Most people, when they think of Cleveland’s history, imagine bustling factories, dense immigrant communities, department stores, and pollution. All of these have undoubtedly shaped our region, but there is more to our story than industry. For over 100 years, our region has fought to preserve and restore natural landscapes, provide environmental education, and clean up our waterways. Explore this timeline and click through the links to learn more about some of Greater Cleveland’s conservation heroes of the past and present.
1917: William Stinchcomb
Let’s begin with the founding of Cleveland Metroparks in 1917. Our founder, William Stinchcomb, had a dream for the future of Cuyahoga County. Born in 1878 in Cleveland, he began a long career in public service in 1895 as a surveyor for the city engineer.
In 1902, Stinchcomb became chief engineer of the parks department. City parks at the time were beautiful but manicured spaces, more like public gardens than forests. Rugged trails and wild growth were not valued in the same ways they are today.
Because he was a key figure in the development of Cleveland, Stinchcomb understood that, without legislation, factories and the infrastructure that fueled them would continue to grow outward, gobbling up the land further. He recognized a real need for those still rural and natural spaces to be conserved.
In 1917, he led the way for the formation of the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District, the first county park system in Ohio, and even one of the first in the country. Stinchcomb served as the first Executive Director of the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District, originally a volunteer position without pay. He retired in 1957.
Rocky River Reservation was the first park, and eight more were to follow in the first decade – totaling almost 10,000 acres of land. The original intent of the park system still rings true today:
“To provide rural parks and open spaces for the people of the great city of Clevleand and its surrounding communities, as well as to conserve and preserve the valleys in the district, already beautified by nature…”
“The future Greater Cleveland shall not say that we of this generation failed in our duty if we preserve these lands now in their primitive grandeur, before the demands of industry invade them and destroy them for all time.”
1930s: A.B. Williams
Arthur Baldwin Williams was born in 1874 moved to Cleveland in 1905. Throughout his early career as a lawyer, Williams was drawn to the woods. He decided to follow his passions, and returned to college to study ecology at Case Western Reserve University. He earned his masters in 1932, and completed his Ph.D. in 1935.
During the course of his studies, Williams was hired by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to fill the role of naturalist. He was the first to hold the position, which also worked directly with the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District. Williams was a gifted teacher and passionate about the forests of the Greater Cleveland region, especially the beech-maple forests of North Chagrin Reservation.
In 1931, A.B. Williams oversaw the establishment of a Trailside Museum in North Chagrin Reservation, one of the first of its kind in the entire country. Similar museums were soon established in Rocky River and Brecksville Reservations as well. The goal was to “teach nature painlessly,” and inspire the people of northeast Ohio to appreciate their forests. He believed education could give natural spaces renewed meaning and help his fellow citizens see the beauty all around them.
What began as a one-man education operation has since grown into the current Outdoor Experiences Department at Cleveland Metroparks. Annually, this department reaches over 500,000 people in the community through programs at the nature centers and through outreach programs.
Other nature projects Williams undertook in Cleveland included: writing a weekly column for the Cleveland Press, hosting a radio show, publishing several natural history books (geology, trees, wildflowers), and directing the Sesquicentennial Moses Cleaveland Tree Project.
North Chagrin Trailside Museum, 1930s
1940s: Dr. Elberta Fleming
Elberta Fleming founded the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center as a space to spark children’s curiosity and harness the power of discovery to connect young people to the outdoors. In 1945, she started a “Junior Museum” at her own home in Bay Village, Ohio, that included animals, insects, and other specimens from nature.
As the work of the modest backyard museum expanded, Fleming was joined by volunteers from the community who shared her vision. They incorporated in the 1950s as one of the first nature museums for children in the country. By 1960, what had become known as the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center had raised funds to create a permanent home in Huntington Reservation, creating a perfect outdoor classroom, supplemented by indoor exhibits and wildlife programs.
Today, Lake Erie Nature & Science Center continues their mission to inspire the youth of the community to be environmental stewards through wildlife programs and outdoor education.
1960s: Carl Stokes
Carl Stokes served as the 51st mayor of the City of Cleveland, the first African American elected as mayor of a major city. Along with his brother, fellow politician Louis Stokes, Carl Stokes was raised by his mother in Cleveland’s first housing project, Outhwaite Homes.
As a mayor, Stokes had a progressive vision for the city. He opened city hall jobs to citizens regardless of race or gender and focused on funding programs that could revitalize Cleveland’s struggling neighborhoods. However, shortly after being elected to a second mayoral term, Stokes had an environmental issue to tackle as well.
When the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, Stokes refused to let it go unheeded. He hosted press conferences on the mucky banks of the river and toured journalists past industrial sites that were actively spewing waste into the water. His public shaming of polluters and industry led to national and global attention. Due to his activism, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District was formed in 1972 and the federal Clean Water Act of 1972 set down stronger guidelines for pollution control.
Carl Stokes was adamant that this new environmental consciousness should not stop at clean air and water. He also wanted to draw attention to issues of the “urban environment,” that included issues like safe housing, clean food, and access to green spaces. In this way, Stokes was very forward-thinking, advocating for a more inclusive way to think about environmentalism and sustainability that benefits the whole community.
Credit: City of Cleveland, John Mott (photographer)
1960s: Betty Klaric
Klaric was born in Yorkville, Ohio, near the Ohio River. Described by colleagues as “fearless,” she graduated in 1953 with a journalism degree from The Ohio State University. She was hired by The Cleveland Press in 1955 as a “copy boy,” but had risen through the ranks by 1961 to handle general news assignments, a rare position for a female journalist at the time.
In 1964, Betty Klaric convinced her editor at The Cleveland Press to give her one of the first full-time environmental beats on a daily newspaper. Shortly after, Klaric started an 8-year-long "Save Lake Erie Now" campaign that included articles, editorials, seminars for officials, and a coalition called Citizens for Clean Air and Water. She also organized a coalition of environmental organizations called Citizens for Clean Air and Water. This campaign would become one of the most successful media efforts on behalf of the environment.
Betty Klaric also reported on other environmental crises in the community. She wrote about a patch of rubble at E. 9th and Rockwell and helped turn it into Cleveland’s first mini-park. Her scathing and passionate reporting on the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire helped the blaze grab national and global attention, leading to federal clean air and water mandates.
Although popular with her readers, there was official pushback to Klaric’s journalistic crusade to save Cleveland’s waterways. Supporters of the polluters and unchecked industry called her reporting “emotional” in an attempt to discredit her knowledge of and activism towards the issues facing our environment.
Despite powerful opposition, Klaric’s reporting had a major impact on the trajectory of our city and our country’s commitment to environmental stewardship. She would be commended by President Richard Nixon and Ohio Governor James Rhodes. She won several state and national accolades, including from the Water Pollution Control Federation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Audubon Society, and the Ohio Newspaper Women’s Association.
Credit: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections.
Present Day:
There are many amazing organizations in Cleveland fighting for a more sustainable future for humans and wildlife. Here are just a few:
Join the Heroes!
You can be a conservation hero too! It can be as simple as knowing your lawmakers and letting them know you care about protecting healthy ecosystems. Find an organization doing work in the community and volunteer to help them complete their mission. Commit to reducing waste and helping clean our natural areas. Donate to a good cause or share your environmental passions with your friends and loved ones. How will you get involved?