Editing Cleveland, Mississippi

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Cleveland, Mississippi
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| motto              = A Different Kind of Delta
| image_skyline      = ClevelandMSSign.jpg
| image_caption      = 
| image_map          = Bolivar_County_Mississippi_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Cleveland_Highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 250px
| map_caption        = Location of Cleveland, Mississippi
| pushpin_map        = USA
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the United States
<!-- Location -->
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Mississippi]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Mississippi|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Bolivar County, Mississippi|Bolivar]]
<!-- Government -->
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Billy Nowell ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]])
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
<!-- Area -->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_28.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 24, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 19.63
| area_land_km2      = 19.63
| area_water_km2     = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi   = 7.58
| area_land_sq_mi    = 7.58
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00
<!-- Population -->
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_total   = 11199
| population_footnotes = 
| population_density_sq_mi = 1478.03
| population_density_km2 = 570.63
<!-- General information -->
| timezone           = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset         = &minus;6
| timezone_DST       = CDT
| utc_offset_DST     = &minus;5
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft       = 135
| coordinates        = {{coord|33|44|32|N|90|44|30|W|region:US-MS_type:city|display=inline,title}} | postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]s
| postal_code        = 38732-38733
| area_code          = [[Area code 662|662]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS]] code
| blank_info         = {{FIPS|28|14260}}
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2404072<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2404072}}</ref>
| website            = [http://www.cityofclevelandms.com/ City Website]
}}

'''Cleveland''' is a city and one of two [[county seat]]s of [[Bolivar County, Mississippi]], United States, the other seat being [[Rosedale, Mississippi|Rosedale]]. 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 along [[U.S. Route 61#Mississippi|U.S. 61]]. [[Delta State University]] and [[The Grammy Museum Mississippi]], the first Grammy Museum outside of Los Angeles, are located here.

==History==
Named after President [[Grover Cleveland]], {{Citation needed|date=April 2023}} the town began formation in 1869 as people moved inland from the [[Mississippi River]]. The [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad|Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Railroad]] ran through the town and a portion of the railroad remains there today. Early records show the community was called '''Fontaine''' in 1884 and at some point '''Coleman's Station'''. Moses W. Coleman built the first home on the [[bayou]] in the area. In 1885, it was officially named '''Sims''' 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|date=April 2023}}

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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://courts.ms.gov/trialcourts/circuitcourt/circuitcourt.php | title=Circuit Courts - State of Mississippi Judiciary|website=Courts.md.gov|access-date=2024-02-24 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.biggestuscities.com/demographics/ms/bolivar-county | title=Bolivar County, Mississippi Demographics - Income, Housing, Race, Business |website=Biggestuscities.com|access-date=2024-02-24}}</ref>

The African-American influence in Cleveland's history is quite evident. Nearby Dockery Plantation is designated with a [[Mississippi 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://msbluestrail.org/ |access-date=2023-03-09 |website=The Mississippi Blues Trail |language=en-US}}</ref>

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 attract [[Baxter Laboratories]] and Mississippi Power & Light’s Delta Steam Electric Station just north of town. The population of Cleveland basically doubled over the following decade.<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://clevelandmschamber.com/community/welcome-guide/ | title=Welcome Guide &#124; Cleveland-Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce|website=Clevelandmschamber.com|access-date=2024-02-24}}</ref>

In 1967, Senators [[Robert F. Kennedy]] and [[Joseph S. Clark Jr.]] began Senate hearings to assess the effectiveness of the [[War on Poverty]] programs.  The first field hearings were held in [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], Mississippi, and the following day Kennedy and Clark set out to visit "pockets of poverty" in the [[Mississippi Delta]].  They arrived in Cleveland, along with [[Marian Wright Edelman|Marian Wright]] and [[Peter Edelman]], for [[Joseph S. Clark's and Robert F. Kennedy's tour of the Mississippi Delta|a tour]] conducted by [[Amzie 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.<ref>{{cite book | last = Schmitt | first = Edward R. | title = President of the Other America: Robert Kennedy and the Politics of Poverty | publisher = University of Massachusetts Press | year = 2011 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ClOAXj4OkRAC&pg=PP1 | pages = 178, 179| isbn = 9781558499041 }}</ref>

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 the [[Freedom Trail]].<ref name="auto"/>

==Geography==
===Climate===
{{climate chart
|Cleveland, Mississippi
|33|51|5.7
|36|56|5.4
|44|66|5.4
|52|75|6.0
|62|83|5.7
|70|90|5.1
|72|92|3.7
|72|93|3.5
|65|88|3.9
|53|77|4.9
|42|64|4.2
|36|54|5.8
|units = imperial
|float = right
|clear = both}}
Cleveland is located {{convert|19|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Rosedale, Mississippi|Rosedale]] and the [[Mississippi River]] along [[Mississippi Highway 8]]. [[U.S. Route 61 in Mississippi|U.S. Route 61]] (N-S) and route 8 (E-W) are the main highways serving Cleveland. Jones Bayou and the old [[Illinois Central Railroad]] pass through the city from south to north.<ref>''Mississippi Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, 4th ed., 2001, pp. 28-9 {{isbn|0-89933-346-X}}</ref><ref>''Cleveland, MS,'' 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1966 (1984 rev.)</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|7.58|sqmi|km2}}, all land.

{{Weather box | width=auto
|location = Cleveland, Mississippi
|single line = Y
|collapsed   = yes
|Jan record high F = 80
|Feb record high F = 88
|Mar record high F = 98
|Apr record high F = 95
|May record high F = 100
|Jun record high F = 106
|Jul record high F = 106
|Aug record high F = 110
|Sep record high F = 103
|Oct record high F = 100
|Nov record high F = 90
|Dec record high F = 82
|year record high F= 110
|Jan high F = 51.3
|Feb high F = 56.2
|Mar high F = 65.5
|Apr high F = 74.6
|May high F = 83.1
|Jun high F = 89.6
|Jul high F = 92.0
|Aug high F = 93.1
|Sep high F = 87.7
|Oct high F = 77.0
|Nov high F = 63.7
|Dec high F = 54.1
|year high F= 74.0
|Jan low F = 33.2
|Feb low F = 36.3
|Mar low F = 43.7
|Apr low F = 52.4
|May low F = 62.1
|Jun low F = 69.5
|Jul low F = 72.3
|Aug low F = 71.6
|Sep low F = 64.9
|Oct low F = 53.3
|Nov low F = 42.1
|Dec low F = 36.2
|year low F= 53.1
|Jan record low F = −6 
|Feb record low F = −6
|Mar record low F = 17
|Apr record low F = 27
|May record low F = 38
|Jun record low F = 46
|Jul record low F = 54
|Aug record low F = 51
|Sep record low F = 25
|Oct record low F = 25
|Nov record low F = 13
|Dec record low F = 3
|year record low F= −6
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 5.68
|Feb precipitation inch = 5.35
|Mar precipitation inch = 5.41
|Apr precipitation inch = 6.01
|May precipitation inch = 5.69
|Jun precipitation inch = 5.06
|Jul precipitation inch = 3.65
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.52
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.94
|Oct precipitation inch = 4.92
|Nov precipitation inch = 4.24
|Dec precipitation inch = 5.82
|year precipitation inch = 59.29
|Jan snow inch = 0.6
|Feb snow inch = 0.8
|Mar snow inch = 0.5
|Apr snow inch = 0
|May snow inch = 0
|Jun snow inch = 0
|Jul snow inch = 0
|Aug snow inch = 0
|Sep snow inch = 0
|Oct snow inch = 0
|Nov snow inch = 0
|Dec snow inch = 0
|year snow inch = 1.9
|source = NOAA<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals/#dataset=normals-monthly&timeframe=30&station=USC00221738|title = NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access|publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]|access-date = 2021-11-27}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1900= 479
|1910= 1001
|1920= 1674
|1930= 3240
|1940= 4189
|1950= 6747
|1960= 10172
|1970= 13327
|1980= 14524
|1990= 15384
|2000= 13841
|2010= 12334
|2020= 11199
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|author=United States Census Bureau|author-link=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2013}}</ref>
}}

[[File:Bologna Performing Arts Center.jpg|thumb|right|Bologna Performing Arts Center in Cleveland, Mississippi]]
[[File:Ellis Theater - Cleveland, MS.jpg|thumb|right|Ellis Theater in Cleveland]]

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Cleveland Racial Composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US2814260&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=2021-12-07|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-

|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]]
|5,519
|49.28%

|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]]
|4,887
|43.64%

|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|5
|0.04%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|188
|1.68%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|7
|0.02%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|316
|2.82%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|284
|2.54%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 11,199 people, 4,266 households, and 2,611 families residing in the city.

==Arts and culture==
[[File:ChrismanStreetHMississippiBluesTrailMarker.jpg|thumb|Chrisman Street Mississippi Blues Trail Marker]]

===Mississippi Blues Trail===
Four [[Mississippi Blues Trail]] markers are located in Cleveland.  The first marker recognizes Chrisman Street<!--NOTE: Google Maps calls it Chrisman Avenue-->, which once served as the center of African-American business and social life in Cleveland.  The second marker celebrates blues musician [[W. C. Handy]]. The third marker is located at the [[The Grammy Museum Mississippi|Grammy Museum Mississippi]]. The fourth marker recognizes [[C. L. Franklin|Rev. C.L. Franklin]], who preached at St. Peter's Rock M.B. Church here, influenced gospel, R&B and blues artists, and his daughters [[Aretha Franklin|Aretha]], [[Erma Franklin|Erma]] and [[Carolyn Franklin|Carolyn]] became noted soul singers after starting out singing in church.<ref>{{cite web | title = List of Blues Trail Markers | publisher = Mississippi Blues Commission | url = http://msbluestrail.org/blues_marker_list | access-date = 1 December 2013 | archive-date = December 31, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131231085719/http://msbluestrail.org/blues_marker_list | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Education==
===Colleges and universities===
* [[Delta State University]]

Bolivar County residents have residency for two community colleges: [[Coahoma Community College]] and [[Mississippi Delta Community College]].<ref>"[http://www.coahomacc.edu/admissions-financial-aid/admissions/general-admissions/student-residency/index Student Residency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804063903/http://www.coahomacc.edu/admissions-financial-aid/admissions/general-admissions/student-residency/index |date=August 4, 2017 }}." [[Coahoma Community College]]. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.</ref><ref>"[http://www.msdelta.edu/president Message from the President] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704205527/http://www.msdelta.edu/president |date=July 4, 2017 }}." [[Mississippi Delta Community College]]. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.</ref> Their main campuses respectively are in [[unincorporated area|unincorporated]] [[Coahoma County]] and [[Moorhead, Mississippi|Moorhead]] in [[Sunflower County]].

===Primary and secondary schools===
The City of Cleveland is served by the [[Cleveland School District]]. Schools within the Cleveland city limits include:
* [[Cleveland Central High School]] &ndash; Formed in mid-2017 by the consolidation of [[Cleveland High School (Cleveland, Mississippi)|Cleveland High School]] and [[East Side High School (Mississippi)|East Side High School]], occupying the former Cleveland High School and Margaret Green Junior High School.<ref name=HomepageJuly22017finalcons>[https://www.cleveland.k12.ms.us Home]. Cleveland School District. Retrieved on July 2, 2017.</ref>
*Cleveland Central Middle School &ndash; Formed in mid-2017 by the consolidation of D.M. Smith Middle School and Margaret Green Junior High School, located at the former East Side High School campus.<ref name=HomepageJuly22017finalcons/>
; Elementary schools
* Nailor Elementary School
* Cypress Parks Elementary School
* Pearman Elementary School
* Parks Elementary School
*D. M. Smith Elementary
<!--Cooper and Bell are in surrounding towns, so don't list them-->
Other:
* Alternative School
* Cleveland Voc Tech Complex

;Private schools
*K-12: [[Bayou Academy]]
*K-6: Presbyterian Day School

Previously [[Chinese in the Mississippi Delta|ethnic Chinese students]] were required to [[Educational segregation in the United States|attend separate schools]], something that persisted into the 1940s.<ref name="JamesEstrin">{{cite news|last1=Estrin|first1=James|title=Neither Black Nor White in the Mississippi Delta|work=The New York Times |date=March 13, 2018 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/lens/mississippi-delta-chinese-americans.html|access-date=26 April 2018|ref=2|quote=In the mid-1940s, there were separate classrooms for Chinese students in Cleveland, Miss.}}</ref> The Chinese Mission School educated them. This building was demolished in 2003.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Thornell, John G.|year=2008|url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-191350964/a-culture-in-decline-the-mississippi-delta-chinese|title=A Culture in Decline: The Mississippi Delta Chinese|journal=Southeast Review of Asian Studies|volume=30|pages=196–202}}</ref>

==Media==
===Newspapers===
* ''[[The Bolivar Bullet]]''
* ''[[The Bolivar Commercial]]'' (Defunct)
* ''[[The Cleveland News Leader]]'' (Defunct)
* ''The Cleveland Current'' (Defunct)

===Television===
* Channel 17, [[WXVT-LD]]

===FM radio===

* 88.1 [[WDSW-LP]]: (Cleveland, Delta State University)  [[Adult Album Alternative]]|[[Americana (music)]]|[[Blues]]
* 92.1 [[WKXY]]: Country
* 98.3 [[WBYB (FM)]]: Oldies
* 101.7 [[WZYQ]]: Adult R&B

==Infrastructure==
===Police services===
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clevelandmschamber.com/clevelandpolicedepartment.htm |title=Police Department |publisher=Cleveland, MS Chamber of Commerce |access-date=2007-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927125358/http://www.clevelandmschamber.com/clevelandpolicedepartment.htm |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Fire services===
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2024}}
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.

===Health care===
Bolivar Medical Center is a hospital in Cleveland with emergency services.

==Notable people==
*[[Bobby Bradford]] – jazz trumpeter, cornetist, bandleader, and composer
*[[Amzie Moore]] – Civil rights activist
*[[Walter Rhodes (musician)|Walter Rhodes]] –  blues accordionist and singer
*[[Bobbie L. Steele]] – 32nd president of Chicago's Cook County Board of Commissioners
*[[Larry Speakes]] – acting spokesman for the White House under President Ronald Reagan
*Professional baseball players:
** [[Dave Ferriss]]
** [[Josh Hancock]]
** [[Chet Morgan|Chet "Chick" Morgan]]
** [[Kevin Rogers (baseball)|Kevin Rogers]]
*Professional football players:
** [[Pat Coleman]]
** [[John Eubanks]]
** [[Ken Lucas (American football)|Ken Lucas]]
** [[Lou Rash]]
** [[Floyd Womack]]
* [[Johnny O'Bryant III]] – professional basketball player
* [[Margaret Wade (basketball)|Margaret Wade]] – Basketball Hall of Fame Coach, namesake of the Wade Trophy

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{portal|Mississippi}}

==Further reading==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071005093957/http://www.isjl.org/history/archive/ms/cleveland.htm History of Cleveland's Jewish community] (from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life)

==External links==
{{wikivoyage|Cleveland (Mississippi)}}
* [http://www.cityofclevelandms.com/ City of Cleveland]
* [http://www.clevelandmschamber.com/ Cleveland Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.visitclevelandms.com Cleveland-Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce/Tourism]

{{Cleveland, Mississippi}}
{{Bolivar County, Mississippi}}
{{Mississippi}}
{{Mississippi county seats}}
{{Grover Cleveland}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cleveland, Mississippi| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Cities in Bolivar County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:County seats in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1869]]
[[Category:Micropolitan areas of Mississippi]]
[[Category:Mississippi Blues Trail]]
[[Category:1869 establishments in Mississippi]]