Presenters:

John Grabowski, Editor of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

Joe Valencic, President, National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum

On July 22, 1796, Moses Cleaveland sailed from Lake Erie into the Cuyahoga River and founded a settlement that would bear his name. In the decades that followed others would come by water as migrants or immigrants to Cleveland. The community’s location on the lake at the mouth of the river was its raison’d etre, not only accessible to new arrivals, but a critical catalyst in its economic growth throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Crossings will examine the history of immigration and migration to Greater CLE and consider how geography and natural landscape shaped and continues to shape our growing diversity.

This event is co-sponsored by Ohio Humanities and National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum.

This event is free and open to the public. More info at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crossings-crooked-river-conversation-on-culture-and-immigration