Westlake (Ohio)
Cuyahoga County
39-83622
Westlake is a city on the western edge of the Cuyahoga County in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is located approximately 19 kilometers west of Cleveland and far from Lake Erie, is 15.9 square miles ( 41.2 km ²) in size and had (2010) 32,729 inhabitants, of which 92.9 % White. Originally and until 1940 it was known as Dover.
West Lake is part of the outer suburban belt of Cleveland, which arose only after the Second World War. The western edge of the city marked the transition from the closed building of the suburbs of Cleveland in rural embossed area. The city has a freeway connection to Cleveland, two golf courses, a shopping mall and a few plants of light industry, such as the Nordson Corporation.
In 2003, a branch of the Cleveland State University (CSU ) on their operation.
History
The area of West Lake goes back to the Dover Township, an area of approximately square shape with a side length of 5 miles ( 8.045 km ), the limited amount of Brook Park Road on the north by Lake Erie, on the west by the neighboring Lorain County and south had. On October 10, 1810, the first European settlers reached the Township. They cleared the originally fully wooded area and operated agriculture, including orchards and vineyards.
The construction of the Nickel Plate Road through the northern part of the township of Dover received 1881 rail connection to Cleveland. In the following years, numerous wealthy Cleveland built their summer residences along the lake shore. 1900 Dover counted 2233 inhabitants.
On July 20, 1901, the northern strip of land between the railway line and the lakeside as Bay Township (now Bay Village ) was founded. The boundary line ran along the Nickel Plate Road and marked to this day the northern city limits of West Lakes.
In 1908 also the southeastern part of the township founded as a North Olmsted. The boundary between runs since then in about halfway between the Center Ridge Road and Lorain Road. The remainder of the Township finally founded in 1911 as Dover Village. Dover Village was again renamed in 1940 in Westlake, to avoid confusion with Dover in Tuscarawas County.
While the split-off area between the lake shore and railway line was densely built in 1900 and the area south of it still remained dominated by agriculture for decades. Only after the Second World War, Westlake transformed from an agricultural settlement in a residential community. The population grew from (1950 ) 4912 on (1960 ) and 12,906 (1980 ) 19,483 to (2000) 31 719 inhabitants on. Had a major part in this development, the completion of Interstate 90 Chicago - Cleveland in 1976, in contrast to the railroad now led by West Lake and the journey time to Cleveland shortened to about 15 minutes.
In addition to Bay Village in the North and North Olmsted to the southeast other neighboring communities Rocky River in the northeast, Fairview Park to the east and Avon are in the West and North Ridgeville in the southwest.