In the late 1820s Richard Cleveland moved his family to Cuba, where Horace's father served as Vice-Consul in Havana.

In 1841 Cleveland left Massachusetts to purchase a farm on the Delaware River in Burlington, New Jersey, where he became a scientific farmer.

"In a pamphlet accompanying his design Cleveland wrote, 'The tract of land selected for the Central Park comprises such an extensive area and such variety of surface as to afford opportunity for the construction of a work which shall surpass everything of its kind in the world ...'.

Cleveland, like Olmsted, prescribed broad lawns, undulating surfaces, clothed with the rich verdure, dotted here and there with graceful trees and bounded by projecting capes and islands of wood ...'" (Oxford).

He wrote, "without the least regard to topographical features, or the opportunities for tasteful effects which the natural position may afford."

With this goal in mind, Cleveland laid out lots and roads so as not to disturb "the favored haunts of deer and wild fowl" and stressing the preservation of native vegetation.

He knew this because he understood that the general populace saw outdoor city projects as a source of needless taxation for them, and that they did not believe that they could benefit from a public park in the same capacity as the wealthy.

The result of Cleveland's vision is the famous “Grand Rounds,” an interconnected series of parkways, and parks, centered on the Mississippi River.

In 2017, the City of St. Paul began a several year project to complete its Grand Rounds system.

Cleveland advised that the park commissioners purchase a lot no less than 50 acres (200,000 m2) in size, and that it should be situated many miles away from the heavily populated city districts.

Other major projects included: Cleveland's most important social movement could arguably be his contribution to the Minneapolis park systems.

In the words of Cleveland himself: “They [the wealthy elite] will have wealth enough to purchase all that money can buy, but all their wealth cannot purchase a lost opportunity, or restore natural features of grandeur and beauty, which would then possess priceless value…” In this way, Cleveland inspired future generations of landscape architects to think before tearing down the natural landscape.

Cleveland's designs in the mid-to-late 19th century shaped the future of all park systems for Minneapolis and St. Paul.