A Neighborhood with Deep Strongsville Roots
Westwood Farms is one of Strongsville’s newer residential communities, but its story begins long before the first home was built. Tucked into the northwest corner of the city near Prospect Road, Westwood Drive, and Albion Road, the neighborhood reflects the larger transformation of Strongsville—from a rural township of farms and mills into one of Greater Cleveland’s best-known suburban communities.
Strongsville’s earliest history reaches back to the early 1800s, when settlers arrived in the Western Reserve and cleared forests for farms, homes, roads, and small industries. The township was organized in 1818 and named for John Stoughton Strong, a Vermont pioneer and land agent. By 1820, nearly 300 people lived in the area, and early roads connected the growing settlement with neighboring communities. Farming remained central to local life for more than a century.
That agricultural heritage is especially important when looking at Westwood Farms. The neighborhood’s gently rolling streets, open views, ponds, and pockets of trees may feel carefully planned today, but they occupy land that was once part of Strongsville’s broad rural landscape.
What Does “Westwood Farms” Mean?
The name appears to combine two ideas that have long been associated with this part of Strongsville: its western location and its former farmland.
“Westwood” was not invented solely for the modern subdivision. Strongsville records show that Westwood Estates was being platted in the 1950s, including streets such as Westwood Park Boulevard, Forum Drive, Collier Drive, Atlantic Road, Holiday Road, and Harper Road. Westwood Drive also became an established local street name.
Over time, “Westwood” became a familiar geographic name in the western portion of Strongsville. When development began on the present Westwood Farms property, the name naturally suggested a community surrounded by open land, woods, and the remnants of local agriculture. There does not appear to be a single, widely documented naming ceremony or one individual credited with choosing the name. Instead, Westwood Farms seems to carry forward a descriptive name already rooted in local geography and subdivision history.
The word “Farms” is equally fitting. Strongsville’s farmland was gradually sold and developed after World War II, but the agricultural character of the area remains visible in the neighborhood’s open spaces, field-like views, ponds, and rural-sounding street names.
The Turning Point: Roads, Industry, and Suburban Growth
The biggest change in Strongsville’s history came after World War II. In 1955, the Ohio Turnpike opened through northern Strongsville, making the community more accessible to Cleveland and points west. Developers quickly recognized the appeal of large tracts of land within commuting distance of the city. By the early 1960s, only a small number of full-time farmers remained.
The construction of Interstate 71 added another important connection, linking Strongsville to the broader regional highway system. Population growth followed quickly:
- Strongsville grew from about 3,500 residents in 1950 to more than 8,500 in 1960.
- By 1970, the population had passed 15,000.
- By 1980, nearly 29,000 people called the city home.
Westwood Farms arrived during the later chapter of that suburban expansion. Its development reflects a period when homebuyers wanted more than a house: they wanted planned streets, sidewalks, green space, recreation, and a neighborhood identity.
Building Westwood Farms
The present Westwood Farms community began taking shape in the 1990s. Its governing documents identify July 22, 1993, as the date of the original declaration of covenants, while an amended declaration in 2003 describes a residential community being developed in phases with detached homes, cluster homes, open spaces, easements, and shared facilities.
Construction continued for more than two decades. Cluster homes were built primarily from the mid-1990s into the early 2000s, while single-family construction continued into the 2010s. Parkview Custom Homes is associated with the neighborhood’s long building period, which stretched roughly from 1995 through 2019.
That extended construction history gives Westwood Farms a pleasing variety. Some sections have the intimate feel of smaller courts and cul-de-sacs, while others feature larger two-story homes on wider lots. Streets such as Country Way, Countryside Drive, Greenfield Place, Coopers Run, Woodfield Trail, Harvest Oval, Saddle Horn Circle, and Steeplechase Lane give the community a distinct internal geography.
In 2013, Strongsville’s Planning Commission approved what was described as the final phase of the neighborhood, including 15 single-family homes on Saddlewood Lane. The project was identified as the 17th phase of Westwood Farms, a sign of how significantly the community expanded over time.
Recreation as Part of the Neighborhood’s Heritage
One of Westwood Farms’ defining features is that recreation was built into the neighborhood plan from the beginning. At the community facilities on Country Way, residents have access to a clubhouse, outdoor swimming pool, playground, lighted tennis courts, a half basketball court, picnic areas, and a stocked fishing pond. Additional ponds and shared green spaces contribute to the neighborhood’s open, park-like character.
These amenities are more than conveniences. They help explain why Westwood Farms feels like a community rather than simply a collection of subdivisions. Summer pool parties, bicycle parades, block gatherings, holiday events, and children’s activities create the kind of traditions that become part of a neighborhood’s living history.
For longtime residents, memories are often tied to ordinary places: children learning to swim, neighbors meeting near the playground, families walking along the sidewalks after dinner, or older residents watching the seasons change around the ponds and wooded edges.
Nearby Landmarks and the Wider Strongsville Story
Westwood Farms does not contain Strongsville’s oldest historic buildings, but it is close to places that connect residents with the city’s past. Along Pearl Road, the Strongsville Historical Society’s Historical Village preserves buildings such as the Lathrop House, Baldwin House, a log cabin, and the Roe-Chapman Barn. These structures tell the story of early settlement, education, agriculture, and family life in the township.
The Pomeroy House, near Pearl and Royalton roads, is another important local landmark. Built in 1847, it is associated with Strongsville’s Underground Railroad history.
Closer to Westwood Farms, the land itself preserves a more recent chapter. Local real-estate histories identify the property as the former site of Strongsville Airpark, a small airport that operated from the 1950s until 1987. Whether remembered through old photographs, stories from longtime residents, or the changing shape of the land, the airpark era adds another layer to the neighborhood’s past.
A Heritage Still Being Made
The history of Westwood Farms is not the story of a preserved nineteenth-century village. It is the story of transition: fields becoming an airpark, an airpark becoming a planned community, and a collection of new streets becoming a place with its own traditions.
Westwood Farms honors Strongsville’s past not through old storefronts or stone mills, but through its landscape and community life. The ponds, open spaces, sidewalks, and family-oriented amenities echo the area’s rural beginnings while serving the needs of modern residents.
That balance is what makes Westwood Farms special. It offers the comfort of a carefully designed suburban neighborhood, yet it remains connected to the larger story of Strongsville—a story shaped by farming, transportation, family life, changing technology, and the steady generosity of open land. For those who live there, Westwood Farms is more than a development. It is one of the newest chapters in a local history that continues to grow.