An Alternative History of Cleveland

Dive into Cleveland’s deep past and return with a new vision for how we should think about the region today.

The land we call ＂northeast Ohio＂ was originally forged through eons of glacial pressure, geologic shifts, and the relentless movement of the Cuyahoga River. Since the last Ice Age, however, it has also been transformed countless times by the many people who have called it home.

In An Alternative History of Cleveland, Jon Wlasiuk uncovers the mysteries, devastations, and human incursions that have shaped the region. Here, you’ll encounter the giant megafauna that roamed the area until their mysterious extinction, Indigenous civilizations who first shaped the land and harnessed its natural resources, industrial pioneers like John D. Rockefeller and Charles Brush who corralled electricity and crude oil in the service of capitalist progress, the environmental devastation that polluted the Cuyahoga and caused toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie, and the numerous Clevelanders today who want to reshape the city’s relationship with the natural environment. Though separated by thousands of years, these stories contain a common theme: the city of Cleveland remains bound to nature, despite our best efforts to liberate ourselves from its limits.

Part natural history, part archeological essay, and part a contemporary call to arms to reclaim and rewild Cleveland’s future, this unforgettable trek into the heart of ＂the Land＂ will change the way you see the city forever.

Jon Wlasiuk was born in the Black Swamp region of northwest Ohio and earned a PhD in environmental history from Case Western Reserve University. He has taught at colleges throughout the Great Lakes and lives in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood.

Elizabeth (Libby) Geboy was born and raised in Wisconsin, and now resides in Colorado. She holds a master’s degree in sustainable food systems and now works for the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board. Through illustration, she translates favorite subjects in the natural world, specifically food, flora, and fauna, in her artistic style.