Serving Texas in the areas surrounding Houston

Cleveland is a town of 8,400 in Liberty County. It is 45 miles northeast of Houston on I-69. In 1836 the Texas General Land Office started giving land grants in exchange for army service, opening the area for settlement. In 1878, Judge Charles Lander Cleveland deeded 63 acres of land to the Houston, East & West Texas Railway for just $1 with the request that the station bear his name. With the appearance of the Gulf, Colorado, and Sante Fe Railroad in 1900, Cleveland became a junction for these major railways. The lumber industry continued to grow, and sawmill towns proliferated. In 1939 Cleveland was incorporated. While most of the sawmills are gone now, Cleveland is still an important shipping point for lumber, lumber byproducts, sand, and gravel. Oil, gas, cattle, and farm products are also important to the town’s economy. Cleveland is in the midst of mixed pine and hardwood forests and surrounded by the East Fork and San Jacinto Rivers. Many Houstonians come to camp, hike, hunt, and fish in the forests, including the Sam Houston National Forest.