Mentor a Microcosm of Cleveland
Description
This exhibit examines Mentor, Ohio from early America to the modern era.
Native Americans lived in the region prior to the settling of the Western Reserve. Early residents arrived in Mentor in 1797. These residents named the community after the character "Mentor" in Greek mythology keeping with the tradition of the Western Reserve.
Mentor grew rapidly due to the town's proximity to Lake Erie and the Ohio and Erie Canal. The railroad would soon pass through Mentor in the early 1850's. Mentor served as the home President of James A. Garfield and father of the Uncle Sam.
The City of Mentor itself was officially established in 1855. Many Mentor residents earned their living as florists or horticulturalists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Due to the beautiful rosebushes developed in the city in the 1930s, the city had earned the nickname, "Rose Capital of the Nation." Mentor developed also as tourist trade attracting businessmen that sought to escape from nearby Cleveland and other industrial areas.
Following World War II people settled into the suburbs such as Mentor; however still working in Cleveland. In the 2000 U.S. Census, Mentor was the most populated city in Lake County with over 50,000 people residing.
Credits
Jason Holy
Sections
Introduction
Introduction
Native Americans
Native Americans