A New Neighborhood in an Old Community
Cobblestone Chase is one of those Westlake neighborhoods that feels established even though its homes are relatively recent. Located just off Detroit Road between Canterbury Road and Columbia Road, the community is known for its brick-and-stone-front colonial houses, landscaped entrance, generous lots, and carefully coordinated streetscape. The neighborhood includes Cobblestone Chase, Cobblestone Way, Stone Court, and portions of Fitzroy Street. Together, these streets form a small residential enclave of approximately 47 homes.
The subdivision was developed primarily between 1995 and 2002, during a period when Westlake was already a mature suburb with a strong school system, established parks, convenient highways, and a growing mix of shopping and professional services. Cobblestone Chase represents that later chapter in Westlake’s story: a community designed to offer privacy and architectural character while remaining close to the city’s major roads and institutions.
Before Cobblestone Chase: The Dover Township Era
Long before the neighborhood’s entrance clocktower and tree-lined sidewalks appeared, this part of Westlake was part of a rural landscape known as Dover Township. The area’s first New England settlers arrived around 1810, and Dover Township was formally organized on November 14, 1811. Early families included the Porters, Cahoons, Johnsons, Halls, Clagues, Crockers, Smiths, and others whose names remain familiar on Westlake street signs and public buildings.
For much of the nineteenth century, the land was devoted to farms, orchards, truck gardens, and vineyards. Creeks powered sawmills and gristmills, while local roads connected farmsteads with the center of Dover and with neighboring communities. Westlake was once an important grape-producing region, and agriculture remained central well into the early twentieth century.
That rural past is easy to overlook when driving along Detroit Road today, but it still survives in historic houses, cemeteries, old road alignments, and the names of streets such as Columbia, Crocker, Porter, Clemens, and Clague.
How Dover Became Westlake
Dover Village was incorporated in 1911. In 1940, the community adopted the name Westlake to avoid confusion with another Dover in Tuscarawas County. Local residents considered several possibilities, including Westlake, Clague Park, Claguewood, and Park Ridge. Westlake ultimately won the community poll and became the name that carried the city into the modern era.
The change was more than a postal convenience. It marked the beginning of a new civic identity. Westlake became a city in 1957, and postwar growth transformed the former farming community into a suburban center. The population rose sharply after World War II, helped by new housing, improved roads, and access to Interstate 90.
Cobblestone Chase arrived much later, but its creation depended on that earlier transformation. The neighborhood could be built because farmland and open parcels had gradually become part of a well-planned suburban city.
Where the Name Comes From
Unlike Clague Park or Porter Public Library, Cobblestone Chase is not named for an early Westlake family. Its name appears to be a modern development name inspired by the community’s design rather than a reference to a documented historic site. The entrance uses brick pavers, stone pillars, wrought-iron fencing, formal landscaping, and a decorative clocktower. Those features create the impression of a small, traditional residential lane and help explain the words “Cobblestone Chase.”
The name also suits the neighborhood’s architectural character. Most homes are full-brick or stone-front colonials, with formal façades, side-entry garages, landscaped yards, and streets designed with sidewalks, lantern-style lights, matching mailboxes, and carefully maintained planting beds.
In that sense, Cobblestone Chase borrows from the visual language of older communities while remaining distinctly a late-twentieth-century neighborhood.
A Community Built for the Suburban Era
The homes of Cobblestone Chase were constructed during a period when Westlake was attracting families seeking larger houses, more land, and access to strong public services. Many residences feature two-story foyers, formal dining rooms, private studies, spacious kitchens, finished lower levels, and three- or four-car garages. Lots generally range from roughly one-third to three-quarters of an acre, with some larger properties as well.
Although the homes share a common architectural vocabulary, the neighborhood does not feel like a row of identical houses. Variations in rooflines, stonework, brick color, landscaping, porches, and entry details give individual properties their own personality. Over the decades, homeowners have added patios, decks, gardens, pools, outdoor entertaining areas, and updated interiors.
That gradual personalization is an important part of the neighborhood’s evolution. Cobblestone Chase began as a planned development, but it has matured through the everyday care of the families who live there.
Nearby Landmarks That Tell Westlake’s Story
Cobblestone Chase is close to several places that help connect present-day life with Westlake’s past.
- Clague Park, at Clague Road and Hilliard Boulevard, occupies 78 acres of former Clague family property and includes athletic fields, walking trails, a duck pond, the Westlake Aquatic Center, and the historic Clague Cabin.
- The Clague House Museum preserves the story of one of Westlake’s important pioneer families and is operated in connection with the Westlake Historical Society.
- The Weston House, at 27946 Center Ridge Road, is a rare nineteenth-century sandstone home connected to George Weston and later preserved for museum use.
- Westlake Porter Public Library reflects the community’s long tradition of education, civic involvement, and local history.
- Crocker Park, built on land once associated with the Crocker family, represents Westlake’s transition from farms and vineyards to a regional center for shopping, dining, offices, and entertainment.
These landmarks make Cobblestone Chase feel less like an isolated subdivision and more like one piece of a much larger local story.
What Makes Cobblestone Chase Special
The appeal of Cobblestone Chase is its balance. It offers the spaciousness and formality associated with an upscale suburban development, yet it sits within a city shaped by two centuries of local history. A short drive can take residents from the neighborhood’s polished entrance to an old sandstone farmhouse, a pioneer cemetery, a community park, or a historic family property.
The neighborhood’s heritage is therefore not found in one old building or a single founding date. It is found in the contrast between old and new: colonial-style homes standing on land that was once farmland, modern sidewalks following routes shaped by early settlers, and families enjoying parks whose stories reach back to Westlake’s earliest days.
For longtime residents, that blend is what makes Cobblestone Chase feel special. It is a modern neighborhood, but it belongs unmistakably to Westlake.