Cleveland was first settled in 1884 by Samuel Nelson Alger and Henry Sr. These two men took up homesteading, and soon afterwards 25 families joined them. Firm roots began to take hold, and gradually with hard work and persistence, Cleveland began to grow. These families were typically pioneers. Cleveland was named after Grover Cleveland, President of the United States in the 1880s. The "old timers" claim that farms within the boundaries of Cleveland require less water than other farms in Emery County and had the most productive ground. Many of the founding fathers came to Cleveland because of good reports of plentiful grass and good homesteading. The reason that Cleveland was not settled sooner was the lack of a sufficient water source and supply. In 1890, a log school with plank benches was built but was outgrown by 1893 when a frame building was built. Later a two-story section was added. The adobe brick school was built in 1912. Harry B. Mortensen and C. Leslie Bennett were instrumental in getting sports, music, and speech programs started for school students. A new school was built in 1976 and remodeled in 1989. Cleveland's people loved social activities, and they had quite a few socials and parties. Departure of missionaries and servicemen were an exceptionally good reason for a get-together. In April 1910, Ernest E. Davis built a large opera house. Many dances and weddings were held there also. In April 1923, a silent movie picture machine was installed with a player piano for music. In 1928, a talking movie projector was installed. A roller skating rink was added in 1937. These buildings do not exist there today. It had a population of 294 in 1930.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 508 people, 164 households, and 139 families residing in the town. The population density was 568.2 people per square mile. There were 173 housing units at an average density of 193.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 97.24% White, 0.20% Native American, 0.20% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.59% of the population. There were 164 households, out of which 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.2% were married couplesliving together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.2% were non-families. 15.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.44. In the town, the population was spread out, with 33.9% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,500, and the median income for a family was $43,000. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $14,286 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,774. About 6.3% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
