The home is the center and circumference, the start and the finish, of most of our lives. ~ Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Westlake Century Home Project

• Although the farming community once known as Dover Township has all but disappeared from the landscape, historic homes remain a vital part of Westlake, Ohio.  The community values history as much as expansion and growth. 

• In an effort to document Westlake’s historic buildings, I joined with the city planning department to create an accurate list of the city's oldest homes.  A Westlake Porter Public Library mailing explained our project to individual homeowners.  I solicited the help of photography students at Westlake High School, library staff, and a library school practicum student from Kent State University to take pictures of the houses.  Interested residents were asked to share information about their homes.  The local genealogy group launched a project tracing original homeowners.  Westlake Historical Society members provided documentation and memorabilia.          

• The Westlake Century Home Project continues to grow.  The library plans to display our findings on a poster of the 60 oldest Westlake houses.  The records will be added to the library’s local history online digital collections.  The Friends of the Library are planning a guided trolley tour of local historic buildings.  The city planning director will be featured in a program that will appeal to local homeowners.  Program topics planned include funding sources for home improvements, century plaques, and research techniques to gather information about historic homes.  Elementary school visits will feature information about the homes and other historic buildings in the area.  A local history coloring book will be distributed by the library.  

• For additional local history information about the city of Westlake and the library, please reference the book, Westlake, part of the Images of America series for Arcadia Publishing.  Also browse the library's local history site at the following URL:  http://history.westlakelibrary.org/. An old adage states the following: “You can’t know where you are going unless you know where you have been.” Paul Immel's excellent Discover Your Roots Workshop reminded us of the important role libraries have in providing local history resources for their patrons.  The Westlake Porter Public Library Century Homes Project is just one of many ways the library can serve the community through local history.