The Township of Euclid, was one of the first communities to be established in the Western Reserve. A contract between Superintendent Moses Cleveland and 41 employees of the Connecticut Land Company created the Euclid Survey Township. The men were members of a party sent to lay out and survey the estimated 3,000,000 acres of land purchased by the company the previous year for $1,200,000 from the State of Connecticut. Euclid, named after the Greek mathematician, was incorporated as a township in 1809. David Dille, a Virginia company lieutenant from the Revolutionary War, is credited as the founder of Euclid Township. He built a log cabin on the west bank of Euclid Creek. In those early years, the village was a farming community, subsisting on cash from crops of wheat and table grapes. The first industries were saltworks, sawmill, gristmill and ship building. William Coleman arrived in 1804. Coleman is credited with proving that fish taken from Lake Erie could be preserved with salt. Between 1809 and 1815, Euclid was larger and considered more promising than nearby Cleveland. However, completion of the Ohio Canal in 1827 assured Cleveland's future dominance. In 1850, the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad built tracks through Euclid. The village was incorporated in 1877. However, incorporation was rescinded a year later when residents reconsidered their action. It was again incorporated in 1903 and boundaries were changed. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, several companies were quarrying "bluestone" with great success. Euclid bluestone was used to build the "old" City Hall located on East 222nd Street. In 1876, Euclid native Charles Brush perfected the electric dynamo and invented the Arc Lamp. In 1879, Cleveland was the first city to have its Public Square illuminated by the Brush lights. Large cities in Europe, as well as the United States, soon were illuminated by the Arc Lamps. In 1931, with a population of 12,753, Euclid officially became a city and Charles Ely elected the first mayor. A decade later, World War II brought sudden growth to the community. An influx on new industry began replacing the farmland. Euclid's city planners assured orderly growth by segregating commercial and industrial land from residential neighborhoods, becoming pioneers of modern zoning concepts. In 1994, the population of Euclid was 54,875. Today Euclid is known for its superior municipal services, excellent educational opportunities and quality of life.
