History of Meadowlawn

In 1898, the property of Meadowlawn was owned by Adele Van Cleve. The Van Cleve's also owned the property across from Meadowlawn where the Van Cleve estate house was located. The Van Cleve house was a replica of George Washington's home in Mount Vernon. The Van Cleve residence, c. 1905, was renovated in 1905 from an old farmhouse into the "Dellhurst" estate. This impressive building was situated off Mentor Avenue, across from Heinen's on a site now occupied by Dellhurst Plaza, a small shopping center. A Cleveland glass magnate, Van Cleve, fashioned the home after Mr. Vernon, which his wife, Della, had admired. When Van Cleve's business failed, the estate was sold to the Cleveland Harvey H. Brown family, then to other moneyed Clevelanders. It became the Palmer House Hotel, the Mentor Mansion Hotel and Restaurant, the Mentor Mansion Furniture Company, the Dellhurst Party Center, and the Coach House Restaurant. The carriage house on the property was, for several years, the Dellhurst Sanitarium. The mansion was burned in a practice session by the Mentor Fire Department in 1974.

In an excerpt from the Lake County History, Bicentennial Edition, 1976 Paul R. Bosley, Sr. recollects about the property we know as Meadowlawn. "...These were the days of good clean fun. To the west of the high school (now Memorial Junior High School) is a rather pretentious building that housed the Coach House Restaurant, and if you will look at the building approaching from the west, you will see that the front looks exactly like George Washington's home in Mt. Vernon. Across the street way back in at the place now called "Meadowlawn" was a replica of this house that was built by Mr. Brown for his daughter. Around 1910, this smaller replica burned to the ground, and the only thing that remained was a chimney on the fireplace. The daughter, Mrs. Chisholm, rebuilt the house, but of an entirely different character, and that long, low, rambling house still stands today and is to the right as you come in Meadowlawn Drive by a big apartment development." Mr. Bosley was referring to what we now call the cottages and which are made up of 11 units. They also have an interest percentage in the association. Mr. Bosley bought the property now comprised of Heinen's and Meadowlawn in 1948. He owned the property of Meadowlawn before apartments were built. He was a nurseryman known nationally for his specialties: holly, rhododendrons, and azaleas.

Welcome Meadowlawn began as an apartment complex. The original design was 34 buildings of 12 suites each. Buildings 1 and 27 were built first. These buildings are now Buildings 1 & 2. For whatever reason, the plan was altered, and the next phase of the project was buildings comprised of townhouses and apartments. Phase 2 comprised of buildings 3, 4, 5, & 6. Phase 3 of the project was 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Halfway through construction, the project converted the remaining buildings 9, 10, and 11 to all-electric. The final phase of the project, Buildings 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, was started, but the developer ran out of money. These buildings sat framed and unfinished for nearly a year. The entire project was completed at the end of the 1960s. In 1972, the owner of the apartments decided to sell them off as condominiums, creating Meadowlawn Condominium Owners' Association.