Pioneers of Westlake Honored At Bicentennial Founders' Walk Dedication

Westlake’s past and present came together at on Saturday as members of the community gathered to dedicate the .

In honor of the city’s bicentennial, volunteers and city administrators created a memorial walk in front of the Clague Family Memorial. The walk, paved with bricks from the old Red Brick Schoolhouse, combined stones engraved with the names of Westlake’s 24 founding families with bricks dedicated by community members.

“The individuals that we’ve honored in this walk were a part of Westlake at a different time, but we’re all pleased they had a part in creating the great community that we all enjoy right here, today, in 2011, celebrating Westlake’s bicentennial,” said Mayor Dennis Clough.

The Westlake Kiwanis Club and the Westlake Historical Society for months before construction started on the project. Members of the community could sponsor a brick or dedicate one to loved ones. The money raised through brick sales paid for the cleaning and engraving of the bricks, and a portion of the construction.

“This is a great and lasting project celebrating Westlake’s bicentennial,” said Planning Director Bob Parry. “Those bricks honor that 100-year-old building, a symbol of education for residents for the last 100 years. This founders path is honoring this generation at the time of the city’s bicentennial celebration.”

The 24 families memorialized in the walk arrived in Dover Township by 1820, and all settled in the Westlake area. Each family name is accompanied by a short history and the year the first person came to Westlake.

“In 1820 there were 53 men, 47 women and 105 children alive here,” said Will Krause, assistant planning director. “I consider them all founders of Westlake. I don’t usually think of children as founders, but they were and they went on to make their own contributions to the community as they grew.”

At the dedication, volunteers rang an antique fire truck bell 200 times, once for each year in Westlake’s history. Volunteers rang for the year they were born, the year they moved to Westlake, or another special date.

“The last time that bell was run was in 1976, when we were celebrating the 200^th anniversary of the country and so now we feel it’s fitting that the bell is used to celebrate the 200^th birthday of our city,” said Westlake Historical Society membership chair Dave Pfister.

Afterwards, the Westlake Historical Society served birthday cake to celebrate .