Mentor City Hall is located at 8500 Civic Center Boulevard, Mentor, OH 44060. Phone: 440‑255‑1100
Neighborhoods
Mentor [†] is a 28.4 square mile city located on the shore of Lake Erie in the central portion of Lake County. Mentor is considered part of the Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area (CSA) by the US Census Bureau.
The evolution of the Mentor we see today began in the early 18th century as part of the Western Reserve. The Western Reserve was a western colony of Connecticut which lay just west of Pennsylvania and east of present day Sandusky. The land was purchased by the Connecticut Land Company in 1795 and divided into tracts five mile square. The land that became Mentor was one of those square tracts. Land was sold in smaller parcels along an old Indian trail which was the main route for the early residents. This trail is now known as Mentor Avenue.
When local government was established, the Mentor area was originally part of Painesville Township. However, by 1895 the increased population warranted the creation of a separate township which was named Mentor Township. In 1840 Mentor Township became part of Lake County when the State of Ohio created the County from portions of Geauga and Trumbull Counties. In 1855 approximately 3,000 acres in the center of the Township was incorporated into Mentor Village. The Township and Village continued in essentially the same configuration until 1924 when the Village of Mentor-on-the-Lake was incorporated out of the northwest corner of the township.
During the mid-1800's, Mentor began to develop into a thriving community. Wealthy Clevelander's were establishing country homes throughout the area. In the 1850's the old Cleveland, Painesville, and Ashtabula Railroad, now Conrail, was built spurring economic development and making Mentor the home of shipping and insurance companies. In the late 1890's the interurban street car line was extended along Mentor Avenue which was known at the time as the Cleveland-Buffalo Road. The street cars allowed Mentorites to live in the "suburb" and hold a job in Painesville or Cleveland.
Mentor's proximity to Cleveland and the Lake Erie shore made it a focus for resort and recreation development. The first resort hotel, Little Mountain House, was established in 1831 and remained popular until the turn of the century. Beginning in the 1870's Mentor experienced the development of private beach clubs. Property was subdivided into small lots on which private cottages were built. Many of the existing subdivisions adjacent to the Lake were influenced by this pattern of development.
Development continued at a gradual rate throughout this entire period. The 1920's were marked by speculative subdividing, however, consuming only a small percentage of land. After the Second World War a primarily rural Mentor experienced substantial residential and commercial development. The completion of State Route 2 in 1962 provided further stimulus for development.
The rapid development in Mentor Township and Village during the 1940's and 50's created the impetus for more local control. In 1953 a combined Village and Rural Board of Education separated from county jurisdiction and established the Mentor Exempted Village School District. At the same time, the Mentor Village Council instituted a Council-Manager form of government. Work began toward consolidation of Mentor Township and Mentor Village. In 1962 the people of Mentor Township voted to annex to the Village. Mentor Village accepted annexation on November 19, 1962. The following year on December 18, 1963 the Township and Village officially joined to become the City of Mentor.
During the 1960's Mentor flourished. Extensive commercial development occurred along Mentor Avenue and the first phases of the Great Lakes Mall were constructed. Residential development continued particularly in areas where sanitary sewers were available. The Tyler Blvd. industrial corridor, which was established between the railroad tracks and State Route 2, began to blossom and continued through the 1990's. Industrial and manufacturing development migrated east along Tyler Boulevard, to Heisley Road, through the 1990's and 2000's. Commercial development continues today along Mentor Avenue and the Heisley Road, area in the extreme eastern portion on the corridor. In 1997, the City purchased, and now operates, the 380-acre Mentor Lagoons Marina&Preserve and acquired 14 acres to expand Garfield Park.
In 2003, the city celebrated the opening of the SR 615 (Center Street) / I-90 interchange. This provided direct freeway access to the 400 acre Newell Creek mixed use development in the northeast quadrant of the interchange. This development represents one of the few remaining large vacant and developing tracts of property within the City's border. In 2005, the City continued to preserve valuable greenspace with the acquisition of the Morton Salt Property and Blackbrook Golf Course. The 18-hole course is located on Lakeshore Blvd. in the northern section of the City,
† City of Mentor, OH, Comprehensive Plan, 2019, cityofmentor.comNearby Towns: Kirtland City • Kirtland Hills Village • Painesville City • Waite Hill Vlg •