Buckeye-Woodland from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Buckeye-Woodland from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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BUCKEYE-WOODLAND was an east side Hungarian community, est. after 1880, which once held the largest concentration of HUNGARIANS in the U.S. Earlier Hungarian settlements at E. 79th and Holton eventually expanded to E. 72nd on the west, Woodland on the north, E. 140th on the east, and Kinsman on the south, with Buckeye Rd. being the prime location for homes and businesses. Population in the area grew from 1,500 in 1900 to more than 40,000 in 1940. The new residents were able to set up old-country institutions, speak their native language, and do most of their business with former countrymen. They established 10 churches and synagogues, businesses, and nationality organizations that reenacted native celebrations. The Hungarian population of Buckeye was bolstered by the Hungarians displaced by World War II and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, but these groups did not develop the intense loyalty to maintaining “Little Hungary” held by the old-timers. Younger Hungarian-Americans also abandoned the old neighborhood, leaving a Hungarian population of which over one-third was over 55 years old. Blacks (see AFRICAN AMERICANS) with different cultural traditions moved into the area and composed 43% of the population by 1972. Housing stock aged and deteriorated, and racial violence directed toward blacks as well as whites further threatened the neighborhood. During the late 1970s and 1980s, several neighborhood groups attempted to reverse the blight and restore stability to the neighborhood. The Buckeye Area Development Corp., est. in 1970, was set up to attract federal, state, and local funds to refurbish homes and businesses, while agencies such as the EAST END NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE attempted to meet the needs of community residents.

Chagrin Falls Village from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Chagrin Falls Village from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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CHAGRIN FALLS VILLAGE, incorporated 12 Mar. 1844, is a residential community located in Cuyahoga County at the “High Falls” of the Chagrin River; it occupies approx. 2.2 sq. mi., of which 57.5 acres are taken up by the river. The river drew people who, for the most part, came from England and New England. Seth Henderson of NEWBURGH purchased the land around the falls (his house, built in 1834, was later the site of the Church of Christ Scientist). Between 1837 and 1870, manufactories along its banks produced axes, iron goods, paper, and woodenware; mills turned out flour, wool and lumber. These were run by village pioneers such as Henderson, Noah Graves, and Charles Sears. Of these, only George Fenkell’s flour mill still ground grain in 1986.

The community resided at first in 2 counties and 3 townships, controlled by 5 different governmental entities. After incorporation, Curtiss Bullard was elected mayor. In March 1845 CHAGRIN FALLS TOWNSHIP was erected by the commissioners of Cuyahoga County on petition of “the inhabitants of parts of Solon and Orange Townships.” The town then lay within one county and one township. A narrow-gauge railroad from Chagrin Falls to SOLON was built in 1877 as a branch of the Painesville, Canton & Bridgeport Railroad. This and other roads failed. The Cleveland & Chagrin Falls Electric Railway Co. operated in the village beginning in 1896, and eventually extended to Hiram and Garretsville. Reorganized after 1910 as the Eastern Ohio Traction Co., it ceased to operate in April 1925 (see INTERURBANS).

Chagrin Falls contained a variety of Protestant churches in the 19th century, but a Catholic church was not built until 1948. (JAMES A. GARFIELD†, later U.S. president, worked as a carpenter on the local DISCIPLES OF CHRIST church in 1852.) Early educational institutions included: a schoolhouse on Main St. (date uncertain); the Chagrin Falls Commercial Institute; a “select school” conducted by Rev. Lorenzo D. Williams on Pearl (now W. Washington) St. (1836-39); and the ASBURY SEMINARY (1839-50). Increased population (from 2,505 in 1940 to 3,095 in 1950) and the annexation of South Russell’s school district (1927) led the Chagrin Falls Exempted School District Board of Education to purchase, on 29 March 1955, the Cuyahoga County fairgrounds (located in the village from 1874-1924). The property accommodated schools and a community recreational area. In the 1990s, tensions surfaced between real estate developers and residents desiring to maintain the community’s natural beauty. After the village blocked developer Roger J. Weiss from building houses on 21.7 acres along the Chagrin River owned by resident Karen Harmon, protracted legal battles culminated in the village seizing the property by eminent domain. In an agreement reached in July of 1998, the village agreed to pay $850,000 for the land, a sum significantly lower than the $1.4 million value set by the developer’s own appraiser.

The town maintains a branch of the CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM (CCPL) and the CHAGRIN FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Chagrin Falls has grown from 601 inhabitants in 1842, with 30 different businesses, to 4,024 inhabitants by 2000.

Elizabeth G. Rodgers, updated by Gregory B. Bodwell

Last Modified: 31 Mar 2003 01:25:46 PM

Cleveland Heights from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Cleveland Heights from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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he hamlet of CLEVELAND HEIGHTS was created in 1901, incorporated as a village in 1903, and as a city in 1921. Six miles east of downtown, it comprises 8 sq. mi., bounded on the north by EAST CLEVELAND, on the east by SOUTH EUCLID and UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, and on the south by SHAKER HEIGHTS The Cleveland Hts. area was originally farmland in East Cleveland and South Euclid townships. The oldest surviving house, built ca. 1820, stood on Superior Rd. near Euclid Hts. Blvd. in 1994. In 1895 developers Patrick Calhoun and John Hartness Brown created the Euclid Hts. subdivision as a “garden suburb,” north of Cedar Rd. and west of Coventry Rd. Other developments followed, including Euclid Golf, at the western end of Fairmount Rd., Mayfield Hts. east of Coventry, and AMBLER HEIGHTS between Cedar and North Park Blvd. From the 1890s until well into the 20th century, the city was a “streetcar suburb.”

The village of Cleveland Hts., with 1,500 residents at incorporation, established a volunteer fire department and a public school system, which began in the old East Cleveland district school (1882) on Superior Rd. at Euclid Hts. Blvd. The high school started in 1904. The town’s first public library opened in 1911 in Coventry School. The school and library systems later consolidated with those of Univ. Hts. The longest-serving mayor was FRANK C. CAIN† (1914-45). In 1921 Cleveland Hts. established the first ZONING ordinance in Ohio and, the next year adopted the council-city manager plan of government. A Georgian Revival city hall, built in 1924, was demolished in 1986 and a new hall built at SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER. Between 1910-40 Cleveland Hts. population grew from 3,000 to 55,000. Without a central downtown, major shopping areas developed at Cedar and Lee, Fairmount and Cedar, and Mayfield and COVENTRY VILLAGE BUSINESS DISTRICT roads in the 1910s and 1920s. Despite merchant turnover and a series of fires in the Coventry area, all 3 renovated areas continued to attract patrons in the 1990s. A strong Jewish community centered at the Cedar-Taylor area in the 1920s (see JEWS & JUDAISM). Cleveland Hts. passed a bond issue in 1916 to purchase parkland and had 135 acres of public parks by 1986. FOREST HILL PARK, formerly the summer home of JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER†, was donated by John D., Jr., in 1938 and is jointly administered by the cities of Cleveland Hts. and East Cleveland. The CAIN PARK THEATER opened in 1938.

Severance Center (Severance Town Center) was built in 1963, after much controversy, on the site of the JOHN L. SEVERANCE† estate. With no INDUSTRY, 76% of the city’s land is used for residential purposes. In 1970 the population was 60,767; there were roughly equal numbers of Catholics, Protestants, and Jews. In 1960 AFRICAN AMERICANS made up less than 1% of the population, but in the 1960s and 1970s a sizable immigration of black families occurred. The Real Estate Advisory Committee to the State and the Heights Community Congress organized to facilitate integration. Due to a dispersed pattern of homebuying, Cleveland Hts. developed a high percentage of racially integrated neighborhoods. In 1980 the population fell to 56,907, including 41,192 whites, 14,061 blacks, 59 Native Americans, 674 Asians, 469 Hispanics, and 452 others. In 1990 the population declined to 54,052. By 2000, near parity in numbers of blacks and whites was reached; among the total 2000 population of 49,958 residents, whites comprised 26,229 and blacks 20,873. In 1986 there were approx. 13,000 single-family residences, nearly 2,000 duplex and multifamily dwellings, and more than 200 commercial structures. In 1986 the Cleveland Hts.-Univ. Hts. School System included 10 elementary schools, 3 junior high and 1 senior high school. By 2003, the number of elementary schools declined to 8, but the district also included Taylor Academy as an alternate high school for students academically behind schedule, BELLEFAIRE School for those with serious emotional behavioral difficulties, and the Millikin Early Childhood Center. The Cleveland Hts.-Univ. Hts. Public Library System was comprised of 3 branches and a main library. Private and parochial schools included a Baptist school, Lutheran East High School, the HEBREW ACADEMY, BEAUMONT SCHOOL, and Ruffing MONTESSORI SCHOOL.

Last Modified: 23 Mar 2003 03:06:07 PM

Lakewood from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Lakewood from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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LAKEWOOD is a city on the shore of Lake Erie adjacent to Cleveland on the east and ROCKY RIVER on the west, occupying 5.6 sq. mi. Originally part of Rockport Twp. (created in 1819), Lakewood became a village in 1903 and was incorporated as a city in 1911. Early pioneer settlers such as James Nicholson, Dr. JARED KIRTLAND†, and Mars Wagar transformed the area from a wilderness into a settled community. By 1871 the area’s population had reached 400, and voters created a separate school district east of Rocky River. The Detroit Rd. area became known as East Rockport. Continued population growth led to a movement for incorporation as the hamlet of Lakewood in 1885, but a legal dispute with the Rockport Plank Rd. Co. over ownership of Detroit Ave. delayed the formal use of the name Lakewood until 1889. The discovery of natural gas and oil wells in the area greatly aided development. Wells were drilled as early as 1883, with one yielding almost 22,000 cu. ft. of gas daily. Additional natural gas reserves, discovered in 1911, were exhausted within a few years.

The construction of a municipal light plant in 1896 and a streetcar line in 1903 facilitated the village’s growth. By 1910 the population was more than 15,000. In 1917 a real estate boom followed the opening of the DETROIT-SUPERIOR BRIDGE; the price of lakefront properties rose to $15,000 an acre. By 1920 the population exceeded 40,000. Calling itself a “city of homes,” in 1980 Lakewood was also a city of 1,100 small businesses. The largest INDUSTRY was then the Carbon Products Div. of the Union Carbide Corp., established in Lakewood as the NATIONAL CARBON CO. in 1892. In 1916 Lakewood created its independent public library system, which in 1980 had 2 buildings on Detroit Ave. and Madison Ave. In 1980 Lakewood School District had 8,000 students in 10 elementary and 3 middle schools and 1 high school. In addition, 7 parochial schools served the city. Lakewood’s facilities also included LAKEWOOD HOSPITAL (opened in 1907), parks and recreational facilities, and the Rocky River Reservation of the CLEVELAND METROPARKS. In the 1990s the city renovated shopping areas and the Lakewood City Center, and constructed a new lakefront pavilion and bandshell at Lakewood Park. Lakewood’s population in 1995 was 62,000 and in 2000 was 56,646.

Borchert, James and Susan. Lakewood: The First Hundred Years (1989).

Butler, Margaret. The Lakewood Story (1949).

Lindstrom, E. George. Story of Lakewood, Ohio (ca. 1935).

Last Modified: 22 Jun 2003 01:24:18 PM

Little Italy from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Little Italy from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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LITTLE ITALY, one of 5 major Italian settlements in Cleveland (see ITALIANS), is located from E. 119th to E. 125th streets on Murray Hill and Mayfield roads. Established in 1885, this physically well-protected and well-defined ethnic enclave is bordered by the forested bluff ofLAKE VIEW CEMETERY to the north and east and the Regional Transit Authority’s Windermere-Airport Rapid Transit line and the CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY campus to the west.


Feast of the Assumption parade in Cleveland’s Little Italy, ca. 1950. WRHS.

Often referred to as “Murray Hill” because of the street by that name in the center of the neighborhood, the Italian hilltown has a reputation as a closed community whose assets are historic and original. By the late 1890s, many Italian immigrants had settled in the Mayfield-Murray Hill area and worked in the nearby marbleworks, one of which, the Lakeview Marble Works, was founded by skilled stonemason JOSEPH CARABELLI†. In 1911 it was estimated that 96% of the inhabitants were Italian-born, and another 2% were of Italian parents. Many of these Italians were Neapolitan and were engaged in skilled lacework, garmentmaking, and the embroidery trades. The largest group came from the towns of Ripamolisano, Madrice, and San Giovanni in Galdo, Campobasso Province, in the Abruzzi region. Little Italy in 1994 is one of the few city neighborhoods attracting thousands of suburban shoppers in a rush to capitalize on its historical charm. Relatively crime-free, Little Italy is a trendy, upscale center for art, dining, and gracious living. It is estimated, however, that in 1994 fewer than half of its 2,500 current residents were Italian, with numerous Asian and Middle Eastern graduate students from CWRU among the newcomers. In the community where the macaroni machine was invented in 1906, visitors will find the Little Italy Historical Museum, the ALTA HOUSE and Library, Murray Hill School, the HOLY ROSARY, numerous restaurants, and artists’ studios and shops. In 1993 the community dedicated Tony Brush Park, named for champion boxer and Little Italy resident Anthony Brescia, at Mayfield and Random roads.Last Modified: 27 Mar 1998 10:42:30 AM

Mount Pleasant from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Mount Pleasant from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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MOUNT PLEASANT is a section of southeast Cleveland bounded by Milverton and Griffing on the north, Martin Luther King Blvd. on the west, E. 155th St. on the east, and Harvard on the south, with Kinsman as the main thoroughfare. Settled by successive immigrant groups, the section eventually became a stable area of African American homeowners. The first residents of the area were Manx farmers who migrated there in 1826. It remained rural until 1921, when Joseph Krizek and his partners bought 20 acres southwest of Kinsman, where they mapped out streets and planted 248 maple trees along Bartlett St. The area received its name from its comely appearance. Among the immigrant groups who succeeded the Manx in Mt. Pleasant were GERMANS, CZECHS, RUSSIANS, JEWS & JUDAISM, and ITALIANS. Unlike other areas of the city where AFRICAN AMERICANS occupied housing first owned by whites, Mt. Pleasant counted blacks among its earliest citizens. Reportedly, in 1893 a contractor who employed a large number of black workers was unable to pay wages in cash, so he gave them title to lots in the section north of Kinsman between E. 126th and E. 130th. The title holders built homes there; by 1907 there were 100 black families, and 100 other lot owners. Advertised in African American newspapers as a suburban paradise, the section was noted for its high percentage of blacks who were homeowners. To prevent neighborhood deterioration, the Mt. Pleasant Community Council and block clubs in the 1950s fought delinquency, crime, and housing violations. With the aid of CLEVELAND: NOW! and the United Appeal, the community-services center was relocated, and eventually the Murtis H. Taylor Multiservice Ctr. was built at 13422 Kinsman to provide recreation and centralize social services for residents.

Last Modified: 27 Jun 1997 11:54:48 AM

West Park from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

West Park from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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WEST PARK, the west side neighborhood and the last large suburb to merge with Cleveland, occupies a 12.5 sq. mi. area between W. 117th St. to the Rocky River Valley and from LAKEWOOD‘s southern boundaries to Brookpark Rd. The Cleveland Planning Commission divides West Park into 4 subneighborhoods: Warren-Munn, the area’s “elite” suburban area; Riverside and Jefferson, areas of middle-class families; and Puritas-Bellaire-Longmead, with a fair-sized African American population and some lower-income areas. Originally part of ROCKPORT Twp., West Park was named for Benjamin West, an early settler. During the mid-19th century, the area was a community of isolated homes and rutted wagon paths. Lorain Ave., the only major thoroughfare, was a wooden plank toll road that ran past the Sherman House and the Old Lorain St. House, rest stops for travelers. Oswald Kamm opened his grocery ca. 1875, and later a post office on the southwest corner of Lorain and Rocky River Dr., inaugurating a commercial intersection thereafter known as KAMM’S CORNERS. In 1900 the county approved the formation of the Twp. of West Park. With unimproved roads covered by snow in the winter and lost in a sea of mud in the spring, isolated West Park was often referred to as the “lost city.” Before 1900 the area’s only public transportation was a horse-drawn omnibus operating between W. 98th St. and Kamm’s Corners. During the early 1900s, the Cleveland & Southwestern Interurban provided a connection with the WOODLAND AVE. AND WEST SIDE RAILWAY CO.. In 1913 the CLEVELAND RAILWAY CO. ran cars east to W. 117th St., extending the line to the airport in 1931. Elections on annexation were held in West Park and Cleveland in 1922. Annexation was approved by large majorities and occurred on 1 Jan. 1923.

Last Modified: 30 Jun 1997 04:25:38 PM

Tremont from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Tremont from the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

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TREMONT is an industrial/residential neighborhood on Cleveland’s near west side. Its boundaries include the CUYAHOGA RIVER to the east and north and Valentine Ave. to the south. Originally part of BROOKLYN (Old Brooklyn) Twp., the area was a section of OHIO CITY (CITY OF OHIO) from 1836-54. In 1851 a group of prominent citizens founded CLEVELAND UNIVERSITY in what was then called Cleveland Hts. The institution lasted only until 1853 but its buildings were later used by 3 other educational endeavors, including theHUMISTON INSTITUTE and Western Reserve Homeopathic Hospital, predecessor to HURON RD. HOSPITAL. Lincoln Hts. succeeded Cleveland Hts. and Univ. Hts. as the name for the neighborhood; only with the construction of Tremont School in 1910 did the neighborhood officially get its most recent name. Tremont’s industrial base began with the establishment of the LAMSON AND SESSIONS CO. in 1869 on Scranton Rd. It and numerous later enterprises provided employment to many new immigrants who settled in the area, including IRISH andGERMANS in the 1860s; POLES, 1890s; GREEKS and Syrians (see ARAB AMERICANS), 1900s; displaced UKRAINIANS, 1950s; and Puerto Ricans (see HISPANIC COMMUNITY) in the 1960s. A total of 30 nationalities have lived or were living in Tremont as of 1994.

Complementing the neighborhood’s ethnic variety is its architecture. Many churches are on state and/or national historic landmark registers, including ST. THEODOSIUS RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL (1912), Pilgrim Congregational (1893), St. Michael the Archangel (1888), and St. Augustine Roman Catholic (1896). By the 1980s, however, Tremont was a run-down, isolated neighborhood in which 68% of the housing had been built before 1900. The population shrank from 36,686 in 1920 to 10,304 in 1980. Closing of the Clark Ave. Bridge and construction of highways I-71 and I-490 cut the area off from the rest of Cleveland. MERRICK HOUSE SOCIAL SETTLEMENT, founded in 1919 as a neighborhood settlement, served as a community focal point for Tremont, and the Tremont West Development Corp. was organized in 1979 to revitalize the area through rehabilitation of housing and neighborhood economic development. Citizens also helped to renovate LINCOLN PARK in the 1980s. By the early 1990s, Tremont was also known for its diverse restaurants and a growing artists’ community.

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