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From Cecil's Mailbag by the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board
Dear Straight Dope:
Being from Cleveland, I have often wondered what exactly is a
Cleve? A
type of mushroom? A small toad? A unique tree? I've walked
around downtown trying to find the answer and all I see is homeless
people, garbage
and prostitutes. Are these "Cleves"? Was there ever a mythical
"Land of
Cleves'"? Or was this something snatched from a Dr. Suess book?
--Clueless from Cleveland
SDSTAFF Terey and SDSTAFF Ian reply:
In 1796 Moses Cleaveland and a group of investors known as the
Connecticut Land Company laid the groundwork for a new town named
Cleaveland. Three years after most of the other founding investors
returned to Connecticut, Lorenzo Carter established the first
permanent settlement. The spelling of the city's name was
eventually changed to Cleveland.
The original Cleaveland is a town in England whose name goes back
at least a thousand years, maybe more. There is some dispute as to
the name's origin, but it's likely a reference to its geography,
either from "cliff land" for the surrounding terrain or "clay land"
for its muddy soil. There's a legend that the name derives from
the Latin name "Caluvium," said to be one of the Roman soldiers who
first conquered the area, and then decided to settle
there. Being named either for a pillager or a mud bog may be a
preferable to being named for garbage and hookers, but presumably
this was only done because "New Jersey" was already taken.
--SDSTAFF Terey and SDTSTAFF Ian
Straight Dope Science Advisory Board
Cecil's Mailbag is researched and written by members of the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board, Cecil's online auxiliary. Although the SDSAB does its best, these articles are edited by Ed Zotti, not Cecil, so accuracywise you'd better keep your fingers crossed.
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