The town of Cleveland began in 1878, when local attorney and politician Charles Lander Cleveland (1824-1892) deeded land to the Houston East and West Texas Railroad on the condition that it build a railway depot and establish a town bearing the name Cleveland. By 1879 the settlement had a sawmill, two boarding houses, and railroad interests, and homes, churches, and schools were established as the town continued to grow with an economy based on timber and railroad industries. The city was officially incorporated in 1935.