Cleveland, a city rich in history and culture, is full of fascinating tales that have shaped not only the region but the nation, as well. Did you know that the legendary aviator Amelia Earhart was once active in Cleveland? The city also boasts a connection to John D. Rockefeller's abolitionist background and the United States' free mail delivery system. It's no wonder we love to wear our pride for Cleveland on our sleeve, because these facts about Cleveland history prove just how special our region is.

1. Amelia Earhart once flew here.

Amelia Earhart, an enduring American legend and mystery, once again made headlines in 2024 when one company claimed to have found her long-last plane at the bottom of the ocean. Whether or not that's true remains to be seen, but we do know for a fact that Ms. Earhart flew for the last time in 1937. Just one decade earlier, she was spotted at the Cleveland Airport in this photo. This, however, was one of many visits to Cleveland for the iconic pilot. She was a regular sight at the Powder Puff Races, which landed here in The Land, and a frequent guest at the Hotel Westlake in Rocky River.

2. Sweetest Day got its start here.

Growing up in Cleveland, it's almost shocking when you first discover that Sweetest Day is a local holiday that's not celebrated everywhere. In fact, it's not celebrated in most places. Sweetest Day was first documented in 1921, when local confectioners decided to give back. That year, over 20,000 boxes of candy were distributed to down-on-their-luck locals, including poor folks and orphans. Some of the biggest names in Hollywood stopped in town to help hand out the goodies. American Greetings, a Cleveland-based brand, naturally kept the holiday going. Over 100 years later, Clevelanders still take the time to dig into something sweet on Sweetest Day.

3. The Cleveland Orchestra was founded by the granddaughter of one of Cleveland's original surveyors.

In 1796, Moses Cleaveland and a team of surveyors set out to map new communities around what we now know as Cleveland. One of the surveyors was a man named Moses Warren, and Warren and Warrensville Heights still bear his name. Unlike Cleaveland, Warren put down roots here. His granddaughter, Adella Prentiss Hughes, was born in 1869, and she found a natural talent with the piano. During Hughes' professional career, orchestras came and went in Cleveland. Most failed, unfortunately, due to a lack of funding. However, in the midst of World War I and influenza outbreaks, Hughes and her affluential circle of musicians decided to form something special in Cleveland. In 1918, she finally founded a lasting orchestra in Cleveland. Today, it performs in Severance Hall, which is surprisingly also intertwined with her family's history. While Moses Warren was a paternal grandparent, her maternal grandparents first befriended the Severance family.

4. The Rockefellers had secret abolitionist roots.

The Rockefeller influence is all over Cleveland to this very day, from the stunning stretches of Rockefeller Park to the surprisingly luxurious Cleveland Heights. What you may not know about Rockefeller, however, is that he was an abolitionist. How much of this is due to his wife, Laura Spelman Rockefeller, is hard to say, but this hurricane in heels loved to fight for what she believed was right. Laura was born in Wadsworth, Ohio, where her father was active on the Underground Railroad. The family eventually relocated to Cleveland, where she met and fell in love with a young John D. Rockefeller. After they married, she began focusing her time on philanthropy, most notably donating to Spelman College, a facility in Atlanta dedicated to educating Black women. Throughout her life, Laura focused on empowering women and fighting for equality. Rockefeller famously said of his wife, "Her judgment was always better than mine. Without her keen advice, I would be a poor man."

5. Greater Cleveland was once home to some BIG celebrities.

If you ever find yourself in Seville, Ohio, you just might hear stories of local giants. These, of course, aren't Jack and the Bean Stalk type giants, but real-life people with gigantism. Martin Van Buren Bates was a Kentucky man whose growth rate skyrocketed around six or seven years old, ultimately bringing him to a height of 7 ft. 9 in. Anna Haining Bates, née Swan, was a Canadian-born woman who towered over her husband at 7 ft. 11 in. Unlike Martin, Anna grew enormously from birth, at which point she weighed 16 lbs.

Remember that story of the giant who nearly burned to death when P. T. Barnum's NYC museum caught on fire? Yeah, that was Anna. When Martin was touring with William Washington Cole's circus (he was one of the owners of the Barnum & Bailey Circus back in the day), the couple met and fell in love. They were famously kind people, and they befriended Queen Victoria, who gave them wedding gifts including an engraved watch and a diamond ring. When the pair decided to retire from the public eye (for the most part... a bit hard to keep a low-profile at that height), they settled in Seville, Ohio.

6. A Raisin in the Sun star Ruby Dee was born here.

Langston Hughes wasn't the only artist of Harlem fame to come from Cleveland! Ruby Dee, born in 1922, made her Broadway debut in 1943. In addition to a roster of TV and movie roles that's longer than a CVS receipt, Ruby Dee was an active figure in the Civil Rights Movement. She was one of the emcees at the March on Washington and a personal friend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Though she passed in 2014, she was active as an actress up until close to the end. Her final credit was in 2013, when she served as the narrator for Betty & Coretta.

7. The "first lady of nightly news" made history in Cleveland.

Once upon a time, women weren't newscasters. That changed when Dorothy Fuldheim stepped on the scene in 1929, at which time she made her radio debut in Cleveland. This fearless commentator didn't back down from hot issues of the day, and her international travels brought her face-to-face with some infamous figures, including Adolph Hitler. While she started as the first female news analyst in network radio, by 1947, she was ready to bring her rising star to television. In 1959, she became the first woman to have her own newscast. Perhaps most famously, she referred to the Kent State shootings as murders, which caused some locals to call for her resignation. She trooped on, of course, until her health forced her to retire in 1984. Up until that point, the 91-year-old Cleveland icon was still working. She finally passed in 1989, but her legacy paved the way for Cleveland to make nightly news history.

8. Mail delivery first became free in Cleveland.

Sick of junk mail? You have Clevelander Joseph W. Briggs to thank for that. While his initiative to make mail delivery in Cleveland free took off in 1863 (and, arguably, is why so much of the city's history is now preserved in postcards like the one pictured above), it also caught the attention of Congress. They decided to implement free mail delivery across the nation, ultimately appointing Briggs as the national superintendent. Briggs, in his position of power, also apparently dabbled in fashion, as he introduced the first mail carrier uniform. Today, he's buried in Woodland Cemetery and is immortalized with a plaque in the Cleveland Federal Building.

These eight facts about Cleveland history are almost unbelievable, but they've shaped local and national culture in some big ways. Which of these facts most surprised you? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Love local history? The Fort Hill Trail has stunning ancient earthworks that dazzle visitors to this day.