The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History was the brainchild of Dr.
David Van Tassel, a history professor at Case Western Reserve University and the creator of
National History Day. Van Tassel was approached by Homer Wadsworth, the director of
The Cleveland Foundation, to write a history of
Cleveland. Van Tassel decided that the project was best constructed as an encyclopedia rather than as a monograph. Wadsworth agreed and The Cleveland Foundation provided the seed money for the book in 1980. The next year, Dr. John J. Grabowski, also of Case Western Reserve University, joined the project as managing editor. The first edition of the book took seven years to produce. It was published in October 1987 by
Indiana University Press in association with Case Western Reserve University. The single-volume work totaled 1,128 pages and had more than 3,000 articles written by 250 contributors. It received positively, with reviews noting its ease of use and the "uniform voice" achieved across its entries. One review called it, "a monumental book in every sense. The first edition went through four printings in one year. Because of the book's success, Van Tassel was able to receive grants allowing for the additional publication of illustrated volumes covering topics of special interest such as fine arts and women. As the first modern study of an American city to be published in encyclopedia format, the
Encyclopedia also served as a model for similar public history projects published by other cities, such as Philadelphia. During the period from 1980 to 1996, Van Tassel raised $1.2 million for the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. This money went to paying publishing costs, encyclopedia staff, and writers, which included both university faculty (including members of Case Western Reserve University as well as other schools in northeast Ohio, like
Cleveland State University,
John Carroll University, and
Oberlin College) and community members, who also helped determine the book's content. In 1996, an updated version of the
Encyclopedia was published to mark Cleveland's bicentennial. It was published by Case Western Reserve University in conjunction with the Western Reserve Historical Society as was a second, companion volume:
The Dictionary of Cleveland Biography. As such, the second edition of the
Encyclopedia only contained 2,000 entries while the
Dictionary consisted of over 1,600 biographical sketches. Both volumes were distributed by Indiana University Press. By 2001, the two print editions of
The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History had sold 24,000 copies. == Digital history ==