JEFFERSON is a southwest Cleveland neighborhood and Statistical Planning Area (SPA). It is bounded on the north by Berea and Triskett Rds., on the east by W. 117th and W. 140th Sts., on the south by Worthington and West Aves., and on the west by Triskett Rd. and the Regional Transit Authority (see GREATER CLEVELAND REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY) Red Line.
The area that became Jefferson initially was part of ROCKPORT TOWNSHIP (organized 1819) and remained a highly rural, thinly-populated region throughout most of the 1800s. Farms and greenhouse operations predominated. In 1900 the suburb of WEST PARK was carved out of Rockport Twp. West Park was annexed to the city of Cleveland in 1923 and divided into four separate neighborhoods: Jefferson, KAMM'S CORNERS, Riverside, and Puritas-Longmead. The latter’s name was changed to BELLAIRE-PURITAS in 2010.
Retail and residential development in Jefferson accelerated following annexation—rising from 1,430 in 1910 to 17,725 in 1930 and 18,455 in 1940. Since that time, the number of residents has remained more stable than in many Cleveland neighborhoods, likely due to the availability of affordable housing, proximity to CLEVELAND-HOPKINS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, and easy access to Interstates 71, 480 and 90. Perhaps most important, there are two Regional Transit Authority rail stops (Puritas and West Park) within the neighborhood’s boundaries and a third (Triskett) less than a quarter mile north.
With a population of just over 16,000, in 2020 Jefferson is approximately 58 percent white (Including a substantial IRISH community), 18 percent HISPANIC-LATINO, 18 percent AFRICAN-AMERICAN, and 3 percent Asian. It is also home to a significant number of immigrants, compromising over 14 percent of the population and arriving from the Middle East, Latin American, ROMANIA, and Southeast Asia.
Christopher Roy
Last updated: 1/11/2020