"Ross & Lemen" Ad, 1837
The opening of the canal quickly turned Cleveland into one of the nation's largest transshipment areas. Farmers from the interior would send their crops (especially wheat) north to the city, while imported and manufactured goods arrived in Cleveland from the east and were then purchased by farmers and city dwellers alike. Around the time of the Civil War, however, Cleveland changed from having a mainly commercial economy and became itself a center of manufacturing and heavy industry. | Date: 1837 | Source: Library of Congress