Cleveland, Mississippi | |
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| Motto: A Different Kind of Delta | |
 Location of Cleveland, Mississippi | |
  Cleveland, Mississippi Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:33°44′32″N90°44′30″W / 33.74222°N 90.74167°W /33.74222; -90.74167 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Mississippi |
| County | Bolivar |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Billy Nowell (D) |
| Area | |
• Total | 7.58 sq mi (19.63 km2) |
| • Land | 7.58 sq mi (19.63 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 135 ft (41 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 11,199 |
| • Density | 1,478.03/sq mi (570.63/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 38732-38733 |
| Area code | 662 |
| FIPS code | 28-14260 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404072[2] |
| Website | City Website |
Cleveland is a city and one of twocounty seats ofBolivar County,Mississippi, United States, the other seat beingRosedale. The Cleveland population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States census.
Cleveland has a large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services alongU.S. 61. Cleveland is one of the two county seats of Bolivar County (the other beingRosedale). Cleveland is also home toDelta State University andThe Grammy Museum Mississippi, the first Grammy Museum outside of Los Angeles.
Named after PresidentGrover Cleveland,[citation needed] the town began formation in 1869 as people moved inland from theMississippi River. TheLouisville, New Orleans & Texas Railroad ran through the town and a portion of the railroad remains there today. Early records show the community was calledFontaine in 1884 and at some pointColeman's Station. Moses W. Coleman built the first home on thebayou in the area. In 1885, it was officially namedSims after Rueben T. Sims, who owned part of the land on which the town stood. The village of Cleveland was chartered on March 25, 1886, and the United States Post Office recognized the town as such on August 5, 1887. It was Sims's son, B.C. Sims, who was responsible for the name change to Cleveland.[citation needed]
The town grew steadily and by 1901 Cleveland was named the second county seat and a new courthouse was erected. Bolivar County is one of ten counties in Mississippi with two judicial districts.[3]
As more trees were cleared, more land was put into cultivation. In the early days, all of the planting and harvesting was done by hand. At the end of WWI, African Americans left Bolivar County in great numbers, but many stayed, becoming tenant farmers. There was an increasing demand for labor and Delta planters began to recruit overseas. Today, in addition to the first settlers of English, Scottish, German, Irish, and African descent, Bolivar County is its own “melting pot” of ethnicities.[4]
The African-American influence in Cleveland's history is quite evident. Nearby Dockery Plantation is designated with aMississippi Blues Trail marker declaring the location as the probable “Birthplace of the Blues.” Many of the early Delta Bluesmen lived and worked around Dockery, influencing each other and educating the next generation.[5]
In the early 1920s, as the State Legislature considered a location for a new Normal college, Cleveland became the obvious choice due to its central Delta location, the railroad, and the donation of land. However, perhaps the most important factor in the equation was the City leaders’ willingness to relocate the infamous Black Bear Saloon that was located between the depot and the soon-to-be Delta Normal College, now Delta State University. In the early 1950s city leaders were able to attractBaxter Laboratories and Mississippi Power & Light’s Delta Steam Electric Station just north of town. The population of Cleveland basically doubled over the following decade.[6]
In 1967, SenatorsRobert F. Kennedy andJoseph S. Clark Jr. began Senate hearings to assess the effectiveness of theWar on Poverty programs. The first field hearings were held inJackson, Mississippi, and the following day Kennedy and Clark set out to visit "pockets of poverty" in theMississippi Delta. They arrived in Cleveland, along withMarian Wright andPeter Edelman, fora tour conducted byAmzie Moore. There they observed barefoot, underfed African-American children in tattered clothing, with vacant expressions and distended bellies. Kennedy told Edelman that he thought he had seen the worst poverty in the nation in West Virginia, but it paled in comparison to the poverty he observed in Cleveland.[7]
Most recently, the City of Cleveland and Bolivar County, partnering with DSU, was able to see the realization of the Grammy Museum adjacent to Delta State’s campus. It is the most technologically advanced music museum in the world.
Cleveland is also home to the Railroad Heritage Museum, housing the largest O gauge model layout in the southeast, thousands of railroad artifacts, and a 1941 Illinois Central caboose, all paying tribute to Cleveland's railroad beginnings. The Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum is located on the third floor of the Delta State Archives & Museum. The Boo Ferriss Baseball Museum, located beside the DSU baseball stadium, honors the late Red Sox pitcher and Hall of Famer,Boo Ferriss, a Shaw, Miss. native and legendary coach at DSU. The Amzie Moore House is the actual home of the late Civil Rights leader, which has been preserved and converted into a museum, paying tribute to his efforts. The home has also been designated as a stop on theFreedom Trail.[6]
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Cleveland is located 19 mi (31 km) southeast ofRosedale and theMississippi River alongMississippi Highway 8.U.S. Route 61 (N-S) and route 8 (E-W) are the main highways serving Cleveland. Jones Bayou and the oldIllinois Central Railroad pass through the city from south to north.[8][9]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.58 square miles (19.6 km2), all land.
| Climate data for Cleveland, Mississippi | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 80 (27) | 88 (31) | 98 (37) | 95 (35) | 100 (38) | 106 (41) | 106 (41) | 110 (43) | 103 (39) | 100 (38) | 90 (32) | 82 (28) | 110 (43) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 51.3 (10.7) | 56.2 (13.4) | 65.5 (18.6) | 74.6 (23.7) | 83.1 (28.4) | 89.6 (32.0) | 92.0 (33.3) | 93.1 (33.9) | 87.7 (30.9) | 77.0 (25.0) | 63.7 (17.6) | 54.1 (12.3) | 74.0 (23.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 33.2 (0.7) | 36.3 (2.4) | 43.7 (6.5) | 52.4 (11.3) | 62.1 (16.7) | 69.5 (20.8) | 72.3 (22.4) | 71.6 (22.0) | 64.9 (18.3) | 53.3 (11.8) | 42.1 (5.6) | 36.2 (2.3) | 53.1 (11.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −6 (−21) | −6 (−21) | 17 (−8) | 27 (−3) | 38 (3) | 46 (8) | 54 (12) | 51 (11) | 25 (−4) | 25 (−4) | 13 (−11) | 3 (−16) | −6 (−21) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 5.68 (144) | 5.35 (136) | 5.41 (137) | 6.01 (153) | 5.69 (145) | 5.06 (129) | 3.65 (93) | 3.52 (89) | 3.94 (100) | 4.92 (125) | 4.24 (108) | 5.82 (148) | 59.29 (1,506) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.6 (1.5) | 0.8 (2.0) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1.9 (4.8) |
| Source: NOAA[10] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 479 | — | |
| 1910 | 1,001 | 109.0% | |
| 1920 | 1,674 | 67.2% | |
| 1930 | 3,240 | 93.5% | |
| 1940 | 4,189 | 29.3% | |
| 1950 | 6,747 | 61.1% | |
| 1960 | 10,172 | 50.8% | |
| 1970 | 13,327 | 31.0% | |
| 1980 | 14,524 | 9.0% | |
| 1990 | 15,384 | 5.9% | |
| 2000 | 13,841 | −10.0% | |
| 2010 | 12,334 | −10.9% | |
| 2020 | 11,199 | −9.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| Black or African American | 5,519 | 49.28% |
| White | 4,887 | 43.64% |
| Native American | 5 | 0.04% |
| Asian | 188 | 1.68% |
| Pacific Islander | 7 | 0.02% |
| Other/Mixed | 316 | 2.82% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 284 | 2.54% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 11,199 people, 4,266 households, and 2,611 families residing in the city.
FourMississippi Blues Trail markers are located in Cleveland. The first marker recognizes Chrisman Street, which once served as the center of African-American business and social life in Cleveland. The second marker celebrates blues musicianW. C. Handy. The third marker is located at theGrammy Museum Mississippi. The fourth marker recognizesRev. C.L. Franklin, who preached at St. Peter's Rock M.B. Church here, influenced gospel, R&B and blues artists, and his daughtersAretha,Erma andCarolyn became noted soul singers after starting out singing in church.[13]
Bolivar County residents have residency for two community colleges:Coahoma Community College andMississippi Delta Community College.[14][15] Their main campuses respectively are inunincorporatedCoahoma County andMoorhead inSunflower County.
The City of Cleveland is served by theCleveland School District. Schools within the Cleveland city limits include:
Other:
Previouslyethnic Chinese students were required toattend separate schools, something that persisted into the 1940s.[17] The Chinese Mission School educated them. This building was demolished in 2003.[18]
The city of Cleveland is served and protected by the Cleveland Police Department and is located on South Sharpe Avenue. Currently, 45 people are employed by the department. Of the 45, 39 are sworn police officers and six civilians serve in a support role. Sworn officers average out to one officer per 357 citizens.[19]
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The Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department is currently rated Class 4 by the State Rating Bureau and has three paid employees and 37 volunteer fire fighters. The paid employees include a Fire Inspector, Maintenance Engineer and Maintenance Assistant. All other positions are volunteer. The department operates from three separate fire stations, including a new station at the Cleveland Municipal Airport that opened in late 2011 and utilizes four front line pumpers, two rescue/utility vehicles, an aerial platform pumper, an airport/crash rescue truck, one Ford F-2500 with a bed mounted deluge gun, a Hazardous Materials Response Unit and one backup pumper for its daily operations. The department also operates a training facility that is home to a rope rescue tower, smoke house, ventilation simulator, confined space maze, drafting pit, and a Class A burn facility.
Bolivar Medical Center is a hospital in Cleveland with emergency services.
In the mid-1940s, there were separate classrooms for Chinese students in Cleveland, Miss.
Municipalities and communities ofBolivar County, Mississippi,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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