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. 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.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1796.

Location.

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Marker has been reported missing. It was located near 41° 29.791′ N, 81° 42.079′ W. Marker was in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It was in Downtown. It could be reached from Merwin Avenue 0.1 miles north of West Street when traveling north. It is just off the footpath at Settler’s Landing Park at the water’s edge. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 1516 Merwin Ave, Cleveland OH 44113, 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: Celebrating 50 years of progress on the Cuyahoga River (within shouting distance of this marker); A River Reborn (within shouting distance of this marker); Moses Cleaveland Survey (within shouting distance of this marker); Alexis de Tocqueville (about 500 feet away); Ohio & Erie Canalway (about 600 feet away); The Canal (about 600 feet away); Rockefeller Building (about 600 feet away); Industrialists & Early Skyscrapers (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cleveland.

Other markers no longer nearby. John D. Rockefeller / The Standard Oil Company (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing); Ohio and Erie Canal (was about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line but has been confirmed missing).

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

2. Moses Cleaveland’s “Capital Town” Marker

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

3. Moses Cleaveland’s “Capital Town” Marker

It is across the river from Jacobs Pavilion and the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.

Downtown Cleveland Skyline and the Marker image. Click for full size.

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

4. Downtown Cleveland Skyline and the Marker

This view is from Heritage Park.

Post with missing marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Grant & Mary Ann Fish, September 1, 2024

5. Post with missing marker

General Moses Cleaveland, Founder of the City, 1796 image. Click for full size.

1888 bronze by James G. C. Hamilton, photograph by J.J. Prats, June 21, 2019

6. 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.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 3, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 20, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,050 times since then and 67 times this year. Last updated on September 1, 2024, by Grant & Mary Ann Fish of Galloway, Ohio. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 20, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 5. submitted on September 1, 2024, by Grant & Mary Ann Fish of Galloway, Ohio. 6. submitted on July 20, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.