About The Neighborhood
Jefferson and Bellaire-Puritas (the Jefferson-Puritas neighborhoods) are diverse, vibrant, and urban neighborhoods conveniently situated just 10 minutes from downtown Cleveland. They form the eastern half of the larger West Park neighborhood, an historical area on the far west side of Cleveland made up of 4 smaller sub-neighborhoods: Jefferson, Bellaire-Puritas, Kamm’s, and Riverside.
HISTORY
West Park was a village in Rockport Township in the 19th century before (briefly) becoming its own city boasting 8,500 residents in 1921. At this time, the City of Cleveland was the fifth largest City in the United States and continuing to grow, partially through annexation of the smaller surrounding cities like Newburgh, South Brooklyn, and Collinwood. The residents of West Park voted in favor of annexation to Cleveland in November of 1922, and it officially became the last independent city annexed by Cleveland on January 1, 1923.
Though West Park makes up the far west side of Cleveland, geography actually has nothing to do with how it got its name! The neighborhood’s name comes from an early settler of Rockport Township, John M. West, who often invited neighbors to join him and his family on their 600-acre farm and its manmade lake. Thus, “West’s Park,” or just West Park as we know it today, came to be. The home still stands today at 3684 W 138th St in the Jefferson neighborhood, and was designated as a Cleveland historical landmark in 2017.
TODAY
The tradition of John West’s hospitality continues to define West Park today. Immigrant communities built West Park and continue to build up the neighborhood. Originally settled by Irish, Hungarian, German, Slovenian and Italian immigrants, today West Park is home to descendants of those original settlers, as well as growing African American, Hispanic, and Arab Communities. Newcomers from around the world continue to settle in West Park including people from countries such as Nepal, Sudan, Congo, Syria, and Afghanistan. Members of these new communities make West Park one of Cleveland’s most diverse neighborhoods.
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Where are the Jefferson-Puritas Neighborhoods of West Park?
The Jefferson-Puritas neighborhoods lie in the eastern portion of the larger West Park neighborhood. The larger West Park neighborhood is a vibrant neighborhood on the far west side of Cleveland made up of 4 smaller neighborhoods, also known as Statistical Planning Areas, Jefferson, Bellaire-Puritas, Kamm’s, Riverside. The area traditionally known as West Park encompasses the area from West 117th Street on the east to Rocky River Reservation on the west and from north from the Lakewood/Cleveland border to the Cleveland/Brook Park border to the south. The Jefferson-Puritas West Park Community Development Corporation primarily serves the Jefferson and Bellaire-Puritas neighborhoods.