Mentor has changed a lot since it was originally settled in 1797. Did you know that…
Mentor’s first settler, Charles Parker, was a member of Moses Cleaveland’s survey team. He built his cabin on the edge of the Mentor marsh in 1797 near what is today the intersection of Hopkins Rd. & Lakeshore Blvd.
The Salvation Army established a farm colony on the SE corner of Reynolds Rd. & Hodgson Rd. for impoverished families in 1898. The colony lasted for about a decade and then became a summer camp for disadvantaged youth until the 1960s.
In addition to its current use as a medical building, the property on the NE corner of Mentor Ave. & Center St. has been redeveloped several times since the early 1800s. A drug store, a mill, a library, a post office, and a inn & tavern twice stood at that location.
The original library building was moved from that corner in 1960 to the corner of Center St. & Nowlen St. and is now home to a confectionary shop.
The Matchworks Building on Station St. was originally built in 1868 for the the short-lived Hart Bolt & Nut Company. Soon after, the Mentor Knitting Mills would take its place followed by the Lake Shore Chemical Co., the Columbia Match Company, and other concerns. Today it is home to nearly 30 small businesses.
The original Mentor cemetery was located on the northwest corner of Mentor Ave. & Center St. The graves were relocated in 1854 to make way for a school.
The Great Lakes Mall opened for business in 1961. It was the first mall built by the Debartolo family and the largest in the nation at the time.
The Mentor Lagoons Marina & Nature Preserve property has had a number of near-potential uses including a steelyard, a shipping dock, a housing development, a boatel, and a harness racing track.
Learn more about the history of Mentor.