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is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Lorain County. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio at the forks of the Black River founded in 1817. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 55,953. Elyria was founded by Heman Ely.. The current mayor of Elyria is William M. Grace. The city is home to Lorain County Community College.
Elyria was founded in 1817 by Heman Ely, who built a log house, dam, gristmill, and sawmill on the site. Ely began to build more houses to accommodate immigrating settlers. By the time Ely died in 1852, Elyria had 5 churches, 3 grocery stores, 3 flour mills, a newspaper, and a population of more than 1,500. As the 1900s arrived, Elyria was a small town of about 8,000. In 1908, Elyria Memorial Hospital was built and has since evolved into an award-winning regional healthcare system. In August 1967, Midway Mall was opened and changed the face of the local economy as local businesses either moved into the mall or closed down.