Books About Cleveland
The following is a list of books about Cleveland, Ohio and some of the various ethnic groups who settled in Cleveland. You may find some of these in your local library, and if not, you can try to order them via inter-library loan. We have also included website addresses for those books that are available for download or viewing. Where available, click the hyper link on the title of the book to be taken directly to the book.
Helpful Sites for Finding Books
Internet Archive here
Hathi Trust here
Cleveland Books
Akers, William J. Cleveland Schools in the Nineteenth Century. 1901.
Alburn, Wilfred H. & Miriam Russell. This Cleveland of Ours. 1933.
Armstrong, Foster. A Guide to Cleveland's Sacred Landmarks. 1992.
Avery, Elroy McKendree. A History of Cleveland and Its Environs. 1918. Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3.
Ayers, R. Wayne. Cleveland and the Western Reserve in Vintage Postcards. 2000.
Badal, James Jessen. In the Wake of the Butcher, Cleveland's Torso Murders. 2001.
Barrow, William C. The Euclid Heights Allotment. 1997.
Bellamy, John Stark. By the Neck Until Dead: A History of Hangings in Cuyahoga County. 2010.
Beers J.H. History of the Great Lakes. 1899.
Bluestone, Daniel. Cleveland - An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites. 1978.
Brooklyn Centre Historical Society. Reflections from Brooklyn Centre. 2004.
Burdick, Ronald and Baughman, Margaret. Historic Photos of Cleveland. 2007.
Bush, Chukayne, Hehr and Hershey. Euclid Beach Park - A Second Look. 1979.
Bush, Chukayne, Hehr and Hershey. Euclid Beach Park is Closed for the Season. 1977.
Butler, Margaret Manor. A Pictorial History of the Western Reserve 1796 to 1860.
Butler, Margaret Manor. Lakewood Story. 1949.
Campbell, Thomas and Higgins, Edward. The Birth of Modern Cleveland 1865-1932.
Chapin, Edmund. Cleveland: Village to Metropolis. 1964.
Cherry, P.P. The Western Reserve and Early Ohio. 1920.
Cigliano, Jan. Showplace of America, Cleveland's Euclid Avenue 1850-1910. 1991.
City of Cleveland. Official Report on the Centennial Celebration of the Founding of the City of Cleveland.
Clark, J.J. Cleveland City Guide. 1872.
Cleveland Centennial Commission. History of Charities in Cleveland 1796-1896.
Cleveland Centennial Woman's Department. Album of the Western Reserve. 1896.
Cleveland Restoration Society. Sacred Landmarks of Cleveland.
Cleveland Union Terminals Co. Cleveland Union Station. 1930.
Coates, William. A History of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland. 1924. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3.
Coates, William. Churches in Cleveland from the above book.
Coates, William. Industries in Cleveland from the above book.
Coates, William. Newspapers and Writers in Cleveland from the above book.
Coates, William. Parks in Cleveland from the above book.
Coates, William. Physicians, Surgeons, Medical Colleges and Hospitals from the above book.
Coates, William. Schools and Libraries in Cleveland from the above book.
Cole, Arthur. Historic Sites of Cleveland. 1942.
Condon, George. Cleveland - Prodigy of the Western Reserve. 1979.
Condon, George. Cleveland: The Best Kept Secret. 1967.
Condon, George. West of the Cuyahoga. 2006.
Condon, George. Yesterday's Cleveland. 1976.
Cormack, George. Memories of a Lifetime Vols. 1-3. (Cleveland Press Collection) 1999. Volume 1. Volume 2.
Dittrick, Howard. Pioneer Medicine in the Western Reserve. 1932.
Dyer, Albion Morris. First Ownership of Ohio Lands. 1911
East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society. Abstracts of Wills, Estates & Guardianships Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court 1811-1852.
Eddlemon, Sherida and Nelson, Patricia. Our Ancestors of Cuyahoga County. 2005.
Ellis, William Donohue. Early Settlers of Cleveland. 1976
Ellis, William Donohue. The Cuyahoga. 1966.
Ford, Horatio and Frary, Ihna. Village Green to City Center - Centennial of Euclid Avenue Congregational Church. 1943.
Foster, Leonard Gurley. The Early Days: A Pioneer Idyl. 1911.
Francis, David and Diane. Cleveland Amusement Park Memories. 2004.
French, Collins. Origin and History of the Cleveland Viaduct. 1878.
Freese, Andrew. Early History of the Cleveland Public Schools. 1876.
George, Milton. The Settlement of the Connecticut Reserve of Ohio, 1796-1850. 1950.
Gieck, Jack. A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era, 1825-1913. 1992.
Gleason, William. History of Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument. 1894.
Grabowski, John and Diane. Cleveland Then and Now. 2002.
Grabowski, John and VanTassel, David. Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. 1996.
Greater Cleveland Genealogical Society. Cuyahoga County 1852 Land Ownership Map Index. 1974.
Hall, Theodore. Sesquicentennial Story of Cleveland 1796-1946.
Herrick, Clay. Cleveland Landmarks. 1986.
Herrick, Clay. Cleveland's Rich Heritage. 1975.
Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of Ohio with Cuyahoga County History Vol. 1. 1847.
James Ford Rhodes High School. South Brooklyn. 1946.
Joblin, Maurice. Cleveland Past and Present. 1869.
Johanesson, E. Cleveland Architecture, 1876-1976. 1979.
Johnson, Crisfield. History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 1879.
Johnson, Crisfield. The Protestant Episcopal Churches in Cuyahoga County from History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 1879.
Johnson, Crisfield. The Methodist Churches in Cuyahoga County from History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 1879.
Johnson, Crisfield. The Presbyterian Churches in Cuyahoga County from History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 1879.
Johnson, Crisfield. The Baptist and Disciple Churches in Cuyahoga County from History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 1879.
Johnson, Crisfield. The Roman Catholic Churches in Cuyahoga County from History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 1879.
Johnson, Crisfield. The Congregational Churches in Cuyahoga County from History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 1879.
Johnson, Crisfield. The Evangelical Churches in Cuyahoga County from History of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. 1879.
Karberg, Richard and Toman, James. Euclid Avenue, Cleveland's Sophisticated Lady, 1920-1970. 2002.
Kennedy, James Harrison. A History of the City of Cleveland, Its Settlement, Rise and Progress (1796-1896). 1896.
Kennedy, James Harrison. A History of the City of Cleveland: Biographical Volume. 1897.
Kennedy, James Harrison. The Bench and Bar of Cleveland. 1889.
Knight, Thomas A. Picturesque South Brooklyn Village. 1903. (Many images from the book appear here
Lawrence, Ann and Schattinger, Joan. Cleveland's Flats - The Incredible City Under the Hill. 1979.
Lawrence, Ann and Schattinger, Joan. Cleveland's Flats on Tour - A Self Guide to the Riverfront. 1980's.
Liederbach, Robert J. Cleveland Past. 1975.
May Dugan Center. Whatever Happened to the Paper Rex Man? 1993.
McMichael, Stanley. Bridges of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. 1918.
Miggins, Edward M. A Guide to Studying Neighborhoods and Resources on Cleveland. 1984.
Miller, Carol Poh. Cleveland, A Concise History 1796-1990. 1997.
Morris, Jeffrey S. Haymarket to the Heights. 2014.
Morse, J.S. Cleveland City Guide. 1882.
Morton, Marian J. And Sin No More: Social Policy and Unwed Mothers in Cleveland. 1993.
Morton, Marian J. Women in Cleveland: An Illustrated History. 1995.
Orr, Charles. All About Cleveland - A City Cyclopedia - The Cleveland Cicerone. 1908.
Orth, Samuel. A History of Cleveland, Ohio. 1910. Volume 1. Volume 2. Volume 3.
Page, H.R. Cleveland Illustrated. 1889.
Payne, William. Cleveland Illustrated. 1876.
Peters, William E. Ohio Lands and Their Subdivisions. 1918
Post, Charles. The Cuyahoga: The Crooked River That Made a City Great. 1941.
Reese, John. A Guidebook for Tourists and Travelers over the Valley Railway from Cleveland to Canton. 1880.
Rice, Harvey. Incidents of Pioneer Life in the Early Settlement of the Connecticut Western Reserve. 1881.
Rice, Harvey. Pioneers of the Western Reserve. 1883.
Rice, Harvey. Pioneers of the Western Reserve, 2nd edition. 1888.
Robison, W. Scott. History of the City of Cleveland: Its Settlement, Rise and Progress. 1887.
Rose, William Ganson. Cleveland, The Making of a City. 1950.
Schofield, M.P. Landmark Architecture of Cleveland. 1976.
Spain, Daphne. Safe Havens for Cleveland's Virtuous Women 1868-1928. 2004.
Thwing, Charles. Cleveland, The Pleasant City.
Titus, Simmons & Titus. Atlas of Cuyahoga County. 1874.
Toman, James and Cook, Daniel. Cleveland's Towering Treasure - A Landmark Turns 75. 2005.
Upton, Harriett Taylor. History of the Western Reserve. 1910.
Urann, Clara A. Centennial History of Cleveland. 1896.
Wallen, James. Cleveland's Golden Story. 1920.
Western Reserve Historical Society. The Connecticut Land Company. 1916.
Western Reserve University. Street Names of Cleveland and Vicinity. 1927.
Wheeler, Robert. Pleasantly Situated on the West Side. 1980.
Whittlesey, Charles. Early History of Cleveland, Ohio. 1867.
Wickham, Gertrude van Renssaelaer. Memorial to the Pioneer Women of the Western Reserve Under the Auspices of the Executive Committee of the Woman's Department of the Cleveland Centennial Commission 1796-1840. 1896. Parts 1-4. The entire book can be seen at the link above. The individual parts below have their own link.
Wickham, Gertrude Van Rensselaer. The Pioneer Families of Cleveland 1796-1840, Under the Auspices of the Executive Committee of the Woman's Department of the Cleveland Centennial Commission. 1914. Volume 1. Volume 2.
Wilson, Ella Grant. Millionaires' Row: Famous Old Euclid Avenue (1932-1937). 1937.
Wood, Sash, Door & Paint Co. Cleveland Illustrated. 1900.
WPA Works Projects Administration. Annals of Cleveland, 1818-1935. 1937. (Can be found on Heritage Quest, as well as Hathi Trust and Internet Archive below.)
Hathi Trust - Most Annals are HERE
Internet Archive - Annals of Cleveland. Each year has its own link. Click the year.
1845. 1850. 1851. 1852. 1853. 1855.
WPA Works Projects Administration. Annals of Cleveland Court Series, Cuyahoga ounty Archive Survey.
WPA Works Projects Administration. Annals of Cleveland Court Series.
WPA Works Projects Administration. Annals of Cleveland Officeholder Series.
WPA Works Projects Administration. Index to Cleveland Periodicals, Authors, and Subjects. 1939.
WPA Works Projects Administration. Cleveland Plain Dealer Index. 1940.
WPA Works Projects Administration. The Peoples of Cleveland. 1942.
GREATER CLEVELAND BOOKS - ARCADIA PUBLISHING
A Brief History of Tremont: Cleveland's Neighborhood on a Hill
Abandoned Cleveland
Abandoned Northern Ohio
Abolitionists, Copperheads, and Colonizers in Hudson & the Western Reserve
Ashtabula
AsiaTown Cleveland
Avon
Avon Lake
Baldwin-Wallace College
Bay Village
Bedford and Bedford Township
Berea
Brecksville
Brewing in Cleveland
Broadview Heights
Brook Park
Brunswick
Buried Beneath Cleveland: Lost Cemeteries of Cuyahoga County
Case Western Reserve University
Chardon and Chardon Township
Christmas in Cleveland
Civil War Soldiers of Greater Cleveland
Cleveland and Its Streetcars
Cleveland and the Civil War
Cleveland and the Western Reserve in Vintage Postcards
Cleveland Area Disasters
Cleveland Area Golf
Cleveland Arena
Cleveland Beer
Cleveland Browns History
Cleveland Calamities
Cleveland Curiosities
Cleveland Czechs
Cleveland Heights
Cleveland Heights Congregations
Cleveland Heights: The Making of an Urban Suburb
Cleveland in the Gilded Age
Cleveland in World War I
Cleveland in World War II
Cleveland Mainline Railroads
Cleveland Metroparks
Cleveland Ohio from Black America Series
Cleveland Police
Cleveland School Gardens
Cleveland Slovaks
Cleveland’s Buckeye Neighborhood
Cleveland’s Department Stores
Cleveland’s Downtown Architecture
Cleveland’s Flats
Cleveland’s Gospel Music
Cleveland’s Greatest Fighters of All Time
Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery
Cleveland’s Legacy of Flight
Cleveland’s Lighthouses
Cleveland’s Little Italy
Cleveland's Millionaires' Row
Cleveland’s National Air Races
Cleveland’s Playhouse Square
Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Roots
Cleveland's Rock and Roll Venues
Cleveland’s Slavic Village
Cleveland’s University Circle
Cleveland’s Vanishing Sacred Architecture
Cleveland: 1796-1929
Cleveland: 1930-2000
Cuyahoga County: The First 200 Years
Cuyahoga Falls
Cuyahoga Valley
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Dover
East Cleveland
Erie Street Cemetery
Euclid Beach Park
Euclid Creek
Fairport Harbor
Fairview Park
Fenn College
Forest Hill
Geauga Lake
Ghostly Tales of Cleveland
Haunted Cleveland
Haunted Franklin Castle
Haunted Willoughby
Hidden History of Cleveland
Hidden History of Cleveland Sports
Hidden History of Northeast Ohio
Historic Movie Theaters of Downtown Cleveland
History of Cleveland's Playhouse Square
Hockey in Cleveland
Irish Cleveland
Jacobs Field
Lake Erie Boats and Ports in Vintage Postcards
Lake Erie Murder and Mayhem
Lakewood
Legendary Locals of Berea
Legendary Locals of Cleveland
Lost Cleveland
Lost Department Stores of Cleveland
Lost Ghost Stories of Cleveland
Lost Grand Hotels of Cleveland
Lost Restaurants of Downtown Cleveland
Lyndhurst
Misfortune on Cleveland's Millionaires' Row
Northfield Park
North Olmsted
North Ridgeville
North Royalton
Northfield Park
Ohio and Erie Canal
Old Brooklyn
Olmsted
Olmsted Falls
Orange Township: Between the River & the Wooded Hills
Parma
Railroad Depots of Northeast Ohio
Riverfront Stadium: Home of the Big Red Machine
Rockefeller's Cleveland
Rocky River, Ohio
Shaker Heights
Sheffield Village
Shocking Stories of the Cleveland Mob
Sisters of Notre Dame of Cleveland
Slovenians in Cleveland
South Euclid
Strongsville
The 1936-1937 Great Lakes Exposition
The Birth of Downtown Cleveland
The Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Grand Prix
The Cleveland Indians
The Overlook of Cleveland and Cleveland Heights
Westlake
Where Cleveland Played
Wicked Cleveland Ohio
Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio
Woodland Cemetery
TRANSPORTATION
Christiansen, H. Northern Ohio's Interurbans and Rapid Transit Railways. 1965.
Hays, Blaine. Cleveland's Dynamic Transit Heritage. 1986.
Toman, James. Cleveland's Transit Vehicles. 1996.
Toman, James. Cleveland Transit Throughout the Years. 1999.
Toman, James and Hays, B. Horse Trails to Regional Rails: The Story of Public Transit in Cleveland. Kent State University Press. 1996. The Cleveland Landmark Press Inc. published a lot of streetcar and transit books.
FICTIONAL BOOKS ABOUT CLEVELAND OR BASED ON CLEVELAND
Hay, John. The Bread-Winners. (based on Millionaire's Row). 1883.
Petkus, Peggy Murphy. Millionaire's Row. 1989.
Petkus, Peggy Murphy. Millionaire's Hill. 1991.
Petkus, Peggy Murphy. Millionaire's Children.
Richards, Emilie. Whiskey Island. 2000.
Young, Agatha. (aka Agnes Brooks Young). Light in the Sky. (based on Millionaire's Row).
To find more fictional books about Cleveland, search the Cuyahoga County Public Library catalog with the following search terms: "Cleveland (Ohio) Fiction." There are 100 fiction books about Cleveland. Some of the authors are listed below, but there were many others:
Lisa Black
Greg Cielec
Max Allan Collins
Casey Daniels
Raymond DeCapite
Christine Petrell Kallevig
Michael Koryta
Laurie Loveman
Richard Ondo
Les Roberts
Tavorris Robinson
David Stephens
EMIGRATION
Fox, Paul. The Poles in America. 1922.
Guillet, Edwin. The Great Migration. 1937.
Miller, Kenneth D. Peasant Pioneers. 1925.
Shippen, Katherine Binney. Passage to America. 1950.
Wittke, Carl. We Who Built America. 1963.
ETHNIC
Cadzow, John. Lithuanian Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland. 1978.
Callahan, Nelson and Hickey, William. Irish Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland. 1978.
Coulter, Charles. The Lithuanians of Cleveland. 1920.
Farham, Hannah and Lee, Sawyer. The Huguenots in France and America. 1843.
Ledbetter, Eleanore. The Czechs of Cleveland. 1919.
Ledbetter, Eleanore. The Jugoslavs of Cleveland. 1918.
Macron, Mary Haddad. Arab-Americans & Their Communities of Cleveland. 1979.
Pap, Michael. Ethnic Communities of Cleveland. 1973.
Papp, Susan. Hungarian Americans and the Communities of Cleveland. 1981.
Veronesi, Gene. Italian Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland. 1977.
GERMANS
Waechter und Anzeiger. Various Dates. A German Newspaper in Cleveland available at the Cleveland Public Library. The Jubilee Edition of the Waechter und Anzeiger was published August 9, 1902. This paper is at the Library of Congress website.
Gebben, Claire. The Last of the Blacksmiths, A Novel. 2014. A historical novel about German immigrants to Cleveland.
Ozment, Steven. A Mighty Fortress: A New History of the German People. 2004.
Western Reserve Historical Society. Cleveland and It's Germans. 1898.
Western Reserve Historical Society. Cleveland and It's Germans. 1907.
POLAND
Bak, Eugene. Life Journey - An Autobiography. 2002. He was born in Poland and his family was one of thousands sent by the Russians to Siberia. Later they were released and went to India/Pakistan where he grew up. His father was with the Polish army. Mr. Bak lives in Cleveland.
Coulter, Charles. The Poles of Cleveland. 1919.
Davies, Norman. God's Playground. Revised Edition of Volume II - 1795 to the present. 1982.
De Zayas, Alfred. A Terrible Revenge. 2006.
Grabowski, John J. Polish Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland. 1977.
Lukowski, Jerzy and Zawadzki, Hubert. A Concise History of Poland. 2001.
Lutz, Aloysius & Richard. Jadwiga's Crossing. 2006
Martin, James Conroyd. Push Not The River. 2000.
Martin, James Conroyd. Against A Crimson Sky. 2007.
Michener, James. Poland. 1984.
Reymont, Wladislaw. The Peasants 1925. (Four books with separate links: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.)
SIENKIEWICZ, HENRYK, A Trilogy:
Sienkiewicz, Henryk. With Fire and Sword. 1890.
Sienkiewicz, Henryk. The Deluge. 1895.
Sienkiewicz, Henryk. Fire in the Steppe aka Pan Michael. 1898.
Stauter-Halsted, Keely. The Nation in the Village: The Genesis of Peasant National Identity in Austrian Poland 1848-1914. 2001.
Thomas, Gordon and Witts, Max Morgan. Voyage of the Damned. 1974.
Tuchman, Barbara W. A Proud Tower. 1967
Zamoyski, Adam. The Polish Way. 1988.
PRUSSIA
Clark, Christopher. Iron Kingdom, The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947. 2006.
Donhoff, Marion Graf. Before the Storm: Memories of My Youth in Old Prussia. 1990.
Flaum, Stephen. A Story Never Shared: The Last Prussian. 2023.
Goertz, Adelbert. Genealogy Guide to Prussia. 2005.
Goertz, Adelbert. Genealogy Guide to East Prussia. 2005.
Goertz, Adelbert. Genealogy Guide to West Prussia. 2005.
Hagen, William W. Germans, Poles, and Jews. 1980.
Hagen, William W. Ordinary Prussians. 2002.
Koch, Hannsjoachim Wolfgang. A History of Prussia. 1978.
Raymond, A. Intimate Prussia. 1918.
Tims, Richard Wonser. Germanizing Prussian Poland. 1941.
SLOVAKS
Ledbetter, Eleanore. The Slovaks of Cleveland. 1918.
Megles, Susi. Slovak Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland. 1978.
UPDATED July 13, 2024