The City of Mentor lies within part of the original Conneticut Western Reserve Territory. In 1796, John Milton Holley surveyed Mentor Township. One year later, Charles Parker built a log cabin and the Mentor Marsh area became the first settlement in Lake County. In 1997, Mentor celebrated its 200th anniversary of this first settlement.

The Township of Mentor was formed in 1815. Families were settled in four areas: Mentor Marsh, Mentor Avenue (near Painesville Township), at Jackson Street and Hopkins Road, and Mentor Avenue between Jackson Street and Center Street.

In 1855, the people of Mentor Center incorporated as Mentor Village, occupying 3,000 acres in the middle of the Township.

By the end of the 1800's, Lake County was a thriving nursery center and was known as the Nursery Capital of the Nation. Because rose growing was so significant in Mentor and because the first patented rose, "Blaze," was developed here, Mentor came to be known as the Rose Capital of the Nation.

Mentor Township and Mentor Village consolidated to become a City on December 18, 1963. If you're interested in learning more about Mentor, read Mentor - The First 200 Years. The first comprehensive history to be written about Mentor, it was published in 1997 as a bicentennial legacy project. Reference copies are availiable at the Mentor Library or you can purchase your own copy at the Mentor Municipal Center.

Why was it named Mentor?

Generally, towns were named for their founder, a revered living person, or their location. In the case of Mentor, it was named for a character in Greek literature. Mentor was the tutor of Telemachus, the son of Odysseus.

Following the American Revolution, Greek culture became very fashionable, almost as a final act of independence from the British. Township no. 10 in the 9th range was named Mentor on the earliest published map of the Western Reserve, which dates to 1797. Other Western Reserve communities like Euclid, Solon, and Macedonia were also inspired by the early Americans' fascination with the ancient world. Out of this fervor for things Greek, came the Greek Revival tradition of American architecture, still evident today.