The city is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of the Pennsylvania border. It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and became a manufacturing center owing to its location on the lake shore, as well as being connected to numerous canals and railroad lines. Cleveland’s economy has diversified sectors that include manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedical.
The city’s prime geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes has played an important role in its development as a commercial center. Cleveland serves as a destination point for iron ore shipped from Minnesota, along with coal transported by rail. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in Cleveland, and moved its headquarters to New York City in 1885.
Cleveland emerged in the early 20th Century as an important American manufacturing center, which included automotive companies such as Peerless, People’s, Jordan, Chandler, and Winton, maker of the first car driven across the U.S.
