User:Mak0210/Mentor History

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.

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 4th of 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

Crime
Per 1000 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%