Downtown in Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Moses Cleaveland’s “Capital Town”
Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
1. Moses Cleaveland’s “Capital Town” Marker
Inscription.
Moses Cleaveland’s “Capital Town”. . In July 1796, the first survey party for the Connecticut Land Company, led by General Moses Cleaveland (1754–1806), landed on the shore of Lake Erie near present-day Ashtabula to lay out the lands of the Connecticut Western Reserve. On July 22 the party arrived at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, the western boundary line for American settlement established by the Treaty of Greenville, and set up a base camp near this site. On the eastern river bluff the surveyors platted the “capital town” of the Western Reserve and called it Cleaveland, a misspelling later changed the name to Cleveland. The original survey called for a Public Square, surrounded by right-angled streets and uniformly-shaped lots. Cleaveland returned to Connecticut in October to resume his law practice and never returned to Ohio.
In July 1796, the first survey party for the Connecticut Land Company, led by General Moses Cleaveland (1754–1806), landed on the shore of Lake Erie near present-day Ashtabula to lay out the lands of the Connecticut Western Reserve. On July 22 the party arrived at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, the western boundary line for American settlement established by the Treaty of Greenville, and set up a base camp near this site. On the eastern river bluff the surveyors platted the “capital town” of the Western Reserve and called it Cleaveland, a misspelling later changed the name to Cleveland. The original survey called for a Public Square, surrounded by right-angled streets and uniformly-shaped lots. Cleaveland returned to Connecticut in October to resume his law practice and never returned to Ohio.
Erected 2003 by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, the Marietta Chapter NSDAR, Early Settlers Association of the Western Reserve and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 39-18.)
81° 42.079′ W. Marker is in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It is in Downtown. Marker can be reached from the foot of Merwin Avenue north of Center Street. It is just off the footpath at Settler’s Landing Park, at the water’s edge. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1516 Merwin Ave, Cleveland OH 44113, United States of America. Touch for directions.
It is across the river from Jacobs Pavilion and the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
3. Moses Cleaveland’s “Capital Town” Marker
1888 bronze by James G. C. Hamilton, photograph by J.J. Prats, June 21, 2019
4. General Moses Cleaveland, Founder of the City, 1796
Sculpture is 7 feet 10 inches high atop a circular granite pedestal 7 feet high. It is in the southwest quadrant of Cleveland’s Public Square.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, June 21, 2019
5. Downtown Cleveland Skyline and the Marker
This view is from Heritage Park.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 20, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 365 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 20, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.