Historic AA Locations in Cleveland
There Is Hope
October 31, 2022
Goal of the Twelve Steps
November 18, 2022
See Historical AA Sites in Cleveland
Get a glimpse into the beginnings of Cleveland AA by visiting one or all five locations listed below by taking the self-guided tour using this map.
Don't forget, you can always learn more about Cleveland AA by visiting the AA Archives. Also, be sure to visit the nearby Akron historic AA sites as well.
Grave of John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history.
In 1937, Rockefeller, Jr. placed $5,000 into the treasury of the Riverside Church to assist Dr. Bob and Bill during AA's early beginnings.
Later, in 1940, Rockefeller also hosted a dinner to help "get the word out on the world wires;" inquiries poured in and many people went to the bookstores to get the book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
The resting place for Senior and several other family members is located in Lake View Cemetery, one of the largest and most beautiful garden cemeteries in the United States.
Lake View Cemetery
12316 Euclid Ave
Cleveland, OH 44106
From the Mayfield Road entrance, turn left following the signs toward Wake Chapel. While traveling down a small hill you'll see a stone stairway on the right leading to a tall obelisk - STOP. That's the John D. Rockefeller grave site.
Section 10, Lot 49, Grave 38920
Without his family's and associate's help AA would almost certainly have died in its infancy.
Borton Group
Cleveland's oldest extant group - ever since 1968.
Clarence S. claimed this is the first group to call itself an AA group rather than a sect of the Oxford Group. Others disagree.
Established November 16, 1939, Cleveland's oldest extant group.
Private Residence2401 Roxboro Rd
Cleveland Heights, OH 44106
Current Location
Forest Hills Presbyterian Church3031 Monticello Blvd
Cleveland Heights OH, 44118
Home of Clarence S.
Clarence started the first A.A. group in Cleveland in 1939.
Clarence started the Cleveland meeting, in part because some Roman Catholic priests in Cleveland were refusing to let Catholics attend the Oxford Group meeting in Akron.
Some say this was the first group to use the name Alcoholics Anonymous. Nell Wing, Bill W.’s long-time secretary, said that Bill had been using the name since 1938 in letters and a pamphlet, but on this slender basis, Clarence forever claimed to have founded A.A.
Home of Albert "Abby" G.
"He Thought He Could Drink Like a Gentleman" (p. 210 in the 2nd and 3rd editions of the Big Book.)
Abby’s sobriety date was April 1939 and Clarence S. was his sponsor.
Abby was a patent lawyer. Bill W. gave him credit for starting the principle of rotation of jobs in A.A. He had also been chairman of the central committee in Cleveland (the first in the nation).
Private Residence2345 Stillman Rd
Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
Home of Ruth Hock's Father-in-Law
First Secretary of Alcoholics Anonymous
Ruth typed the dictations and hand-written pages Bill gave to her which later formed the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Hank P. (AA #2) fell in love with Ruth and wanted to marry her. Complicated by his existing marriage, Ruth rejected him, married Philip C. in 1942 and moved to this home in Shaker Heights for a few years before settling in Marietta, Ohio.
Private Residence14206 S Park Blvd
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
Staff
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the AA Cleveland District Office.
