Moses Cleaveland

In the colonial era, the Cleveland area was known as the Connecticut Western Reserve, part of a land grant made to Connecticut by King Charles II in 1662.

On the 22nd of July, 1796, Moses Cleaveland (29 Jan. 1754-16 Nov. 1806), arrived at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River to survey land. Cleaveland was the head surveyor for the Connecticut Land Company, which had purchased 3 million acres in what is now northern Ohio.

He chose the area that is now present-day Cleveland because of its high bluffs and thick forests. Situated at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River where it entered Lake Erie, the new city was an ideal location to facilitate shipping and trade on the Great Lakes.

Cleaveland and his team surveyed and laid out a New England-style city, complete with wide roadways and a generous public square.

Cleaveland returned to Connecticut in October 1796 and never again visited the town he and his surveying team mapped out. Nevertheless, Moses Cleaveland is considered the founder of Cleveland and there is a statue of him in Public Square.