CUYAHOGA COUNTY ARCHIVES

CUYAHOGA COUNTY ARCHIVES

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The Cuyahoga County Archives, a department of the Board of County Commissioners, was organized in the summer of 1975. The offices and storage areas, research and study areas, and a reference library are located in the Robert Russell Rhodes House, a Victorian Italianate mansion built in 1874.

The Cuyahoga County Archives is primarily a repository for the historical records of Cuyahoga County and for current records needing temporary maintenance. The Archives encourages the use and scholarly research of all County records and makes staff assistance available, when needed, for that purpose. The department also provides for records management services for all Cuyahoga County offices and agencies. Other responsibilities of the department include the collection and maintenence of architectural records (in cooperation with the Western Reserve Historical Society); the planning, development, and supervision of historic preservation projects in County buildings and properties; special projects of several kinds which interpret and adapt research in historic preservation for the use of neighborhood and community redevelopment groups, and the administration of some internal operations of the County.

The Archives prepares historical exhibitions of all kinds for County and other facilities and prepares pamphlets for general distribution which deal with aspects of Cuyahoga County's history. It maintains a photographic archives and restores or reproduces (when necessary) aged and deteriorating nineteenth century maps and records of historic importance.

In cooperation with the Western Reserve Historical Society the County Archives assists in the operation and use of the Nelson Sanford House, which serves as the Ohio City Center of the Society. This structure, which adjoins the Rhodes House and was built in 1862, is another kind of Victorian Italianate house and has been restored for museum and exhibition purposes in Cleveland's near west side.

The Cuyahoga County Archives is open to the public, without charge, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The department will arrange, on request, special days or hours to be open to accomodate the public's needs. The address of the Archives is the Rhodes House, 2905 Franklin Boulevard, N.W., Cleveland, Ohio 44113; the telephone number is (216)623-7250.

The Cuyahoga County Archives holds these records of interest:

  • Board of County Commissioners Journals, 1810-1973
  • Tax Duplicates, 1819 to present (not inclusive) Common Pleas Journals, 1810-1943 (not inclusive), originals; microfilm in the office of the Clerk of Courts
  • Marriage license applications, 1831-1875, originals; microfilm in the Probate Court
  • Divorce case files, 1876-1882, Court of Common Pleas; also, Ohio Supreme Court records, 1811-1858, and Court of Common Pleas Special Docket files, 1876-1922
  • Naturalization records, 1818-1971, Court of Common Pleas; also, Probate Court naturalization records, 1852-1901
  • Death records, 1868-1908, originals, index; microfilm in the Probate Court List of Electors, 1893-1945, Board of Elections
  • Coroner's case files, 1833-1900 (not inclusive)
  • Township maps from 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1890
  • Atlases: Cuyahoga County, 1852, 1874, 1892; City of Cleveland, 1881 and 1898
  • County Building Commission Journals, including County Court House, Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, and certain other County buildings and bridges
  • Probate Court Estate case files, 1813-1913
  • Registration and Charters of Religious and Other Societies, 1845-1924 Journals of Cuyahoga County Justices of the Peace, circa 1829-1906 (not inclusive)
  • Road Records, 1802-1836
  • County Surveyor's Records, 1823-1893 State of Ohio List of Registered Motor Vehicles, 1908-1911 Collections of photographs, renderings, and architectural drawings of many public and private structures in Cuyahoga County

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About The Cuyahoga County Archives

A reference library is available for use by researchers and a reading area is provided for the convenience of persons using records in the County Archives. Trained personnel are always available to provide advice or assistance on any specific research problem. Researchers are asked to exercise great care and great caution in the use of County records, some of which are almost two hundred years of age, and are especially required to use pencil when making notes. Researchers are not allowed in the stack areas of the Archives; members of the archival staff will bring all requested records to the reading and study areas. Photocopying facilities and exhibition catalogs are available on a cost basis.

For the general health and safety of all persons using the Archives, smoking is not permitted in any section of the buildings.

THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY ARCHIVES
THE ROBERT RUSSELL RHODES HOUSE
2905 FRANKLIN BOULEVARD, N.W.
CLEVELAND, OHIO 44113

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