Cleveland Heights, Ohio

History

The area that is now Cleveland Heights was settled later than most of Cuyahoga County. The first road through what is today the city, Mayfield Road, was not built until 1828. Besides farms the area also had quarries in the 19th century. One of the early quarries was established by Duncan McFarland and mined bluestone. This led to the settlement that grew up around the quarry for the workers to live in to be referred to as Bluestone. There is still a road of this name in that area.

John D. Rockefeller arrived in what is today Cleveland Heights in 1873. He had a large estate of 700 acres (2.8 km²) and in 1938 the family donated the land of what is now Forest Hill Park that straddles the boundaries of Cleveland Heights and East Cleveland. There had been quarries within what is today Forest Hill Park previous to Rockefeller donating it to the city.

Rockefeller was not the only affluent Clevelander to come to what is now Cleveland Heights. The Euclid Heights development was created by Patrick Calhoun starting in 1892. It was centered around the Euclid Golf Course and began at the Cleveland city line, covering the area between Mayfield Road and Cedar Road as far east as Coventry Road. There was a streetcar line from this location running to the center of Cleveland's business district.

In 1898 Marcus M. Brown began the development of Mayfield Heights along the south side of Mayfield Road just beyond the Cleveland boundary and to take advantage of the Mayfield Road streetcar. Brown had purchased this land from Emil Preyer and his sister Mary Preyer Hellwig. Emil had operated a cedar mill.

By the end of 1899 the streetcar reached out along Mayfield Road to the old village of Fairmount. In 1903 the village of Cleveland Heights was incorporated. In 1910 Cleveland Heights had a population about 5,000 people. It had a population of 15,396 in 1920 and was incorporated as a city on 9 August 1921. By 1960 it had a population of 61,813.

Geography

Cleveland Heights is located at 41°30′35″N 81°33′48″W (41.509652, -81.563301).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.13 square miles (21.06 km²), of which 8.11 square miles (21.00 km²) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km²) is water. Cleveland Heights is mostly within the Dugway Brook Watershed.

Environment

In 1987, the city of Cleveland Heights was declared a nuclear free zone.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 46,121 people, 19,957 households, and 10,834 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,686.9 inhabitants per square mile (2,195.7/km²). There were 22,465 housing units at an average density of 2,770.0 per square mile (1,069.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 49.8% White, 42.5% African American, 0.2% Native American, 4.1% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population.

There were 19,957 households of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.7% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.05.

The median age in the city was 35.8 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 13.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

Politics and government

Cleveland Heights is governed by a city charter adopted in 1921 and amended in 1972, 1982, and 1986. The charter specifies a council-manager form of government, with seven members of council elected to four-year terms. Three councilmen are elected one year before a presidential election, and three one year after a presidential election. All are elected using plurality at-large non-partisan voting. The mayor is elected by council from among its members and has additional duties including parliamentary and ceremonial responsibilities.

Cleveland Heights is reliably Democratic. Five of the six current members of Council are Democrats (with one vacancy). In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama defeated John McCain 84.2%-15.0% while winning the state, while in the 2004 presidential election, John Kerry defeated George W. Bush 80.8%-18.8% in the city but was unable to win the state. In 2012, every precinct in the city was carried by Barack Obama. All of Cleveland Heights is in the 11th congressional district, a seat currently held by Marcia Fudge, elected in a special election following the death of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. In 2003, voters supported a referendum to establish a domestic partnership registry; Cleveland Heights was the first Ohio city to establish one.

The current city council is composed of Kahlil Seren, Vice Mayor Jason S. Stein, Mary Dunbar, Mayor Cheryl L. Stephens, Carol Roe, Michael Ungar and Melissa Yasinow.

Education

Public education in the city of Cleveland Heights is provided by two school districts. Most of the city is served by the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, while a small portion located on the northwest side of the city lies within the East Cleveland City School District.

Several private schools are located within the city, including Beaumont School, Lutheran High School East, Horizon Montessori, Ruffing Montessori, Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, Saint Ann School, and Mosdos Ohr Hatorah.

Notable people