Cleveland, Texas

Everything Cleveland is known for

1 song mention this city 1 artist from here

Music in Cleveland

Songs About Cleveland

Cleveland
Rich O'Toole
79%

Artists From Cleveland

Z
Zach Aaron
country Pop: 50

Rivers & Roads in Song near Cleveland

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Cleveland.

U.S. Route 59 7 songs Trinity River 10 songs Interstate 45 7 songs US Route 90 8 songs Kickapoo Creek 4 songs Interstate 10 32 songs

History of Cleveland

Cleveland, TX RoadyGoat

Cleveland, Texas, sits right on the edge of the Big Thicket, that sprawling, biologically diverse region that makes East Texas so unique. For years, it was a quiet place, known mostly for its proximity to larger towns like Conroe and Beaumont. But that's been changing fast. What's really got people talking these days is the Grand Parkway, or State Highway 99, and how it's reshaping everything. The new sections of the Parkway that opened up near Cleveland have been a game-changer. Suddenly, you've got easier access to Houston, and that means development. New subdivisions are popping up seemingly overnight, bringing in families looking for a more affordable place to live than you'd find closer to the city. It's exciting, but it also brings challenges. The schools are getting crowded, and there's a lot of discussion about how to manage the growth while still preserving the small-town character that people have always valued here. It's a balancing act, trying to welcome progress while holding onto what makes Cleveland, Cleveland.

Cleveland, TX RoadyGoat

Cleveland, Texas, sits on land that was once a dense pine forest, part of the vast wilderness that stretched across Southeast Texas. The Atascosito Road, an early Spanish trail, ran nearby, a whisper of civilization long before the town took root. It wasn't some grand battle or single dramatic event that defined Cleveland, but rather the slow, steady rhythm of timber and agriculture. The area drew settlers looking for fertile soil and the promise of lumber, slowly transforming the landscape from wilderness to farmland and timber camps. The railroad arrived in the late 19th century, a pivotal moment that connected Cleveland to the wider world. Suddenly, the timber harvested here could reach distant markets, and the town became a hub for the surrounding area. Sawmills sprang up, bringing jobs and a sense of prosperity. Like many towns in the region, Cleveland experienced its share of booms and busts, tied to the fluctuations of the timber market and the fortunes of local farmers. Over time, it evolved from a rough-and-tumble frontier settlement to a more established community, a place where families put down roots and built a life connected to the land.

Cleveland, TX RoadyGoat

Cleveland, Texas, sits at a crossroads. The town owes its existence to the railroads that sliced through the East Texas timberlands in the late 19th century. Where the tracks met, towns sprang up to serve the lumber industry, and Cleveland was no exception. But unlike some of its neighbors that faded as the forests thinned, Cleveland became a regional hub. The key was location. It sits on the edge of the Piney Woods, where the rolling hills give way to flatter coastal plains. This made it a natural stopping point for travelers and commerce moving between Houston and the northern parts of the state. Today, folks pass through on their way to Lake Livingston for fishing and boating, or to the Big Thicket National Preserve for hiking and exploring. But ask any local why people really come to Cleveland, and they'll probably tell you it's the friendly atmosphere and the small-town pace. It's a place where folks still wave as you drive by, where the Friday night football games are a community event, and where you can find a decent plate of barbecue without having to fight the Houston crowds. It's a place that has managed to hold onto its identity as a welcoming East Texas town, even as the world around it gets faster and more complicated.

Cleveland, Charles Lander

1833

Charles L. Cleveland, judge and Texas legislator, was born in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, on August 25, 1824, son of Jesse Alexander Harrison and Sarah (Lander) Cleveland. Following the death of Sarah Cleveland, Jesse Cleveland and his children moved to the future Brazoria County, Texas, in 1833 where Jesse made a reputation and a fortune for himself by inventing a reputedly successful treatment for yellow fever despite his lack of medical training. Charles went to work at the age of thirteen for one of the first newspapers in Texas, the Texas Republican . Later he worked for the Telegraph and Texas Register , published in Columbia (now known as West Columbia), which was then the seat of the Republic of Texas . Cleveland attended Rutersville College in Fayette County, Texas, and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 1842. Upon graduation Charles Lander Cleveland moved to Galveston where his father was living and studied law with Judge Benjamin Cromwell Franklin . In 1845 or 1846 Cleveland was admitted to the bar at Liberty, Texas, where he maintained a practice for the next twenty-five years. Cleveland married Mary Ann Booker (Hardin) in 1849; the couple had nine children. In 1856 Cleveland was elected to the state legislature from Liberty County and served in the Sixth Legislature. Cleveland was a delegate to the Secession Convention from Liberty and Polk counties, and a signer of the ordinance of secession . Cleveland was elected judge of the First Judicial District in 1861and served on that bench until 1866 when he was removed as an impediment to Reconstruction . Judge Cleveland was also active in the Democratic party and was a delegate to the 1854 Democratic state convention from Liberty County and a Galveston delegate in 1873 and 1876. In 1871 Judge Cleveland left his practice in Liberty and moved permanently to Galveston where he formed a new partnership with Judge Asa Hoxie Willie . In 1886 Cleveland was appointed a federal judge for the special criminal district of Galveston and Harris counties, a position he would fill until his death. In addition to his legal career Judge Cleveland was a practicing Methodist and a high-ranking member of the Masons. He was a stockholder or sat on the board of directors for several Texas businesses including the Texas Banking and Insurance Corporation, Gulf Loan and Homestead Company, Southern Cotton Compress Company, Texas Cotton Press and Manufacturing Company, and the Galveston Gas Company. Cleveland was also Chairman of the Board of the Island City Protestant Orphans Home, later know as the Galveston Children's Home . Cleveland owned more than 50,000 unimproved acres of land in several central and west Texas counties. He donated the land on which a station for the Houston East and West Texas Railway was built on the condition that the station bear his name, and when the town, Cleveland, Texas, grew around the station, it adopted his name as well. Judge Charles Lander Cleveland died on February 9, 1892.

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Hightower, Lewis Buckner, Sr.

1888

Lewis Buckner Hightower, Sr., legislator and judge, often known as "the Bear-Hunting Judge," was born on October 20, 1838, in Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama, a son of John Oldham and Apphia (Allen) Hightower. The elder Hightower, an attorney, moved the family to Texas in 1842 and then to Lafayette County, Arkansas, in 1844. He served as a circuit court judge and as a member of the state legislature and was shot to death in Lewisville, Arkansas, in 1848. The younger Hightower moved to Texas and studied at Austin College in Huntsville and later at the Baylor Law School at Independence, graduating there in 1859. He then returned to Huntsville to open his law office, but his fledgling practice was quickly interrupted by the Civil War . Hightower first served with Company I, Bates's (Fourth) Regiment Texas Volunteers, and later Company I, Brown's (Thirty-fifth) Texas Cavalry Regiment. He was elected as its captain on March 27, 1863. After the war Hightower resumed his law practice and as a Democrat was elected in 1876 to the Texas legislature from Willis in Montgomery County; he served only one term. He later settled in the Gladstell community near Cleveland in northern Liberty County. He was appointed by Governor Lawrence S. (Sul) Ross to the Ninth Judicial District bench in July 1888, and then in November 1888 won election to the office over two challengers. He was never challenged again and held the office until his death. His most celebrated case came in August 1889, when Governor Ross appointed him as a visiting judge in Fort Bend County during the Jaybird-Woodpecker War . Hightower was a renowned bear hunter and was often known to dismiss court to make time for hunts. He is credited with having killed some 200 bears during his lifetime. He once explained, "I practice law for recreation and hunt bear for a livin'." Judge L. B. Hightower died at his home near Cleveland on January 13, 1918, and was buried in Wells Cemetery in Liberty County. He had been married four times and was the father of twenty children. In 1860 he married Sallie Riggins (d. 1863); in 1868, Cora A. Polk; in 1874, Jacquelina Moore (1852–1884); and in 1886, Jane Lockhart (1864–1945). Three of his sons held elective office: L. B. Hightower II, as chief justice of the Ninth Court of Civil Appeals (1916–32); Lockhart Valentine Hightower, as sheriff and county clerk of Liberty County; and T. J. (Tommy) Hightower, as district attorney and county judge of Liberty County.

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The Noble Garvey House

1890

After settling here in the 1890s, Noble Garvey (1875-1941) became a leading merchant, landowner, and bank president. Interested in civic improvement, he served on the city council and county planning board and was president of the Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife Lillian Henderson Garvey erected this spacious residence before 1915. Garvey selected the longleaf pine and other lumber from local mills. The Garvey home was the center of social life in early Cleveland. Originally located at College and Crockett Street, it was moved to this site in 1964. (1978)

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Cleveland, City of

1878

The town of Cleveland traces its beginnings to 1878, when local attorney and politician Charles Lander Cleveland (1824-1892) deeded land to the Houston East and West Texas Railroad, stipulating the building of a railway depot and the establishment of a town to be named Cleveland. By 1879 the settlement boasted a sawmill, two boarding houses, railroad interests, and a number of homes. Churches and schools were established and the town continued to grow, with an economy based on timber and railroad industries. The city was officially incorporated in 1935. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986

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Cleveland, TX (Liberty County)

1878

Cleveland is on U.S. Highway 59 forty miles northeast of Houston in northwestern Liberty County. The recorded history of the area began in 1836, when the General Land Office offered land in the county in exchange for military service. In 1854 Father Peter La Cour, who was evidently the first priest resident in the county, built a church and convent near the present townsite. The community formed after 1878, when Charles Lander Cleveland deeded 63.6 acres of land to the Houston, East and West Texas Railway with a request that a station bear his name. Since 1900 Cleveland has served as the junction of this line (now the Southern Pacific) and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe (now the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe). The town was not incorporated until 1935. The forests around Cleveland, including Sam Houston National Forest , which is located just to its north, are a resort for many inhabitants of the Houston area, who come to camp, hike, hunt, and fish. Cleveland has several historic sites and public recreational facilities, including two parks. The Austin Memorial Library Center offers a wide range of services to the community, and a Little Theater and annual rodeo provide entertainment. Commercially, Cleveland has been a shipping point for timber, lumber, and lumber byproducts since the 1870s. Oil, gas, cattle, farm products, and sand and gravel are important to the town's economy. The general trend toward urbanization of the entire area is reflected by the fact that in 1965 Liberty County was added to the Houston Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Cleveland grew from 1,200 in 1930 to 5,977 in 1980. In the early 1980s an industrial park, new shopping centers, and new businesses were built to meet the growing demand. In 1990 the population was 7,124, and in 2000 it was 7,605.

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Hill and Sara McClanahan House

1923

In 1919, the Eagle Point Oil Company sold land which became the Louise Hardie Cleveland subdivision, a residential neighborhood north of the main commercial district of Cleveland. Hill and Sara Mcclanahan moved into this home in 1923. All three of their children were born in the front bedroom. Hill Mcclanahan operated a general store and grocery on Houston Street. In 1940 the Mcclanahans sold the house to W. H. Southward, who owned the property until 1967. The one-story, craftsman-style bungalow features a steeply pitched roof, tongue and groove siding and a prominent front porch with four unique support posts, each with a cypress trunk above a brick column. 				 Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2011

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Everything Near Cleveland

164 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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