Garfield Park was originally the summer home property of John Newell, brother of Helen Newell Garfield (the wife of Garfield’s second son, James R.). John Newell’s house sat where the swimming pool is today; his carriage house remains on the property and is used by the City of Mentor. The pond that still exists today was the wintertime spot for ice skating and even had a boathouse.

The property became a recreation park in the late 1950s due to the efforts of Eleanor Borton Garfield, a former Mentor Village mayor. In 1980, it became the first public park in Mentor and was renamed in Eleanor’s honor. She was President Garfield’s granddaughter-in-law—the widow of Rudolph Hills Garfield