Goodrich - Kirtland Park in Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Garrett A. Morgan
Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, April 12, 2009
1. Garrett A. Morgan Marker
Garrett Augustus Morgan was an African American businessman and prolific inventor of devices that made people's lives safer and more convenient. Born on March 4, 1877 in Claysville, the Black segregated section of Paris, Kentucky, Morgan migrated north first to Cincinnati and then Cleveland in 1895. He lived and worked in this house at 5204 Harlem Avenue. In 1906, Morgan started the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company to market the hair straightener he had invented. The following year he opened a sewing machine repair shop. In 1908, he and his wife Mary opened Morgan's Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store.
In 1910, Garrett Morgan invented the curve-toothed hair-straightening comb, and four years later patented the safety hood, the forerunner of the gas mask used in the 1916 Lake Erie Crib disaster and further developed and used in World War I. He also invented the traffic signal and sold his patented rights to General Electric Company. He was a founding member of the Cleveland Association of Colored Men and served as treasurer. He continued to invent tools, gadgets, and devices well into his 70s. He died in 1963 while preparing an exhibition of his life's work for an exposition in Chicago.
Erected 2003 by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, Cinergy Foundation, and the Ohio Historical
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1745.
Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 41° 30.897′ N, 81° 39.121′ W. Marker was in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It was in Goodrich - Kirtland Park. It was on East 55th Street near Harlem Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Cleveland OH 44103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker was on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore and in the Western Reserve. It was also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found 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 walking distance of this location: League Park (approx. half a mile away); St. Clair Avenue Public Baths / Public Bath House Movement In Cleveland (approx. 0.7 miles away); The Yellow House (approx. Ύ mile away); Old Dunham Tavern Garden (approx. 0.8 miles away); Dunham Tavern (approx. 0.9 miles away); Colonel Charles Young (approx. 0.9 miles away); Help Six Chimneys, Inc. (approx. 0.9 miles away); Sarah Benedict House (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cleveland.
More about this marker. The marker is not in front of Morgan's house on Harlem Avenue, contrary to what the
Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, April 12, 2009
2. Garrett A. Morgan Marker
Also see . . . Wikipedia Entry. “Garrett Morgan invented a safety hood smoke protection device after seeing firefighters struggling from the smoke they encountered in the line of duty. ... He was able to sell his invention around the country, sometimes using the tactic of having a hired white actor take credit rather than revealing himself as its inventor. ... It was patented and awarded a gold medal two years later by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.” (Submitted on November 18, 2017.)
Additional commentary.
1. Marker missing?
As of July of 2014 it appears the marker is missing. The pole is still there. The marker may have been moved from 5204 Howell Avenue, to this location as to be more visible, since the house is no longer there.
— Submitted November 19, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
Via Wikipedia (Public domain)
3. Garrett A. Morgan (1877–1963)
Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, April 12, 2009
4. Marker location on East 55th Street
Photographed by Grant & Mary Ann Fish, September 1, 2024
5. Marker still missing with only pole left.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 11, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 12, 2009, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. This page has been viewed 5,270 times since then and 171 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week November 19, 2017. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 12, 2009, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. 3. submitted on November 18, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 4. submitted on April 12, 2009, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. 5. submitted on September 1, 2024, by Grant & Mary Ann Fish of Galloway, Ohio.
