Cleveland (OH)

Cleveland, Ohio. The county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Located in Northeast Ohio along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the U.S. maritime border with Canada and lies approximately 60 mi (97 km) west of Pennsylvania.

Cleveland ranks as the most populous city on Lake Erie, the second-most populous city in Ohio, and the 54th-most populous city in the U.S. with a population of 375,000 (2020).

Cleveland was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve by General Moses Cleaveland, after whom the city was named.

Cleveland is a port city, connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Its location on the river and the lake shore allowed it to grow into a major commercial and industrial metropolis by the late 19th century, attracting large numbers of immigrants and migrants.

It was among the top ten largest U.S. cities by population for much of the 20th century, a period that saw the development of the city’s cultural institutions. By the 1960s, Cleveland‘s economy began to slow down as manufacturing declined and suburbanization occurred.

Cleveland is host to Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), a private research university, and is in proximity to Oberlin College (34 miles) and the College of Wooster (60 miles).

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Notable natives: Ruby Dee