City of Cleveland

The man who deeded the land had already left Liberty. Charles Lander Cleveland, born in Kentucky in 1824, went to work at thirteen for the Texas Republican, took a master's degree at Rutersville College in 1842, and was admitted to the bar at Liberty in 1845 or 1846. The Handbook of Texas says he sat in the legislature, signed the ordinance of secession, and served as a district judge until 1866, when he was removed as an impediment to Reconstruction. He moved to Galveston in 1871, seven years before his railroad gift.

What the plaque says

City of Cleveland 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

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center — 25 mi
  A state archives and museum north of Liberty with an exhibit on Southeast Texas history and a campus of historic buildings, including an 1848 house and an 1898 church.

More markers nearby

• Burton B. Tarkington — 6.3 mi
• The Schools of Tarkington Prairie — 7.7 mi
• Town of Shepherd — 12 mi
• New Caney — 16 mi