The area, now known as the City of Westlake, was first settled on October 10^th, 1810. However, it was then part of Dover Township. In the early 1910s, the northern part of the township seceded to form Bay Village. In 1912 the southern portion left to join North Olmsted. The remaining township residents formed Dover Village in 1913, taking with it a portion of Olmsted Township.

 Dover Village was renamed the Village of Westlake in 1940. This was done to eliminate confusion with Dover, Ohio (itself now part of the Cleveland television market). The Village of Westlake became a city in 1957.

Westlake is now bordered by Bay Village to the North, Rocky River and Fairview Park to the East, North Olmsted to the South, and Avon (Lorain County) to the West.

 There are about 13,000 households with a total population of about 31,000 people. The median income for families is about $82,000 with a per capita income of about $37,000.

 The Westlake City School District is rated “excellent” by the state’s report card for school districts. The WCS has been consistently rated "excellent" by the state since the cards came into existence. Westlake High School is home to WHBS-TV, the Westlake High school Broadcasting System. WHBS-TV is seen on channels 22 and 18 on Time Warner Cable and WOW! Cable, respectively, in the Westlake area. The station is considered one of the top high school television stations in the United States, and city voters recently rewarded the station with brand new, state-of-the-art television facilities added onto the high school as a result of the program's popularity. Lee Burneson Middle School has been awarded with a half-million dollar STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) grant. They have used this to buy equipment that will improve the learning process.

• Bassett Elementary School (Grades 1-4)
• Dover Elementary School (Grades 1-4)
• Hillard Elementary School (Grades 1-4)
• Holly Lane Elementary School (Grades 1-4)
• Parkside Intermediate School (Grades 5-6)
• Lee Burneson Middle School (LBMS) (Grades 7-8)
• Westlake High School (WHS) (Grades 9-12)

Points of interests are:

• Crocker Park is a lifestyle center located on Crocker Rd. It is essentially an outdoor mall with areas for recreation and socializing. The park is based on a small French town-type setting. There are also apartments and offices above some stores and restaurants. Townhouses are located on the southwest corner. The $200 million dollar project was developed by Stark Enterprises and The Carney Foundation. It features restaurants, retailers, residential, and entertainment. The project also includes office space.
• Westlake is served by Westlake Porter Public Library
• Also found in Westlake is Lakewood Country Club, the 6^th best private course in Northern, Ohio.
• Clague House Museum, located at 1371 Clague Road., showcases the history of Westlake (formerly Dover). The house was built in 1876.
• Clague Playhouse, located at 1371 Clague Rd., community theatre producing five plays a season from the classic and contemporary repertoire.