Lakewood, Ohio
| Lakewood, Ohio | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| City of Lakewood | |
Cleveland, Ohio, as seen from Lakewood Park in April 2007.
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| Nickname(s): "City of Beautiful Homes" | |
| Motto: "A Great Place to Call Home" | |
 Location in Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio. |
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.svg) Location of Ohio in the United States |
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| Coordinates: 41°28′51″N 81°48′01″W / 41.48083°N 81.80028°WCoordinates: 41°28′51″N 81°48′01″W / 41.48083°N 81.80028°W | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| State |
 Ohio
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| County |
 Cuyahoga
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| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-council |
| • Mayor | Michael P. Summers (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.69 sq mi (17.33 km2) |
| • Land | 5.53 sq mi (14.32 km2) |
| • Water | 1.16 sq mi (3.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 705 ft (215 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 52,131 |
| • Estimate (2015) | 50,656 |
| • Density | 9,426.9/sq mi (3,639.7/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 44107 |
| Area code(s) | 216 |
| FIPS code | 39-41664 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1064966 |
| Website | www |
Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area, and borders the city of Cleveland. The population was 52,131 at the 2010 United States Census, making it the third largest city in Cuyahoga County, behind Cleveland (396,815) and Parma (81,601).
Lakewood, one of Cleveland's inner-ring suburbs, borders the city of Cleveland to the west. Lakewood's population density is the highest of any city in Ohio and is roughly comparable to that of Washington, DC.
Lakewood was incorporated as a village in 1889, and named for its lakefront location.
Earliest Days
The wilderness west of the Cuyahoga River was delayed being settled due to a treaty the federal government made with the Indians in 1785, whereby no white man was to settle on that land. Consequently, when Moses Cleaveland arrived in 1796, his activities were confined to the east side of the river. Subsequently in Detroit, Michigan, on January 18, 1796, twenty-nine leaders of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and other tribes signed another treaty that provided for the lease of the lands west of the Cuyahoga River for 999 years for the sum of five shillings per acre.
But it wasn’t until the treaty of July 4, 1805, that the lands actually opened and settlers permanently inhabited the territory. The treaty was approximately $5,000, which included the cost of rum, tobacco, and presents, as well as the fees for commissioners, agents, and contractors. This land in Ohio—an area now occupied by Lakewood, Rocky River, Fairview Park, and the section of Cleveland known as West Park—was purchased from the Connecticut Land Company by a syndicate of six men headed by Judson Canfield on April 4, 1807, for the sum of $26,084.
First Government
Lakewood, the first suburb west of Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie, began as Township 7, Range 14, of the Connecticut Western Reserve in 1805. It was a wooded wilderness through which cut the old Huron Post Road that ran from Buffalo, New York, to Detroit, Michigan. In 1819 a small group of eighteen families living in the area of present-day Lakewood, Rocky River, and part of Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood named the growing community Rockport Township. In April of that year, the first election took place in Rufus Wright’s tavern with a member of each household present. Three were elected as trustees: Henry Alger, Erastus Johnson, and Rufus Wright. Elected as overseers of the poor were James Nicholson and Samuel Dean. Henry Canfield was elected clerk. This type of government served Rockport for the next 70 years, with an election held each year.
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