West Park in Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

The West Park African American Community

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019

1. The West Park African American Community Marker

Inscription. The West Park African American community began in 1809 with the first black settler and one of the earliest residents of the area, inventor and farmer George Peake. With the growth of the railroad industry, African Americans were encouraged to move into the area to work at the New York Central Round House and Train Station located in Linndale. First among these, in 1912, were Beary Frierson and Henry Sharp. As more and more African Americans came, African American institutions followed. In 1919, Reverend Thomas Evans and the families of Herndon Anderson and Joseph Williams founded St. Paul A.M.E. Church, the first black congregation on Cleveland’s West Side. Reverend D. R. Shaw, the Ebb Strowder family and Iler Burrow established the Second Calvary Baptist Church in 1923. Both became pillars of the community.

Erected 2003 by the Westown Community Development Corporation, West Park Community Coalition Inc., and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 71-18.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1809.

Location.

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

41° 26.573′ N, 81° 46.532′ W. Marker is in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It is in West Park. It is on Guardian Boulevard east of West 130th Street, on the left when traveling east. It is in Brookfield Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 12517 Guardian Blvd, Cleveland OH 44135, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A Modern-Day Exodus (approx. 1.6 miles away); The National Carbon Company / GrafTech International (approx. 2.4 miles away); The Fight For The Eight-Hour Day (approx. 2.4 miles away); The National Carbon Company / Lewis Frederick Urry (approx. 2.6 miles away); Tamir Rice Memorial (approx. 2.8 miles away); Holy Name High School Founded 1914 (approx. 2.9 miles away); Nicholson Homestead (approx. 2.9 miles away); Parma's Birthplace (approx. 3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cleveland.

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019

2. The West Park African American Community Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 19, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 909 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 19, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.