Lakewood

Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area, and borders the city of Cleveland. The population was 52,131 at the 2010 United States Census, making it the third largest city in Cuyahoga County, behind Cleveland (396,815) and Parma (81,601).Lakewood, one of Cleveland's inner-ring suburbs, borders the city of Cleveland to the west. Lakewood's population density is the highest of any city in Ohio and is roughly comparable to that of Washington, DC.HistoryLakewood was incorporated as a village in 1889, and named for its lakefront location.Earliest DaysThe wilderness west of the Cuyahoga River was delayed being settled due to a treaty the federal government made with the Indians in 1785, whereby no white man was to settle on that land. Consequently, when Moses Cleaveland arrived in 1796, his activities were confined to the east side of the river. Subsequently, in Detroit, Michigan, on January 18, 1796, twenty-nine leaders of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and other tribes signed another treaty that provided for the lease of the lands west of the Cuyahoga River for 999 years for the sum of five shillings per acre.But it wasn’t until the treaty of July 4, 1805, that the lands actually opened and settlers permanently inhabited the territory. The treaty was approximately $5,000, which included the cost of rum, tobacco, and presents, as well as the fees for commissioners, agents, and contractors. This land in Ohio—an area now occupied by Lakewood, Rocky River, Fairview Park, and the section of Cleveland known as West Park—was purchased from the Connecticut Land Company by a syndicate of six men headed by Judson Canfield on April 4, 1807, for the sum of $26,084.