Inspired by MrNYC's posting of 17th century Manhattan over present-day Manhattan (http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=14108.0;topicseen), I thought I'd give the MapMixer a try for Cleveland.

 

http://maps.yahoo.com/mapmixer?lid=3cf7d014&pg=view

 

This is the first accurate map of Cleveland on record; Ohio City was just speculative development and would not be incorporated for another year, and Tremont was just a glimmer in the founders' eyes. Check out how detailed the street grid already was with less than 10,000 residents! And our little oxbow river apparently wandered quite a bit before they walled it off.

 

I apologize in advance that the map is not aligned properly ... it was really difficult! It looks like I ended up about an eighth of an inch too far west. At any rate, if you find it distracting, you can visit the original map at http://www.csuohio.edu/CUT/Merchant.htm.

Jolly fun!  The Columbus Road peninsula was certainly jammed with streets.  Were there any bridges then?

wow, yeah, I love that peninsula!  What was the epicenter called?  Cavity Place?  Gravity Place? 

Gravity Place.

 

There were bridges at Center Street and Columbus Road. Both were the scenes of the Bridge War that sparked the rivalry between east and west sides that continues to this day.

Cleveland not only had a Bridge War but also a Fence War, the fight over whether Public Square should be a fenced off central park or a transportation thoroughfare. We pick some funny things to launch wars over!

 

Here's background on the Bridge War from our friend Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flats):

 

Cleveland's early development and population growth was slow until the arrival of the Ohio and Erie Canal, which brought a trade route from the Ohio River and other southern Ohio cities. It also brought a heavily Irish immigrant workforce to help construct the canal who took residence on the West Bank of the Flats and neighboring Ohio City. As Cleveland was developing, so too was Ohio City, whose prosperity was fueled by the West Side Market. Food taken from farms grown in Medina County via US 42 was being sold at the Market to residents of both Ohio City and Cleveland, and was quickly being seen as a threat to Cleveland's development.

 

To thwart this threat, Cleveland destroyed their half of a floating bridge at Main Street which was jointly owned by Cleveland and Ohio City and the only mode of traveling between the two cities. Cleveland then constructed a new bridge further downstream which connected then Cleveland Mayor John W. Willey and developer/friend Jas Clark's "Willeyville" and "Cleveland Centre" developments along the newly constructed Columbus Road. With the Main Street bridge unusable commercial produce traffic had no choice but to use the new Columbus Road to sell their produce at the new Central Market, bypassing the West Side Market altogether. Infuriated Ohio City residents using the rallying cry of "two bridges or none" marched on the new Columbus Road bridge with guns, axes, and other tools in an effort to destroy the bridge. They were met by a mob of Cleveland residents ready to fight and the ensuing "Bridge War" was put down by county sheriff's officers.

 

While the courts made Cleveland reconstruct their half of the Main Street Bridge, the damage had been done to Ohio City. It would soon be the first area to be annexed by Cleveland as its growth continued.

 

I posted this historical summary about the Cleveland Bridge War at the following location a couple years ago:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7319.msg73904#msg73904

 

As Cleveland was developing, so too was Ohio City, whose prosperity was fueled by the West Side Market. Food taken from farms grown in Medina County via US 42 was being sold at the Market to residents of both Ohio City and Cleveland, and was quickly being seen as a threat to Cleveland's development.

 

 

So even way back then, Medina County was a threat to Cleveland's development?! :)

oh that is awesome! i was hoping somebody could do that. excellent work 8shades.

 

wow all that development makes scranton peninsula look like the true center of town. even tho the ratners couldnt give a rat's patootie about that -- otoh i am sure if bob stark saw this he would be very interested in the lots that go right up to the lakefront or the bluffs. back to the future maybe? -- thats good pr for pesht.

 

also, how interesting that it looks like e12th street was cleveland's version of wall street at that time.

 

wow pouring over this could swallow up some serious time

to think I-77 destroyed such a lovely drawing.

Be sure to read the explanation to Merchant's Map here: http://www.csuohio.edu/CUT/ECH_merchant.htm

 

Ohio City is of special interest to me, because it is where my mother's family's American story began. I was also born in Ohio City, at what was then Lutheran Hospital. My aunt was Night Supervisor at LH for years.

 

Thanks for the link.

Another interesting thing I spotted -- it appears that ol' Moses envisioned Cleveland's lakefront to be primarily a private good. Note the properties on the downtown side of the river back up to the lake. They effectively block public access to the lake, much as they do throughout Bratenahl, most of Euclid, Lakewood, Rocky River and Bay Village today. But it appears that the lakefront was to be more publicly accessible on Whiskey Island, given the proximity of the street parallel to the lakeshore.

wow all that development makes scranton peninsula look like the true center of town.

 

That isn't Scranton Peninsula with all the streets on it.  Scranton is the peninsula immediately SW of that one.  The peninsula with the radial street pattern was the subject of one of Cleveland's first speculative developments, Cleveland Center.  It was intended to be a dense residential area, but it fell apart because of a real estate bust in the early 1830's.  It was eventually developed as industrial land, and some of the radial pattern still exists, though some of it is railways, some streets.

Can someone suggest some good books discussing all the different ethnic groups that lived in Cleveland and/or Akron. The library hasn't been too helpful as of yet. I'm looking to learn more about why all the different groups came here, where they lived, what they did. For example, I'm interested in the Irish, and all I've found out so far is "they liked to be cops and firefighters." Thanks!

Try "Greater Cleveland Mosaic", by The Plain Dealer Charities, Inc. and the International Community Council.  It doesn't give more than a brief on each community, but it is thorough- it gives something on every nationality in Cleveland.

You could also try the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.  As its name suggests, it has articles on most anything, although none are overly long.  It's available online at:

http://ech.case.edu/

This is very neat!

reminds me, I got bored and did one of 1830 detroit.

 

http://maps.yahoo.com/mapmixer?lid=86922dca&pg=view

excellent work pope. interesting to compare the two. the little structures in both are long gone, but in detroit the streets remain the same. the grand circus, nice london-ish affection they were angling for.

 

 

wow all that development makes scranton peninsula look like the true center of town.

 

That isn't Scranton Peninsula with all the streets on it.  Scranton is the peninsula immediately SW of that one. 

 

yeah i noticed that later on.