Mentor ( MEN-t?r) is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. Mentor was first settled in 1797. The population was 47,159 at the 2010 census. In July 2010, CNNMoney.com ranked Mentor 37th in a list of the Top 100 Best Places to Live in America.
In 1876 James A. Garfield purchased a home in Mentor, from which he conducted the first successful front porch campaign for the presidency. Garfield coined the term "Mentorite" when referring to a native of Mentor. That 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, ranking sixth-largest in Ohio as of 2012, and restaurants, ranking seventh-largest in the state as of 2012. US 20 (Mentor Avenue) is the major retail center, which includes the Great Lakes Mall, with additional shopping and strip malls found along most major roads. Convenient Food Mart is based in Mentor. Major products include medical related, polymers, plastics, electric boards and other peripherals that generally serve the computer and automation industries. Two major railroads pass through the city, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern.
Mentor's school system consists of nine elementary schools, three 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.
City government is based on a city manager executive appointed by city council. The city encourages development of light industry, which is reflected in its diverse economy and very low property taxes.
Many bike paths have been built in Mentor in recent years.
The pronunciation of the city's name is a shibboleth, with some 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 slogan, "It's better in Mentor," reflects this fact.
Mentor is named after the Greek figure Mentor, in keeping with the Connecticut Western Reserve settlers' tradition, as well as that of most other Americans at the time, of celebrating aspects of Greek classicism (nearby Solon, Macedonia, Euclid, and Akron also were named using that principle).
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Geography
Mentor is a suburb of Cleveland and is located on the south shore of Lake Erie.
The Mentor Headlands area of Mentor, located in the northeast portion of the city, was settled in 1797 by Connecticut Land Company surveyors.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.00 square miles (72.52 km2), of which 26.65 square miles (69.02 km2) is land and 1.35 square miles (3.50 km2) is water.
History
Mentor was formally established in 1855 but founded in the late eighteenth century by Charles Barker who built the first settlement. This settlement was established before Ohio became the 17th state in the Union in 1803. About 37 years later in 1840, Lake County, the smallest county in Ohio, was established. It earned the nickname, "Rose Capital of the Nation" due to the abundant rosebushes 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, 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. 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.
Crime
Per 1,000 people, there was an average .94 violent, and 17.2 property crimes in 2015.
Mentor's crime rating is 152 which is in the "Low" range and 139.8 points lower than the national average (high frequency of crime=high rating)
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
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 47,159 people, 19,166 households, and 13,339 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,769.6 inhabitants per square mile (683.2/km2). There were 20,218 housing units at an average density of 758.6 per square mile (292.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 1.0% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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 of 2000, there were 50,278 people, 18,797 households, and 14,229 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,878.2 people per square mile (725.2/km²). There were 19,301 housing units at an average density of 721.0 per square mile (278.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.30% Caucasian, 0.64% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.19% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population. 19.8% were of German, 15.1% Italian, 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 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 for the city was $24,592. About 1.8% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.
Schools
Mentor public schools
Mentor Public Schools operates the public schools in the community.
Elementary schools:
- Bellflower Elementary
- Brentmoor Elementary
- Dale R. Rice Elementary (closed)
- Fairfax Elementary
- Hopkins Elementary
- James A. Garfield Elementary
- Lake Elementary (in Mentor-on-the-Lake)
- Orchard Hollow Elementary
- Sterling Morton Elementary
Middle schools:
- Memorial Middle School
- Ridge Middle School
- Shore Middle School
High schools:
- Mentor High School
Special needs schools:
- CARES
Private schools
- Lake Catholic High School
- Mentor Christian School (K-12)
- Mentor Heritage Christian Academy (K-12)
- St. Marys Mentor (K-8)
Parks
- 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 4 July Fireworks. Includes the Civic Center water park with an Olympic sized pool, waterslide, and children's play area. Inside the Civic Center Arena, there is an ice rink and Community Center. 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
- 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
- Mentors's first neighborhood park offers fishing piers, hiking trails, and wildlife viewing area
Places of worship
Assemblies of God:
- Lakeshore Assembly of God
Baptist:
- Mentor Baptist Church
- Trinity Baptist Church
Catholic:
- St. Bede the Venerable
- St. John Vianney
- St. Mary of the Assumption
Jehovah's Witnesses:
- Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jewish:
- Temple Am Shalom
Lutheran:
- Advent Lutheran
- Faith Lutheran Church
- Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Lutheran Brethren:
- Advent Good Shepherd Lutheran Brethren Church
- Pilgrim Lutheran Brethren Church
Methodist:
- Hope Ridge United Methodist Church
- Mentor Plains United Methodist Church
- Mentor United Methodist Church
- Mentor United Plains Methodist Church
- North Mentor Centenary United Methodist Church
- South Mentor Centenary United Methodist Church
- Central Mentor Centenary United Methodist Church
Non-denominational
- Abundant Joy Church
- Bible Community Church
- Grace Church of Mentor
- Holy Spirit of the Mighty Savior Christ Our Lord
- Mentor church of Christ
- Prince of Peace
Notable people
- Jim Bonfanti, musician
- William W. Corning, politician
- James A. Garfield, twentieth President of the United States of America
- Robyn Haines, news anchor
- Bob Hallen, NFL football player
- Bob Harris, writer
- Joe Jurevicius, NFL football player
- Ben Kelly, NFL football player
- Dustin Kirby, MLS soccer player
- Dan Ryczek, NFL football player
- Paul Ryczek, NFL football player
- Michael Salinger, poet
- Riley Ann Sawyers ("Baby Grace"), murder victim, and her mother, Kimberly Trenor
- Katie Spotz, endurance rower
- Ricky Stanzi, NFL football player with the Detroit Lions
- Jim Tressel, former Ohio State University football coach
- Mitchell Trubisky, NFL football player with the Chicago Bears
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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