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B−History
History · Cleveland

Cleveland dates to 1893, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #49 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Mullendore Mansion. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1898 on, and the census since 1900.

1893founded
1on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cleveland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cleveland began

When was Cleveland founded?

1893

Cleveland dates its founding to 1893 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 211 in 19002020 census: 3,205133 years

How historic is Cleveland?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Cleveland’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cleveland is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #49 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cleveland’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.8% of homes (±5.6) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register1 listing, 3.1 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 63%

Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Cleveland’s 3.1 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.6 points). Two sources give 1893.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Cleveland’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1898 to 1915, drew every building in Cleveland.On the map since 19153 editions of the USGS map, 1915 to 1983. Watch Cleveland change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cleveland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cleveland’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Cleveland, building by building, 1898–1915

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Cleveland fire insurance map, 1898, sheet 11898Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the map

Cleveland on the map, 1915 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cleveland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cleveland on the 1915 USGS mapCleveland on the 1966 USGS mapCleveland on the 1983 USGS map1915Hominy sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cleveland.

The story

How Cleveland came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Cleveland.

Read it all →

After the Cherokee Outlet opening, a homesteader by the name of Willis H. Herbert established a town named Herbert by opening a post office on the current townsite of Cleveland on October 28, 1893. The Post Office department subsequently withdrew the approval of the Herbert post office. The post office was then moved 100 feet, and reestablished under the name Cleveland, named in honor of then President Grover Cleveland on April 19, 1894. By 1900, the town's population was 211. Before the discovery of oil in the area, the town served as a trade center between the local farmers and the Osage Tribe who lived on the reservation on the other side of the Arkansas river.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Cleveland, 1880 to 1963

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Pawnee County - Cleveland - ED 59-6, E…
  3. 1893
    FoundingCleveland is established
  4. 1893Post officeThe Herbert post office opens
  5. 1894Post officeThe Herbert post office closes
  6. 1894Post officeThe Cleveland post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1905In the archiveCleveland oklahoma
  9. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1917Born hereGlen Moulder is born here
  11. 1931Born hereBilly Vessels is born here
  12. 1946Born hereRobbie Nichols is born here
  13. 1963Born hereTony Perkins is born here
By decade

Cleveland, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Pawnee County - Cleveland - ED 59-6, ED 59-718801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Pa…Cleveland oklahoma1905Cleveland oklahoma
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
"Cleveland. The City of Oil Derricks." Panoramic view of an Oklahoma Territory town a year after the discovery of oil t…Date?"Cleveland. The City of Oil Derricks." Panoramic view…"Cleveland. The City of Oil Derricks." Panoramic view of an Oklahoma Territory town a year after the discovery of oil t…Date?"Cleveland. The City of Oil Derricks." Panoramic view…
Today4 recent
Pixel 3a fireworks2019Pixel 3a fireworksPixel 3a fireworks2019Pixel 3a fireworksPixel 3a fireworks2019Pixel 3a fireworksOKMap-doton-Cleveland2004OKMap-doton-Cleveland
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Pawnee County - Cleveland - ED 59-6, ED 59-7
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Oklahoma - Pawnee County - Cleveland - ED 59-6, ED 59-7, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cleveland’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cleveland

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Mullendore Mansion
Mullendore Mansion
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Mullendore MansionGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Cleveland, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,282

Between 211 and 3,282 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cleveland’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Cleveland

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
T
Tony PerkinsChristian political figure in the United States · b. 1963
R
Robbie NicholsAmerican football player · b. 1946
Billy VesselsPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1931
Glen MoulderAmerican baseball player · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Cleveland’s post office has been open since 1894. Another post office, Herbert, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Herbert
1893–1894
Cleveland
1894–today
18901960today
1cemetery inside Cleveland
Woodland

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Cleveland’s history

What year was Cleveland founded?

In 1893, according to Wikidata. Cleveland’s post office opened in 1893, and the census of 1900 counted 211 people here.

How does Cleveland rank for history?

Cleveland is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #49 of 131 in Oklahoma. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Cleveland?

One place: the Mullendore Mansion (listed 1984).

How old are the homes in Cleveland?

19% of Cleveland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1972.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (8), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.