Rootstown Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 7,212 people in the township.[3]
Geography
Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:
No municipalities are located in Rootstown Township.
Formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve, Rootstown Township covers an area of 25 sq mi.
Name
It is the only Rootstown Township statewide.
History
Founded in 1802, Rootstown was named for Ephraim Root, a lawyer and promoter of the Connecticut Land Company. In 1821 the Roostown Post Office was established. It continues today under the ZIP Code Rootstown, OH 44272 and serves most of the township. In 1832, many German immigrants came who were farmers, stone masons and carpenters. In 1845 a plague took 49 victims, including the town's only physician, Dr. Andrew Basset. In 1850 a band of 16 whaling sea captains from Nantucket bought land, built large homes and became good farmers in Rootstown Township.
Nelson Converse opened the first general store in 1853 in the center of town. In 1866 the Central and Pacific Railroad was built through the northeastern part of the township.
Religion, always an important factor in the lives of the residents, saw these still active churches established: Rootstown Congregational Church in 1809; Methodist Church in 1815; St. Peter of the Fields Catholic Church in 1868; Grace Church of Rootstown (formerly New Milford Baptist) in 1948, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Rootstown Ward in 1961.
Electricity brought modern conveniences to the area in 1921, and street lights to both Rootstown and New Milford in 1949.
Twenty-six men formed the volunteer fire company in 1938. Its equipment was housed in the basement of the town hall until a new building was constructed by volunteer work and community fundraiser carnivals in 1955-1956. The department constructed a new building in 2002 adjacent to the former at the intersection of Tallmadge Road and SR 44. It opened during the bicentennial weekend; the previous fire station was razed.
The township celebrated its bicentennial in 2002.
By the 1960s a group of visionaries, most of them already leaders in the community, were interested and increasingly concerned in the welfare of Rootstown Township. In 1964 the Rootstown Community Development Council was formed with this board of directors: Ward W. Davis, Chairman; Paul Hurd, vice chairman; and Harry Devault, secretary/treasurer. However, by 1975, the organization had become inactive.
Government
The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer,[4] who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.
Town hall
The Rootstown Town Hall was built in 1809 and remains in use today. It first received electricity in 1921 and indoor plumbing in 1963. In 1999 the township zoning board began using the basement of the town hall to store accumulated files and records. Today, it is located along SR 44 just south of the town center.
Public services
Transportation
In Rootstown Township, Interstate 76 passes through many wooded hills.
The following highways pass through Rootstown Township: 
SR 5, 
SR 44, and 
I-76 at exit 38. Public transportation is provided by the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA), which provides routes to Kent, Ravenna, and other parts of Portage County.
Education
Rootstown Township is served by the Rootstown Local School District. All three schools in the district are located on a central campus on SR 44 just north of the town center. Across the street from the Rootstown Schools campus is the campus of the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Nearby institutions of higher learning include Kent State University, Hiram College, and the University of Akron.
Cemeteries
There are three cemeteries in Rootstown Township: the Old Cemetery, St. Peter of the Fields Cemetery, and Homeland Cemetery.
Old Cemetery
The first death in Rootstown Township was on August 31, 1809, with the death of 51-year-old Nathan Chapman, Sr. This cemetery was used until 1897 when a fire destroyed the township records. The last known burial at the Old Cemetery was in 1936.
St. Peter of the Fields Cemetery
- Established in 1867 with the first burial, this cemetery was dedicated holy ground for the Catholics of the parish of St. Peter of the Fields Church.
- The Old Section started in 1867, the Sacred Heart in 1941, and the Holy Angels, the newest section named in 2002, made up the resting grounds. A shrine and altar were built in 1941 and were re-built larger in 2001 to accommodate mass celebration there.
- A new church was established in 2006.
Homeland Cemetery
- Land was purchased and cleared for the new cemetery around 1890.
- The shrubs along the front were planted in 1950.
- In 2001-2002 Rootstown Township developed more land into burial plots and put the cemetery records on computer discs.
References
External links
