Cleland Heights, Delaware
Location
Cleland Heights is located to the north of Delaware Route 4 just southwest of the Wilmington city limit. It borders Canby Park Estates and Latimer Estates.
History
Though the current community was founded in the 1950s, Cleland Heights can trace its history to the 1870s. The land was originally named Cleland Estate, after Dawson W. Cleland, who owned the area in the 1860s and 1870s. It was made into a reservoir in 1874. The first community with the name "Cleland Heights" was established in c. 1920, after the Liberty Housing Company acquired the area, 47.25 acres, and renamed it "Cleland Heights" in 1918.
The current community was first built in 1952 with 47 brick houses priced at $11,000 each. Other homes built in the next few years ranged in price from $7,500 to $18,500. The community eventually consisted of over 450 homes.
In 1991, residents organized a "crime watch association", replacing the civic association, after several burglaries and other incidents occurred. Residents from the bordering Latimer Estates joined the group and The News Journal reported that the crime rate had dropped 90% within two years.
References
- ^ "Cleland Heights". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Delaware Department of Transportation (2008). Delaware Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Dover: Delaware Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
- ^ "Letters Granted". Every Evening. December 29, 1871 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "James N. Cleland has taken out letters of administration on the estate of Dawson W. Cleland, late of this city". Wilmington Daily Commercial. January 11, 1872 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mr. Febiger presented the report of the adjourned commission on the Cleland estate, to condemn land to be taken and used in the construction of the new reservoir. The report awards the sum of $9,100 as land damages and estimates the entire cost of the new reservoir at $350,000". Every Evening. March 20, 1874 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cleland Heights". The Evening Journal. June 4, 1920 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Big Building Project". The Morning News. July 8, 1918 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sample House, First of 47, Is Opened in Cleland Heights". Journal–Every Evening. June 21, 1952 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New Cleland Heights Homes Rapidly Nearing Completion". The Morning News. July 5, 1952 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Williams, Jeff (December 16, 1993). "Home To Generations". The News Journal – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gutierrez-Mier, John (September 7, 1993). "Cleland Heights putting community off limits to crime". The News Journal – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gutierrez-Mier, John (September 7, 1993). "Neighborhood: Residents organize". The News Journal – via Newspapers.com.