  
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  The New City Hall
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  Freighters loading, In the Harbor
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  Hotel Statler
  
  Ellsworth Milton Statler was able to create a masterfully luxurious hotel in downtown Cleveland. Thanks to his fine attention to detail, creative touch, and modern amenities for the time period, the Statler exuded a magnificent stature.
  
  When the Hotel Statler opened in October 1912, it quickly established itself as the ultimate place for visitors to stay and for Clevelanders to see and be seen... clevelandhistorical.org
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• 1914 - Cleveland boasts America's first traffic light. It began on Aug. 5, 1914.
  
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  Rockefellers Residence
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  Spencerian College
  
  In 1848, E.G. Folsom established Folsom's Business College, the predecessor of the Spencerian College, in Cleveland, Ohio...
  
  In 1852, Folsom's Business College's first two students, a Mr. Bryant and a Mr. Stratton, purchased the school and implemented the Bryant & Stratton Chain of Business Schools...
  
  In 1867, Mr. Stratton died, prompting the demise of the chain schools. While many of these institutions still survived, they no longer were under the governance of the... Read MORE...
  
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  Franklin M.E. Church
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• 1916
  Cleveland, a port of entry, the largest city of Ohio, and the county-seat of Cuyahoga co., is delightfully situated on the south shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, which flows through the city, affording a fine sheltered harbor, to which has been added a commodious ship- channel...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Tent City, Euclid Beach, 1916
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  Fraternal Order Eagles No. 135.
  226 East 55th Street
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  Euclid Ave., Christian Church
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  Hotel Winton
  
  Named after Cleveland's automotive pioneer, Alexander Winton, the hotel opened its doors on December 20, 1917, on Prospect Avenue just east of East 9th Street on the edge of what would become the theater district of Cleveland's downtown. clevelandhistorical.org
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  Wigmore Coliseum Building
  
  The WIGMORE COLISEUM was an exhibition hall of the 1910s and 1920s, a forerunner of the PUBLIC AUDITORIUM. Located at 1825-1911 East 13th St. between Euclid and Chester avenues, it was designed by Knox & Elliot and planned to be a 4-story garage. case.edu
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•  1920 - The Baseball World Series won by Cleveland Indians
  
  
  
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  Southwest corner of Euclid and East 9th Street
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  The Medical Arts Building
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  Superior Avenue showing Cleveland Hotel
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•  1921 - October 8 – The first Sweetest Day is staged in Cleveland, Ohio.
  
  wikipedia.org
  October 8, 1921
  
  
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  Hanna Building and Annex
  
  The Hanna Building is a historically renovated high-rise in downtown Cleveland's Theater District on the corner of East 14th Street and Euclid Avenue. The building stands 194 feet high and rises to 16 stories. It was built in 1921 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978...
  
  The structure takes its namesake from the turn of the century prominently powerful Ohio senator, political rival of former Cleveland mayor Tom L. Johnson, avid... Read MORE...
  
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  The Cleveland Discount Building
  
  The Superior Building, originally known as the Cleveland Discount Building, is a high-rise building in Cleveland, Ohio. The building rises 265 feet (81 m) in Downtown Cleveland. It contains 22 floors, and was completed in 1922. wikipedia
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•  1923 - Garrett Morgan of Cleveland invented the first three-position traffic light.
  November 20, 1923:
  
  On this day in 1923, the U.S. Patent Office grants Patent No. 1,475,074 to 46-year-old inventor and newspaperman Garrett Morgan for his three-position traffic signal. Though Morgan's was not the first traffic signal (that one had been installed in London in 1868), it was an imp...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Playhouse Square, 1923
  
  Playhouse Square is a theater district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the largest performing arts center in the US outside of New York City (only Lincoln Center is larger). Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, the theaters were subsequently closed down, but were revived through a grassroots effort. wikipedia
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  Euclid Avenue, 1924
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  The Temple. Ansel and 105th Streets
  
  Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center at Temple–Tifereth Israel is a 1200-seat historic arts and religious venue on the campus of Case Western Reserve University located on the Hough and University Circle border at Silver Park in Cleveland, Ohio...
  
  Completed in 1924, the temple served as the home synagogue for the Tifereth-Israel... wikipedia
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•  1929 - Is Blamed For Clinic Tragedy at Cleveland
  City Investigating Commission and State Fire Wardens Indicate Disaster Might Have Been Averted if the X-Ray Room Had Been Closed Off
  
  Cleveland, O. - (AP) - The explosion that ripped through Cleveland clinic and generated gas fumes that killed 122 persons, was caused by spontaneous combustion that...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Municipal Stadium
  
  CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL STADIUM, constructed on reclaimed land on the city's lakefront, was completed in 1931; at that time it boasted the largest individual seating capacity (78,189) of any outdoor arena in the world. case.edu
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  Severance Hall
  
  Severance Hall, the permanent home of the Cleveland Orchestra, was built between 1929 and 1931...
  
  Upon its completion in 1931, Severance Hall was dedicated to Elizabeth "Bessie" Dewitt Severance, the beloved wife of John L. Severance, who died shortly after the couple pledged the original $1 million to the cause...
  clevelandhistorical.org
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  Carter Hotel
  
  Originally Hotel Winton, named after Cleveland’s automotive pioneer, Alexander Winton, the hotel opened its doors on December 20, 1917...
  
  In 1931, the Great Depression hurt the hotel, leading to its sale to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The company ordered a sweeping $700,000 renovation of the hotel. Renamed in honor of Lorenzo Carter, the city's first permanent white settler and first inn-keeper, who arrived in Cleveland in 1797, the new Carter Hotel opened its... Read MORE...
  
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  Hall of Progress at the Great Lakes Exposition, Cleveland, Ohio, 1936
  
  The Great Lakes Exposition (also known as the World Fair of 1936) was held in Cleveland, Ohio, in the summers of 1936 and 1937, along the Lake Erie shore north of downtown. The fair commemorated the centennial of Cleveland's incorporation as a city. wikipedia
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  Board of Education Building and Cleveland Public Auditorium
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  The Fenn College
  
  The origins of Fenn College date from 1870 when Cleveland YMCA created an Educational Committee to provide free evening classes in French and German for the benefit of young men coming to YMCA... In 1921, it was called Cleveland YMCA School of Technology (Y-Tech). In 1929, it was renamed Fenn college after Sereno Peck Fenn. wikipedia
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• 1948 - East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland was the site of the first pedestrian button for the control of a traffic light. The boy chosen for the 1948 newsreel to demonstrate its operation was Louis Spronze.
  
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  Wash Away Fat and Years of Age
  with La-Mar Reducing Soap
  La-Mar Laboratories
  556-B Beckman Building, Cleveland, O.
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  Heart of Cleveland as seen by Airplane
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  Lutheran Hospital, 1952
  
  Lutheran Hospital first opened in 1896 at Fulton Road and West 29th Street in a residence that was rented for $42 per month. In the first year, 25 patients were admitted. This number slowly grew when the hospital relocated to a larger residence two years later. In 1921, a large expansion project added 110 beds, four operating rooms, a maternity department, nurse’s quarters and an X-ray department.
  
  Innovative updates to Lutheran Hospital continued as a result of a... Read MORE...
  
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• 1995 - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opens in Cleveland.
  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened its doors in 1995 on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Its mission is to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music.
  
  www.rockhall.com
  
  
• 2003 - Electric faults in Cleveland caused power outages to 50 million
  
  www.e-referencedesk.com/ resources/ state-history-timeline/ ohio.html