Cleveland University was a short-lived university in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was founded by Asa Mahan in 1851, the then-recently resigned president of Oberlin College located in nearby Oberlin, Ohio. It is notable for having been the first institution of higher education in the city of Cleveland, and for briefly being a "rival" institution to Oberlin College.HistoryAsa Mahan had served as the first president of Oberlin College, but was forced to resign his position in 1850 due to clashes with the faculty. Meanwhile, in Cleveland, prominent locals such as governor William Slade, Jr. along with Thyrza Pelton and John Giles Jennings bought up 275acre of land from local farmers with the intent of creating a new university; however, most of this land would later be sold off to raise funds for the school. Ahaz Merchant, Mayor Samuel Starkweather and Richard Hilliard were listed as trustees, and a street grid was laid out, which remains intact to this day. The streets were named similarly to those in Oberlin, and included a Professor Avenue and a College Avenue, though Mahan also named Literary Road, Jefferson Road and University Avenue. The first building was built on the corner of College and University, which remains intact today, and the president's house was built as well. There were plans that were never realized including a female seminary, an orphanarium, and an old folks' home. Like at Oberlin, Mahan intended the newly founded Cleveland University to be both coed and open to all races.
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