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Mentor ( ) is the largest city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 47,450 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Mentor was first settled in 1797. In 1876, James A. Garfield purchased a home in Mentor, from which he conducted the first successful front porch campaign for the presidency; the house is now maintained as the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. The city is home to Headlands Beach State Park, the longest public swimming beach in Ohio. The city is a major center of retail stores and restaurants. Mentor Avenue ( US 20) is the city's commercial corridor, which includes Great Lakes Mall, and additional shopping is found along most major roads. Manufacturing in the city includes medical products, polymers, plastics, electric boards, and other peripherals that generally serve the computer and automation industries. Convenient Food Mart and medical equipment company
Steris Steris plc is an American-Irish-based medical equipment company specializing in sterilization (microbiology), sterilization and surgery, surgical products for the US healthcare system. Steris is operationally headquartered in Mentor, Ohio, Mentor, ...
are based in Mentor.
CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
and
Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
railroads both pass through the city.


Etymology

Mentor is named after the Greek figure
Mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
, in keeping with the
Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. Warren, Ohio was the Historic Capital in Trumbull County. T ...
settlers' tradition, as well as that of most other Americans at the time, of celebrating aspects of Greek classicism (nearby
Solon Solon (; ;  BC) was an Archaic Greece#Athens, archaic History of Athens, Athenian statesman, lawmaker, political philosopher, and poet. He is one of the Seven Sages of Greece and credited with laying the foundations for Athenian democracy. ...
,
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
,
Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...
, and
Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...
also were named using that principle). The pronunciation of the city's name is a
shibboleth A shibboleth ( ; ) is any custom or tradition—usually a choice of phrasing or single word—that distinguishes one group of people from another. Historically, shibboleths have been used as passwords, ways of self-identification, signals of l ...
, with many residents pronouncing it as "men-ner" and outsiders using the more conventional "men-tore", while in the media and among most residents, "men-ter" is prominent. The city's former slogan, "It's better in Mentor," reflects this fact.


History

Mentor was formally established in 1855 but founded in the late eighteenth century by Charles Parker who built the first settlement. This settlement was established before Ohio became the 17th state in the Union in 1803. It earned the nickname "Rose Capital of the Nation" due to the abundant
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
bushes that grew throughout the city. During the time this nickname developed, Mentor's tourist industry boomed due to Clevelanders trying to escape a dirty, industrial atmosphere. Post
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, most Mentor dwellers had cars and could efficiently drive to work. This caused an increase in middle and working-class families and by 2000, about 50,000 people lived in Mentor.


Flag

The "Official Flag of the City of Mentor" was designed by Brad Frost in 1988 for a contest by Mentor Headlands. The flag's appearance is similar to Ohio's flag in that they have similar shapes, a large blue triangle, and stripes. The blue triangle represents Ohio's hills while the stripes represent roads and waterways. There is a white circle, symbolizing Ohio, with a cardinal, the official bird of Ohio and Mentor, sitting in the middle. There are six stars surrounding the circle symbolizing the 6 original townships, including Mentor, surveyed in 1797.


Geography

Mentor is a suburb of
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
and is located on the south shore of
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
. The Mentor
Headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...
s area of Mentor, located in the northeast portion of the city, was settled in 1797 by
Connecticut Land Company The Connecticut Company or Connecticut Land Company (est. 1795) was a post-colonial land speculation company formed in the late eighteenth century to survey and encourage settlement in the eastern parts of the newly chartered Connecticut Western ...
surveyors. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


Climate

The average temperature in Mentor is 49.90 °F which is comparable to the Ohio average temperature of 50.88 °F but lower than the national average of 54.45 °F. The annual average for precipitation is 42.87 inches which is higher than the national and state average, Mentor averages 93.4 days with more than .1 inches of rain. This is higher than Ohio's average of 80 days. Mentor expects about 61.25 days with 1 or more inches of snow. The wind average is 18.61 mph and humidity is 75.82%.


Demographics


2020 census


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 47,159 people, 19,166 households, and 13,339 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 20,218 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.3%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.0%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.1% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population. There were 19,166 households, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.4% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age in the city was 44.8 years. 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.3% were from 25 to 44; 33.2% were from 45 to 64; and 16.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 50,278 people, 18,797 households, and 14,229 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 19,301 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.30%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.64%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.05% Native American, 1.19% Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.18% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population. 19.8% were of German, 15.1%
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, 13.1% Irish, 8.8% English, 6.5% Polish, 5.5% Slovene and 5.4% American ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 18,797 households, out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $57,230, and the median income for a family was $65,322. Males had a median income of $44,021 versus $31,025 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $24,592. About 1.8% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.


Government

Mentor has a council-manager system of government. The City Council consists of seven members, who are elected for four-year terms. Three members are elected by the city at-large, and four members are elected from wards. As of 2024, the members of the City Council are as follows:


Education


Mentor Public Schools

Mentor Exempted Village School District operates the public schools in the community. Mentor's school system consists of eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and Mentor High School. Like many school systems in Ohio, Mentor Schools suffered a financial crisis in the early 2000s, but passed a large levy and is now largely on solid footing. It is one of the fastest Ohio school systems ever to emerge from fiscal emergency. The financial difficulties were due in part to years of accounting fraud. Elementary schools: * Bellflower Elementary * Fairfax Elementary * Hopkins Elementary * Lake Elementary (in Mentor-on-the-Lake) * Orchard Hollow Elementary *Ridge Elementary (Formerly Ridge Middle School) * Sterling Morton Elementary Middle schools: * Memorial Middle School * Shore Middle School High school: * Mentor High School Special needs schools: * CARES (Formerly Headlands Elementary) *Re-Education Services Inc. (Formerly Reynolds Elementary)


Private schools

* Lake Catholic High School *Mentor Christian School (K–12) *Mentor Heritage Christian Academy (K–12) (closed in 2010) * Assumption Prep (K–8)


Parks and recreation

Many bike paths have been built in Mentor in recent years. The parks in the city include: * Bellflower Skatepark **Located at Bellflower Elementary School. During daylight hours, skateboarders can use the park's ¼ pipe, launch ramp and grind box. * Civic Center Park **Site of many festivals, day camps, and annual
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
Fireworks. Includes the Civic Center water park with an Olympic sized pool, waterslide, children's play area, and Civic Arena. There is also a skate park featuring two different areas, one for experienced and for non experienced skaters. *Commemorative Rose Garden **This garden was constructed in 1988 and commemorates Mentor's 25th year as a city. *Donald E Krueger Park **Features a pavilion, four soccer fields, and indoor or outdoor seating. *Edward R. Walsh Park **Formerly known as Bellflower park, it includes a playground, rentable pavilion, fishing pond, skatepark, fitness course, basketball courts, baseball and soccer fields. *Eleanor B Garfield Park **One of the largest parks including a Community Recreation Center, outdoor pool, All People's Playground, baseball and soccer fields, basketball and tennis courts, fishing pond, and wildlife area. * Headlands Beach State Park **The longest beach in the State of Ohio. *Mentor Beach Park **Scenic park overlooking Lake Erie with a playground, lake front pavilion, and soccer field. *Mentor Dog Park **Separated fenced in areas for large or small dogs with a dog water fountain and benches. *Mentor Lagoons Nature Preserve & Marina **Located on the shores of Lake Erie with multiple hiking and biking trails giving views to the Mentor Marsh, marina, shoreline, and rare dune plants. *Morton Community Park **Easily access to walking trails, wildlife, and scenery since it is next to the Mentor Marsh Nature Preserve. Additionally, it houses Morton Pool and Spray park, a pavilion, skatepark, and basketball courts. *Presidents Park **Neighborhood park with a pavilion, playground, basketball and tennis courts. *Tiefenbach Park **Provides ramps to skaters and bikers. *Veteran's Memorial **Designed and built by city employees and dedicated as a tribute to veterans in 2006. Features 5 flags representing the 5 divisions of the armed forces and 5 benches facing a brick wall to represent the circle of life. The opportunity to purchase a brick in memoriam of a fallen veteran and placed in the Memorial Walkway is available. *Veteran's Park **Mentor's first neighborhood park offers fishing piers, hiking trails, and wildlife viewing area. *Wildwood Cultural Center & Park ** Home to Mentor’s Oliver family manor built in 1908 and bought buy Mentor in 1980. Offers programs, used for weddings, business meetings, seminars, Parties and showers. The 34 acre estate offers hiking trails


Crime

In 2016, Mentor's rate of 1.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents was equal to the average (median) among Ohio cities. However, its rate of 22.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents was higher than the state median of 18.3 per 1,000 people. The property crime rate was high primarily due to the incidence of theft (larceny) in the city. In 2014, Garden Thieves Pictures released ''Mentor'', a documentary directed by Alix Lambert about a series of four student suicides beginning in 2010 at Mentor High School that have been attributed to bullying and harassment at the school. Lambert received ten violent threats after the release of the film's trailer. ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' wrote about the documentary, saying "This is a problem of not just one town, but of the entire culture of conformity. It’s much bigger than just one bad kid or bad teacher. In my films I'm interested in looking at the whole problem rather than the easy answers." ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' called Mentor High School "Suicide High."


Media

Primarily receiving the Cleveland-area
television market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
, Mentor residents (being so much further east of Cleveland) can also receive Youngstown-area television reception from WFMJ-TV with a good antenna. This allowed access to NBC programming pre-empted by
KYW-TV KYW-TV (channel 3), branded as CBS Philadelphia, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division alongside WPSG (channel 57 ...
from 1956 until 1965, when Cleveland's channel 3 was owned by
Westinghouse Broadcasting The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndi ...
, before the sale was undone and it returned to NBC ownership as
WKYC WKYC (channel 3) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. Its studios are located on Tom Beres Way (a section of Lakeside Avenue in Downtown Cleveland named after the station's lo ...
.


Transportation

Mentor is served by Laketran, which provides bus service throughout Lake County, as well as by Willoughby's Lake County Executive Airport, whose runways enter Mentor.
Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
, US Route 20, and State Route 2 all traverse the city.


Notable people

* Marc Andreyko, comic book writer * Barbara Armonas, Lithuanian political prisoner * Ken Babbs, author * Jim Bonfanti, musician * William W. Corning, politician * James A. Garfield, twentieth
president of the United States of America The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
* Bob Hallen, former NFL offensive lineman for the
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
* Bob Harris, writer * Joe Jurevicius, former NFL wide receiver for the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
* Matt Kata, former Major League Baseball infielder * Ben Kelly, former NFL cornerback for the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
* Dustin Kirby, former
MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...
defender for
Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...
* Dave Lucas, poet * Dan Ryczek, former NFL offensive lineman for the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
* Paul Ryczek, former NFL offensive lineman for the Atlanta Falcons * Michael Salinger, poet * Riley Ann Sawyers ("Baby Grace"), murder victim *
Katie Spotz Katie Spotz (born 1987) is an American adventurer who became the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, departing from Dakar, Senegal on January 3, 2010, and landing in Guyana on March 14, 2010. She was the first person to have sw ...
, endurance rower * Ricky Stanzi, former NFL quarterback for the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
*
Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American politician and retired college football coach who has served as the 67th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Tressel previously was the president ...
, former
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
football coach * Mitchell Trubisky, NFL quarterback for the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
* David Wilcox, singer/songwriter * Matt Wickline, Emmy-winning television writer, producer and director, and father of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' cast member Jane Wickline


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in Ohio Cities in Lake County, Ohio Ohio populated places on Lake Erie Populated places established in 1797 Cleveland metropolitan area