Le Roy, then Westfield Center again
Westfield Center has changed names twice. The village says New England homesteaders first settled beside Camel Creek in 1817. When the community got a post office, it was assigned the name “Le Roy,” and the two names were used interchangeably until the village incorporated in 1914 as Le Roy, Ohio. In the early 1970s it went back to Westfield Center.
That history shows up in real estate records. An older deed, survey or plat for a house here may say Le Roy, and local schools once went by Leroy too. A title company sorts this out routinely, but it’s worth knowing if you’re digging through a parent’s papers. The village’s Universalist Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the village center is built around a green with mature trees and older homes.
A village with an insurance company at its center
Westfield Center is unusual for a village of 1,200 people: it’s the home office of Westfield Insurance, which began in 1848 as Ohio Farmers Insurance Company, when a group of farmers joined to insure their properties. The company employs about 1,700 people at its home office, making it Medina County’s largest employer.
The company grounds include the Blair Center conference center, a private hotel called the Westfield Inn, and the Westfield Country Club, a 36-hole golf course that hosted the Junior PGA Championship until 2007.
Westfield Center homes by the numbers
The Census profile of the village:
- About 89% of homes are owner-occupied.
- The median home was built in 1977, and only about 8% date from 1939 or earlier.
- About 77% are single-family detached houses.
- The median home value, as owners estimate it, is about $353,500, more than double Lodi’s.
- Median rent is about $1,590.
With values at that level, the gap between a cash offer and a full retail sale is larger in dollars than it is in a lower-priced town. If your house is in good condition, that gap usually favors listing with an agent. Our comparison of cash buyers and realtors lays out the tradeoffs honestly.
When a direct sale still makes sense here
Some Westfield Center houses are a better fit for a direct sale:
- A house that hasn’t been touched in decades. A 1970s home with original baths, a tired roof and old mechanicals can need a big check before it shows well. See selling a house that needs work.
- An estate with heirs in other states. Estates here go through the Medina County Probate Court in Medina, and someone has to manage the house in the meantime. Selling a house from out of state covers how that works.
- A fixed move date. If you’re relocating and need the sale done on a certain day, we can close in as little as 7 days or on the date you pick.
Village services when you sell
The village runs its own offices, police, public works, cemetery and parks, and collects a municipal income tax. Before closing, call the office at 330-887-5151 to settle any utility bill and file your final income tax return if you’re moving out. Fire and EMS come from the Westfield Fire and Rescue District. Students attend the Cloverleaf Local School District, which formed in 1957 when Leroy, Lodi, Seville, Chatham and Lafayette combined their schools.
For Medina County’s conveyance fee and probate court, see our Medina County page. If you want a number to compare against a listing, request a written offer.