History About the Port

Playing a pivotal role through the years…

The city of Cleveland began shipping operations at the Port of Cleveland in 1825. During its first year of operation, the port recorded $38,000 in exports and imports of $196,000. Now the third largest port on the Great Lakes, the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority averages nearly $1 billion annually in imports and exports.

Timeline:

• 1796 – Moses Cleaveland establishes a new lakefront city at the Cuyahoga River.
• 1818 – First steamboat arrives in Cleveland.
• 1825 – The city of Cleveland begins maritime operations through its Department of Port Control. 
• 1837 – Fueled by the work on the Ohio and Erie Canal system, Cleveland’s population grows to more than 6,000 people -- 10 times its population in 1820.
• 1838 – 2,400 ships come through the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority with receipts and shipments valued at $20 million.
• 1840 – The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority joins Buffalo and Detroit as dominant Great Lakes ports. Food and other basic necessities make up the basic general cargo.
• 1842 – When the first shipment of iron ore arrives aboard the Columbia, the Port of Cleveland becomes a terminal for ore and steel, which would ultimately lead to its primary business.
• 1848 – A Lorain-built ship sails from the Port of Cleveland to San Francisco. The nine-month trip costs $200 per passenger and distinguished Cleveland as a national port.
• 1900 – Iron ore tonnage reaches into the millions. The city’s population grows to 400,000.
• 1930s – Service is established from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, connecting the Port of Cleveland to the United Kingdom, continental Europe and Scandinavia. Cleveland gains a reputation as a world port.
• 1950 – The city’s population peaks to one million residents, and port business is thriving.
• 1959 – The St. Lawrence Seaway opens and quickly becomes one of the world’s greatest commercial waterways. The seaway stretches 2,342 miles from the heart of North America to the Atlantic Ocean, making it possible for large overseas ships to reach Cleveland from the Atlantic Ocean.
• 1968 – The city and county create the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority to manage maritime operations.
• 1987 – Ohio Revised Code permits port authorities to issue taxable or tax-exempt revenue bonds for community development initiatives.
• 1993 – The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority penetrates the local financing arena when it creates the Development Finance Group to assist in the financing and construction oversight of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
• 2004 – Cleveland is one of the busiest Great Lakes cargo ports and annually handles 12 million to 16 million metric tons of international and interlake cargo. Since 1993, the Development Finance Group has assisted its partners in obtaining $600 million in financing for community projects totaling nearly $1 billion.