Everything about Kent Ohio totally explained
Kent is a city in
Portage County,
Ohio,
United States. It is located along the
Cuyahoga River in the northeastern part of Ohio and the western edge of Portage County. Part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, Kent was originally settled in 1805, and first developed as two separate villages: Franklin (later Franklin Mills) and Carthage, which eventually grew into Franklin Mills. The village would develop first due to the potential for
gristmills along the Cuyahoga River and later as a stop on the
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal in the 1830s and 1840's. Leading up to the
American Civil War, Franklin Mills was noted for its activity in the
Underground Railroad. With the decline of the canal and the emergence of the railroad the village became the home of the
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad shops, which ultimately led to the village being renamed Kent in 1864 after railroad owner Marvin Kent. Today Kent is known mostly for being home to the main campus of
Kent State University, founded in 1910.
The population was 27,906 at the
2000 census and 27,946 in the 2006 estimate, making it the county's largest city. Nearby metropolitan areas include
Akron,
Cleveland,
Canton, and
Youngstown-Warren. Kent is part of the Akron
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area for census purposes.
Residents of Kent are referred to as "Kentites" or as "townies" by Kent State University students and the city's nickname is "The Tree City" due to it being the home of the Davey Tree Expert Company.
History
Early history and settlement
The region was formerly inhabited by various tribes of
American Indians, and around 1780 the Indian fighter Captain
Samuel Brady achieved notoriety for his activities in the area, including his famous leap over the
Cuyahoga River to avoid capture. After leaping the river, he hid in a nearby lake which was later named for him,
Brady Lake.
As part of the
Connecticut Western Reserve, the area was divided into
civil townships in 1798 and almost all of what is now Kent was originally part of Town 3 Range 9, which would eventually be known as
Franklin Township.
Aaron Olmstead, a wealthy
Connecticut merchant, had purchased the 16,000 acre township for $2,000 in what was then
Trumbull County and named it for his son Aaron Franklin. Olmstead (also spelled "Olmsted") also bought large tracts of land in other parts of the Western Reserve and his name is part of the cities of
North Olmsted and
Olmsted Falls as well as
Olmsted Township in
Cuyahoga County. European settlers had already begun settling in the area by the late 1700s and Franklin Township was first settled in December 1805 by
John Haymaker, who moved west from
Pittsburgh and settled on the banks of the
Cuyahoga River. After Haymaker built a
gristmill, two small villages developed. The "upper" village was named
Carthage and the "lower" village
Franklin and later
Franklin Mills. As the villages grew, they slowly merged under the name of Franklin Mills.
In 1807,
Portage County was formed and Franklin Township was made part of the new county. Olmstead had hoped to have Franklin Township become the
county seat of the new county and had land set aside in what is now northern Kent for the county government buildings. He died before he could donate the land and his heirs used it for other purposes.
Ravenna ended up becoming the county seat instead.
Canal era
Initial growth in Franklin Mills and Cathage was due to the power generated by the
Cuyahoga River used in gristmills. Originally, there were two waterfalls downtown, one of seventeen feet and another of twenty-five feet.
When construction began on the
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal in the 1830s, land speculation was rampant in many areas of
Northeast Ohio along the canal, including Franklin Mills. As a result of this, an industrial and business region was established along the river in what is now downtown Kent. Much of the canal bed is still visible in downtown Kent, including the historic lock and arch dam (first built in 1836), which is the only known arch dam attached to a canal lock in the United States and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. In addition, an
aqueduct of the canal is still visible in southern Kent. The era of the canal would be relatively short-lived, lasting into the 1860s. By 1870 the canal was completely shut down.
In the era leading up to the
American Civil War, Franklin Mills was an active stop on the
Underground Railroad, giving fugitive slaves shelter on their escape to
Canada. Notable stops in Franklin Mills included the Cuyahoga House at the corner of Cuyahoga Street and North Mantua Street (torn down in 1907) and the Woodard house along Fairchild Avenue, which still stands today. During this period, in 1835, noted American abolitionist
John Brown moved to the village, operating a tannery along the Cuyahoga River with Zenas Kent, leaving in 1839. Today, a park is on the site of the tannery, which was torn down in 1976 as part of an environmental reclamation project of the areas around the
Cuyahoga River. On
June 26,
2004, an historical marker was dedicated in downtown Kent commemorating the city's role in the Underground Railroad.
Arrival of railroad: Franklin Mills becomes Kent
In 1863 a local businessman by the name of
Marvin Kent was influential in bringing the
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad through the village. The railroad reinvented the village as an important stop on the east-west line as it was also home to the railroad's yards and shops. To honor Marvin Kent the village was renamed
Kent in 1864, although this change wasn't official until the village was officially incorporated as a village on
May 6,
1867.
Originally, before naming the city after Marvin Kent, city leaders were also considering the name Rockton (hence the name of the
Masonic lodge as Rockton Lodge) due to the rocky gorge of the
Cuyahoga River.
John Davey established the
Davey Tree Expert Company in 1880 after planting hundreds of trees around the city. Kent became known as the "Tree City". Another of the city's oldest businesses, the Williams Brothers Mill, was also founded in the late 1800s; now operating under the name Star of the West, it's a flour mill specializing in the preparation of custom-ground wheat flours. In the mid-twentieth century, two factories produced buses, delivery trucks, and other similar vehicles, but these factories went out of business by the late 20th century.
Twentieth century
In 1903, the
Kent Free Library opened its doors. The library was a gift of
Andrew Carnegie. To receive the gift, Kent had to pass a municipal tax for library maintenance. Kent became the first municipality in
Ohio to pass such a tax. Although additions have been made throughout the years, the original library building still stands today and currently houses the library's genealogy and local history areas. Most recently, all previous additions were demolished and a new, three-story addition was constructed which tripled the previous amount of available space. This new addition opened on
September 26,
2006, exactly 103 years after the original library opened. During construction, the library was housed in temporary quarters at Kent's University Plaza on South Water Street from 2004-2006.
In 1910, Kent was selected out of twenty northeastern Ohio cities as the site of a new teacher training college, which became known as the "Kent State Normal School". The site for the school was on fifty-three acres of land donated by William S. Kent, son of Marvin Kent, on what was then the eastern edge of town. To honor his donation, the school was named for William S. Kent and not for the city of Kent, making it the only public university in Ohio to be named for an individual. Sometime after 1915 the school was renamed Kent State College and in 1935 was renamed
Kent State University after it received authorization to issue
Bachelor of Arts and
Bachelor of Science degrees, thus giving it university status. The bill giving Kent State university status was signed into law by Ohio governor and Kent native
Martin L. Davey.
The 1930s brought the
Great Depression and the slowing of the now Erie Railroad through Kent. By this time, however, Kent State University was firmly established and today nearly the entire Kent economy is in some way associated with the university.
On
February 15,
1949, Kent was officially proclaimed "The Tree City" of Ohio by a resolution and was the first
Tree City. Today it's known as "The Tree City", which can be seen on some signs upon entering the city limits. The city's official emblem features a tree logo and can be found on Kent's street signs and other city signs and offices.
In 1961, Kent State grounds superintendent Larry Wooddell and Biff Staples of Davey Tree released ten cages of
black squirrels obtained from
Victoria Park in
London,
Ontario,
Canada, to the Kent State campus. By 1964 their estimated population was around 150 and today they've spread in and around Kent and have become unofficial mascots of both the city and university. Since
1981, the annual Black Squirrel Festival is held every fall on the KSU campus.
In the spring of 1970, protests began on the campus of Kent State University over the United States' invasion of
Cambodia in the
Vietnam War. These protests and demonstrations, which included rioting in downtown Kent on
May 2, culminated in the
May 4,
1970 Kent State shootings, where four students were killed and nine were wounded by the Ohio National Guard. This incident was the basis for the
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song
Ohio.
In 1975, the five-lane
Haymaker Parkway opened, which contains bridges over all the city's railroad tracks and relieved traffic congestion in the downtown area.
Recent history
In 1995, the city of Kent's municipal (tap) water won first place at the fifth annual Toast to the Tap International Water Tasting and Competition held in
Berkeley Springs,
West Virginia. The city and its award-winning water were featured on a segment of
The Tonight Show with
Jay Leno shortly thereafter.
In 2003, the old arch dam was bypassed to meet water quality standards set by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. To preserve the historic dam, a small park was built behind the dam and the river was rerouted through the old canal lock. During warm-weather months, water is pumped over the dam. The park, known as Heritage Park, was formally dedicated in May 2005.
Today, Kent is a mix of old and new with a relatively diverse population, due in part to the university, as well as an historic downtown area which is slowly growing and recovering from a period of nondevelopment. Kent also has a large
park system
, which includes fifteen parks and preserves throughout the city, the largest being the Fred Fuller Park just south of downtown. The city is also home to The
Tom S. Cooperrider-Kent Bog State Nature Preserve, located in the southern edge of Kent. It is one of the most intact bogs in Ohio, with the southernmost and largest stand of
tamarack trees in the continental United States.
Geography
Kent is located at (41.150423, -81.361109).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.7
square miles (22.6
km²), of which, 8.7 square miles (22.5 km²) of it's land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.23%) is water.
Nearby communities
Kent lies in west-central
Portage County and is bordered by the following townships and municipalities:
Nearby (but not bordering Kent itself) townships and municipalities include:
The village of Brady Lake, Ravenna Township, and the city of Ravenna to the east.
The village of Sugar Bush Knolls and the city of Streetsboro to the north.
It is worth noting that Brady Lake, Sugar Bush Knolls, and Franklin Township are all considered part of the greater Kent community, due mostly to their association in the Kent City School District.
Transportation
The following highways pass through Kent:
S.R. 59, S.R. 43, and S.R. 261.
Kent is located just south of I-80/Ohio Turnpike exit 187 and the eastern terminus of I-480.
Kent is located just north of I-76 exit 33
For public transportation Kent is served by the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA), which includes several local and county-wide routes and includes Kent State University's Campus Bus Service, which has several campus-oriented routes and express routes to Akron and Cleveland. PARTA also has transfer points with Akron and Summit County's METRO Regional Transit Authority, providing access to their routes.
ZIP and Area codes
All residential areas of the city (along with large portions of Brimfield and Franklin Townships) are served by the Kent, OH 44240 ZIP code. On the campus of Kent State University, the academic buildings use the Kent, OH 44242 ZIP code and the dormitories use the Kent, OH 44243 ZIP code.
For telephone use, Kent is part of the 330 and 234 area codes, which includes the Akron-Canton and Youngstown areas of Northeast Ohio.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,906 people, 9,772 households, and 4,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,212.3 people per square mile (1,239.9/km²). There were 10,435 housing units at an average density of 1,201.2/sq mi (463.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.07% White, 9.11% African American, 2.15% Asian, 0.19% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 2.01% from two or more races. 1.28% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 9,772 households out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.8% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.9% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the city the population was spread out with 16.4% under the age of 18, 40.0% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 13.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,582, and the median income for a family was $44,440. Males had a median income of $32,063 versus $25,344 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,015. About 15.4% of families and 25.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
In 1900, 4541 people lived in Kent; in 1910, 4488 people lived in Kent. In 1940, 8581 people lived in Kent.
Education
Public
Elementary and secondary schooling is mainly provided by the Kent City School District with the small portion of the city south of SR 261 being served by the neighboring Field Local School District. Kent has five neighborhood elementary schools which serve students in grades K-5: Holden, Longcoy, Franklin, Davey, and Walls; Stanton Middle School for grades 6-8; and Theodore Roosevelt High School for grades 9-12. The district also operates a pre-school program, which is housed at Davey Elementary School. Theodore Roosevelt High School has been given the United States Department of Education Excellence in Education award, while the Kent City School District has been consistently rated as "Excellent" or "Effective" by the Ohio Department of Education. In 2007 Walls Elementary School was named a "School of Promise" by the Ohio Department of Education, while Longcoy Elementary earned the U.S. Department of Education's prestigious Blue Ribbon School award.
Private
Kent has one private K-8 school, St. Patrick School. Nearby private high schools include Walsh Jesuit High School and the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Cuyahoga Falls and the Western Reserve Academy in Hudson.
Higher education
Kent State University is the area's major institution of post-secondary education and is the city and county's largest employer. Other nearby institutions of higher learning include the University of Akron in Akron, Hiram College in Hiram, and the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rootstown.
Famous residents
Anti-slavery crusader John Brown lived in Kent (then called Franklin Mills) c. 1835-39.
John Davey, founder of Davey Tree Expert Company and local philanthropist
Martin L. Davey, U.S. Representative and Governor of Ohio for two terms
Playwright and director Vincent J. Cardinal was raised in Kent and graduated from Kent State University.
The Egyptian-born composer Halim El-Dabh has made Kent his home since 1969.
The Six Parts Seven are a post-rock rock band from Kent.
Many now-famous or successful people have attended or graduated from Kent State University, among them Drew Carey, Arsenio Hall, Michael Keaton, Joe Walsh and members of Devo, and professional football players Antonio Gates and Joshua Cribbs. (See Kent State University Notable Alumni for a longer list).
Sister cities
Kent has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
Dudince, Slovakia
Sports
As the home of Kent State University, Kent is also the home of the University's athletic teams, the Golden Flashes, who compete in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division at the NCAA Division I level (I-A for football). Several of Kent State's teams have enjoyed league and national success, with the most notable being the men's basketball team's run to the Elite Eight in the 2002 NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Kent is home to the Kent Twisters, a member of the Pennsylvania-Ohio Women's Hockey Association (POWHA), an adult amateur women's ice hockey travel league. Kent has been consistent throughout their membership in the POWHA, but strong goaltending led them to finish second in the league in 2004 losing to the Cleveland Bluesin the Championship game. Kent is also a member of the Northeast Ohio Women's Hockey Organization(NOWHO), a regional ice hockey league for women.
The KSU Ice Arena on the Kent State campus serves as host to several local youth ice hockey programs and high school teams and is frequently the site of state high school tournament games and ice skating competitions in addition to being host to KSU's club team.
Kent State's Dix Stadium has hosted several state high school playoff games in football and a 1980 Cleveland Browns NFL scrimmage, while Roosevelt High School's Roosevelt Stadium and Stanton Stadium have hosted state playoff games for soccer and track and field.
Prior to the construction of their current training facility in Berea, Ohio in 1991, the Cleveland Browns trained in Kent on the campus of Kent State beginning in 1974. Prior to that (1952-1974) the team trained at nearby Hiram College.Further Information
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