Willoughby Map
Willoughby is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 22,621 at the 2000 census. Willoughby is served by a branch of the Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library.
Willoughby's first permanent settler was David Abbott in 1798, pre-dating Ohio's bid for statehood by five years. Abbott and his family had close relations to the local tribe of Erie Indians along the banks of the river the Indians called the "Sha-ga-rin" or Clear Water. This river was later called the Chagrin River, though the derivation of the name remains in dispute.
In 1835, the village was permanently named "Willoughby" in honor of Dr. Westel Willoughby, Jr., a public health official that the founders of the Medical College, which was based in the city, hoped to attract to the area. This medical college would later merge with Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, OH to eventually become Western Reserve University, the predecessor to Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University. Many historical buildings from this period survive to this date, affording the downtown Willoughby area some outstanding specimens of 19th century architecture.
Nearby cities include Painesville, Chardon, Cleveland Heights, Pepper Pike, East Cleveland.