, OH
In 1822, Ralph Russell, a Connecticut pioneer who had settled in Warrensville Township ten years earlier, founded the North Union Shaker Community. The Shakers created Horseshoe Lake in 1852 when they built a dam across Doan Brook and harnessed its waterpower to operate a woolen mill near Lee Road and South Park Boulevard. The community disbanded in 1889; its 1,366 acres were eventually sold to a real estate syndicate from Buffalo, New York, the Shaker Heights Land Company. In 1896, this group deeded the Shaker Lakes Parklands to the City of Cleveland to preserve the green space in perpetuity. Ten years later, the Van Sweringen Company began to develop Shaker Heights Village as a Garden City suburb where William J. Van Aken served as mayor from 1915 until 1950. In the 1960s local residents successfully fought the proposed Clark Freeway, saving Horseshoe Lake and the Parklands from destruction.
, OH
In 1962, Asian Indian students of Case Western Reserve University started India Association of Cleveland (IAC). In 1967, IAC started a newspaper “LOTUS,” regarded as the first such Asian Indian community newspapers in the United States. In 1978, IAC started a community center to be owned and managed by a new organization: India Community Center (ICC), the first such facility established by Asian Indians in Ohio. In 1980, IAC and ICC merged and formed the Federation of India Community Associations (FICA). Other associations representing the various states and interests in India became Federation members.
, OH
Founded in 1924 and incorporated in 1925, the German Central Organization was established to serve all people of German descent and was the central meeting place for immigrants of various ethnic groups following both world wars. During the difficult years of the Great Depression, the German Central Organization distributed money to needy German-Americans and helped thousands to find jobs by providing free employment service. Anti-German sentiment during World War II culminated in a vandal attack on the German Central Organization farm in 1942. Despite damage to the property and decreased membership, the German Central Organization rebounded and remains a solid pillar of the community.
, OH
The Union and League of Romanian Societies, Incorporated was formed in 1928 from a unification of two separate fraternal organizations, the Union and the League. The Union, founded on July 4, 1906, was originally organized for the purpose of promoting the general welfare of its members through life insurance policies obtained through individual societies located in the United States and Canada. The societies of the Union and League offer social interaction within their local lodges and through the strength of the larger parent organization. The purpose of the current Union and League is to maintain and encourage Romanian cultural heritage by promoting interest in Romanian ethnic values through cultural activities and to sustain loyalty to the United States and Canada among its respective members.
, OH
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.
, OH
In August 1903, architects Daniel H. Burnham, John M. Carrere, and Arnold W. Brunner presented Mayor Tom L. Johnson and the City of Cleveland a plan that epitomized the City Beautiful Movement in America. The Group Plan envisioned a grand landscaped mall surrounded by public buildings in the Beaux-Arts style. The plan would create a monumental civic center, influence the design of buildings throughout the city, and lay the foundation for a city planning commission. The first of its kind in the nation, the Group Plan, as built, was the most completely realized of Burnham’s city planning efforts. In its green space and architecture, the Mall remains an enduring and vital element of Cleveland’s civic culture. (continued on other side)
, OH
The Council of International Programs USA (CIPUSA) promotes international understanding in global communities through professional development and cross-cultural exchange. CIPUSA evolved from the Cleveland International Program, a professional and cultural exchange program for youth leaders and social workers, established by Dr. Henry B. Ollendorff in 1956. By 2003, CIPUSA had grown to include nine affiliate offices nationwide, including two offices in Ohio, the Cleveland International Program and the Columbus International Program. Since its founding, CIPUSA has brought over 10,000 professionals for practical training from 147 countries. As a leader in international exchange CIPUSA continues Ollendorff’s vision–leading people to international training exchange programs in a variety of fields, including social services, business, and education.
, OH
Opened in July 1862, the 35 1/2-acre site here in Brooklyn Township’s University Heights served as the largest Civil War army camp of rendezvous, organization, and training in northeast Ohio. It was bordered by Hershel (now West 5th) and University (now West 7th) streets and Railway and Marquard avenues. A wartime high of 4,151 volunteers occupied the barracks here on December 5, 1862. Lieutenant William Dustin of the 19th Ohio Volunteer Artillery wrote, “It was a table land above the city and admirably suited to the use of a camp of instruction. It was as level as a floor and carpeted with grass. The capacious pine barracks held about 25 each of the battery’s men.” A total of 15,230 men trained here during the war–4.9 percent of the 310,646 enlistments in Ohio. More than 11,000 soldiers were discharged here at war’s end. It closed in August 1865. (continued on other side)
614.297.2300
Contact Us
