The DAILY TRUE DEMOCRAT began as the True Democrat, a weekly published in OLMSTED FALLS, OH, in 1846. From its first daily issue of 12 Jan. 1847, however, it carried a Cleveland dateline.
DAN DEE PRETZEL & POTATO CHIP CO., was a family-run snack food business for over 70 years, and was a major brand throughout Ohio, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and New York. It began in 1913 when childhood friends Harry Albert Orr and Charles V. Pike started manufacturing and distributing pretzels by hand in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
DAVIS, HARRY LYMAN (25 Jan. 1878 - 21 May 1950), 4-term mayor of Cleveland (1916-20, 1933-35) and governor of Ohio (1921-23), was born in NEWBURGH to Evan and Barbara Jones Davis.
The DAVY MCKEE CORP., a multinational engineering corporation with a net worth of $50 million in 1978, began on 1 Nov. 1905, when metallurgical engineer ARTHUR G. MCKEE set up an iron and steel consulting firm in the ROCKEFELLER BLDG. at Superior and W. 6th St.
DEARING, ULYSSES S. (25 June 1903-24 June 1984) was the first African-American restauranteur to own a major restaurant in Cleveland and manage some of the City's most popular night clubs.
DEGRANDIS, PAUL J., JR. (12 Nov. 1929-3 June 1993), politician, businessman, and labor leader, helped develop UNIVERSITY CIRCLE as the representative of the former Ward 19 on CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL (1958-61).
DESTINATION CLEVELAND (previously the Convention and Visitor Bureau of Greater Cleveland), an independent organization responsible for the marketing and promotion of Greater Cleveland, was originally the Convention Board of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, formed in the early 1920s.
DEUBEL, STEFAN (26 Sept. 1914 - 25 Sept. 1997) provided food for mind and body as proprietor of a sausage shop and a newspaper in Cleveland's German-American community (see GERMANS). A native of Grossprobstdorf, Romania, he was the son of Stefan and Susanne Siewerth Deubel.
The DIAMOND SHAMROCK CORP. began as a Cleveland-based chemical company which, in 2003, was headquartered in Dallas under the name Maxus Energy Corp. The Diamond Alkali Corp., a forerunner of Diamond Shamrock, was incorporated in Delaware in 1929 as the successor to a company of the same name that was incorporated in West Virginia in 1910.
The DIEBOLT BREWING CO. was a small, family-run brewery of obscure history located on Pittsburgh Ave. at the corner of Jackson (E. 27th) St. It began in 1888 as Diebolt & Uehlin, a partnership of Anthony J. Diebolt and August Uehlin. A year later, Edward A. Ruble succeeded Uehlin, but from 1892 until it closed, the firm was known as the Diebolt Brewing Co. Anthony Diebolt was secretary and treasurer.
DILLARD DEPARTMENT STORES, INC. (formerly the HIGBEE CO.) has been a major area retailer operating department stores throughout northeastern Ohio since 1860. Hower & Higbee, a dry-goods and ready-to-wear clothing store, opened 10 Sept. 1860 at 237 Superior St. near W. 3rd St. A decade later, John Hower and Edwin C.
DOAN, NATHANIEL (1 June 1762-29 Nov. 1815), was a blacksmith and in charge of the cows, oxen, and horses of the 1797 second surveying expedition of the Connecticut Land Co. Doan, son of Seth and Mercy (Parker) Doan, was born in Middle Haddam, Conn., where, on 29 Nov. 1785, he married Sarah Adams (d. 4 Mar. 1853). Along with JAS.
DOCKSTADTER, NICHOLAS (4 Jan. 1802-9 Nov. 1871), pioneer, merchant, banker, and mayor of Cleveland from 1840-41, was born in Albany, N.Y., to Jacob and Angelica (Hanson) Dockstadter. Educated locally, he came to Cleveland in 1826 with 2 of his brothers, Richard and Butler. Once in Cleveland, Dockstadter embarked on an independent dealership in hats, caps, and furs, which he received in trade with local Indians.
DOLLAR BANK of Cleveland is a division of the Pittsburgh-based savings and loan Dollar Bank. Dollar Bank expanded into northeast Ohio after acquring Cleveland's CONTINENTAL FED. SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSN at the end of 1983.
DOVER VINEYARDS, INC., was established cooperatively in 1932 by a group of local winegrowers to produce wine made from the growers' grapes. At its height, Dover Vineyards ranked as one of the largest wineries in the state with a total storage capacity of 180,000 gallons. In addition to its winemaking business, Dover also served as a supplier for equipment and ingredients for making home beer and wine.
DOW, HERBERT H. (26 Feb. 1866-15 Oct. 1930), developer of Dow Chemical Co., was born in Belleville, Ontario. The son of Joseph H. and Sarah Bunneil Dow, he moved with his family to Cleveland, and graduated with a B.S. from Case School in 1888. His senior thesis, which he presented that summer at the Cleveland meeting of the American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, dealt with brines in Ohio.
DOWNTOWN is the central business district and principal employment center of Cleveland and has been an anomalous pocket of significant population growth in a city that has lost population for decades.
DRAVO WELLMAN CO. was a pioneer manufacturer of steel plant equipment with an international reputation for engineering some of the largest material-handling projects ever built. The firm started in 1896 as the Wellman-Seaver Engineering Co., founded by the inventor of the first open-hearth furnace in the U.S., Samuel T. Wellman, his brother, Chas. H. Wellman, and John W.
The DREHER PIANO CO. originated in 1853 when Baptiste Dreher (Sept. 1830-9 Apr. 1890) came to Cleveland and began to make melodeons. Dreher's grandfather, Meinard Dreher, was an organ builder in Illreichen near Ulm, Germany, and an acquaintance of Johann Sebastian Bach. By 1859, Baptiste Dreher had formed a partnership with Wm. J. Kinnard and had established a shop on Superior St.
DU SHATTAR, JOSEPH an early fur trader who established a trading post on the CUYAHOGA RIVER ca. 1790. According to Charles Whittlesey, the youthful Du Shattar worked for the North-West Fur Company along Lake Erie.
DUNBAR LIFE originated in 1936 as the Dunbar Mutual Insurance Society, named for Dayton, OH, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. MELCHISEDECH C. CLARKE, an examiner for the state insurance department, was sent to Cleveland in 1935 to look into the precarious business affairs of local fraternal insurance societies.
The DUNHAM TAVERN, one of Cleveland's oldest buildings and a representative Colonial farmhouse of pioneer days, is still standing in its original location at 6709 Euclid Ave. Believed to be the first building constructed on Euclid east of E. 55th St., the tavern was originally the home of Rufus and Jane Pratt Dunham, a young couple who came to Cleveland between 1819-23 from Mansfield, MA.
The EAGLE-EYED NEWS-CATCHER began its short career on 29 Apr. 1841. Published by Gage Mortimer Shipper and David L. Wood, it was seemingly inspired by Benjamin Day's successful New York Sun (1833) in every respect but price, going for $.03 instead of Day's revolutionary penny. Like the Sun, it was printed in a 3-column format on a small page, approx. 9" x 12".
EAST 4TH STREET, first known as Sheriff Street originally ran from EUCLID AVENUE down to Eagle Avenue and has been central to the local economy of Cleveland for over 150 years.
The EAST CLEVELAND RAILWAY CO. was established on 6 August 1860, when company president Harry Stevens broke ground at Euclid and Willson (E. 55th St.) avenues. By 3 Sept. 3.39 miles of single track had been laid from Willson through Prospect to Bank (W. 6th) St., and horsecars began carrying passengers on the iron-strapped wooden rails. Fare was 5 cents.
