Kent

 

Industrial city (1990 pop. 28,835), Portage co., NE Ohio; settled in 1805 as Franklin Mills, combined with Carthage and renamed as Kent 1863, inc. as a city 1920. Machinery and processed foods are made there, and there is a liquid-crystal research center. The city is the seat of Kent State Univ., where four young people were killed by Ohio National Guardsmen during a 1970 protest of the Vietnam War.

Kent, Ohio
Aerial image of Kent, with downtown in the foreground and the taller buildings of Kent State visible in the upper right
Seal
Nickname: The Tree City
Location within the state of Ohio
Location within Portage County
Coordinates: 41°9′2″N 81°21′40″W / 41.15056, -81.36111
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Portage
Government
- Mayor	John Fender
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	44240, 44242, 44243
Area code(s)	330, 234
FIPS code	39-398722
GNIS feature ID	10649283
Website: http://www.kentohio.org/

Kent is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 census, making it the county's largest city. Kent is home to the main campus of Kent State University. Nearby metropolitan areas include Akron, Cleveland, Canton, and Youngstown-Warren. Kent is included in the Akron metropolitan area for census purposes.

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.[1] 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 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 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 of 1805 by John Haymaker, who moved west from Pittsburgh and settled on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. After Haymaker built a gristmill, two villages quickly sprung up. 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 (it became official in 1808) and Franklin Township was made part of the new county. Olmstead had hoped to have the settlement in 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. [2] 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 [3] 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. [4] 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 reclamtion project of the areas around the Cuyahoga River.[5] 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 was not official until the village was officially incorporated as a village on May 6, 1867.^[1]

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 is 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 fourteen 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.[6] 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.

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.

In 1975, the five-lane Haymaker Parkway was constructed, which contains bridges over all the city's railroad tracks and relieved traffic congestion in the downtown area.

Recent History

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 Hertiage Park, was formally dedicated in May of 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.

Geography

Kent is located at 41°9′2″N, 81°21′40″W (41.150423, -81.361109).¹

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.6 km² (8.7 mi²). 22.5 km² (8.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.23%) is water.

Nearby Communities

Kent lies in west-central Portage County and is bordered by the following townships and municipalities:

• Franklin Township on the north and east.
• Brimfield Township on the south.
• The city of Stow on the west in neighboring Summit County.
• The city of Tallmadge on the southwest (touches, but does not border), also in Summit County.

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 census² of 2000, there were 27,906 people, 9,772 households, and 4,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,239.9/km² (3,212.3/mi²). There were 10,435 housing units at an average density of 463.6/km² (1,201.2/mi²). 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.

Education

Elementary and secondary schooling is mainly provided by the Kent City School District (website) 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: Holden, Longcoy, Franklin, Davey, and Walls; Stanton Middle School; and Theodore Roosevelt High 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 Board of Education. St. Patrick School is a parochial institution for grades K-8. Kent State University is the major institution of post-secondary education in the area 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 in Rootstown.

Interesting facts

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Kent was the first Tree City and is referred to as "The Tree City" on some signs seen upon entering the city. There are tree logos on Kent's street signs. It was officially proclaimed "The Tree City" of Ohio by a resolution on February 15, 1949.^[2]
• Kent is noted for its unusual local population of black squirrels, brought to the area in 1961 by Larry Woodell from Canada while superintendent of grounds at Kent State.^[3] Since this time, the black squirrels have multiplied rapidly and spread in and around Kent.
• The Tom S. Cooperrider-Kent Bog State Nature Preserve, located on the southern edge of Kent, is one of the most intact bogs in Ohio, with the southernmost and largest stand of tamarack trees in the continental United States.
• 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.
• Originally, before naming the city after Marvin Kent, city leaders were considering the name Rockton (hence the name of the Masonic lodge as Rockton Lodge).

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 (indie rock band)
• 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. (See Kent State University Famous 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.
• 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.[7]

References

External links

• City of Kent, Ohio
• Kent Historical Society
• Photos of Kent by Kent luthier Roger Thurman
• The Kent Free Library
• KentOhio.net
• Kent City Manager Blog
• Kent City Schools

Coordinates: 41.150423° N 81.361109° W

Municipalities and communities of Portage County, Ohio
County seat: Ravenna
Cities	Aurora | Kent | Ravenna | Streetsboro | Tallmadge
Villages	Brady Lake | Garrettsville | Hiram | Mantua | Mogadore | Sugar Bush Knolls | Windham
Townships	Atwater | Brimfield | Charlestown | Deerfield | Edinburg | Franklin | Freedom | Hiram | Mantua | Nelson | Palmyra | Paris | Randolph | Ravenna | Rootstown | Shalersville | Suffield | Windham
Census-designated place	Brimfield
Other localities	Diamond | Wayland

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