Brady Lake is an unincorporated

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

and former

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in Portage County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. The population was 1,222 at the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1927, it originally developed as an amusement park and summer resort that opened in 1891. It was formed from a small portion of Franklin Township and became fully independent of the township in 1993. The village was named after the lake it borders, Brady Lake, which in turn was named for Captain Samuel Brady, who hid in the lake around 1780 while being pursued by a band of local Native Americans. Residents voted to dissolve the village on May 2, 2017, and the area was again made part of Franklin Township. In 2019, the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

created the Brady Lake

(CDP), an area that includes the entire former village as well as the immediate surrounding area. The CDP is part of the

Akron metropolitan area The Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Greater Akron, is defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget as an area consisting of two counties, Summit and Portage, in Northeast Ohio and anchored by t ...

Geography

Brady Lake is located at (41.163329, −81.312803). According to the

, in 2010 the village had a total area of , of which was land and was water. The community is situated along the southern and eastern shores of Brady Lake.

Nearby communities

Located in west-central Portage County, the village of Brady Lake only physically bordered Franklin Township, which completely surrounded the village. The larger CDP borders

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

on the west and Ravenna Township on the east. Other nearby communities include: *

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

to the east * Brimfield Township to the south * Streetsboro and Sugar Bush Knolls to the north

Transportation

Ohio State Route 59 State Route 59 (SR 59) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving the Akron metropolitan area. The western terminus of State Route 59 is in downtown Akron at a partial interchange with the Interstate 76/Interstate 77 co ...

skirts the southern edge of Brady Lake for a short distance just east of the Kent city limits. It, along with Brady Lake Road along the north side of the community, are the main roads connecting the area with Kent and Ravenna. For public transportation, it is served by the

Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority The Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority, commonly referred to as PARTA, is a transit agency serving Portage County, Ohio. It is headquartered in Franklin Township just outside the Kent city limits. PARTA was formed in 1975 from an ag ...

(PARTA).

ZIP and area codes

Until September 2019, Brady Lake had its own post office and ZIP code (Brady Lake, OH 44211), though it was a contracted post office and was only used for mailbox rentals with PO box addresses. The eastern part of the community is in the Ravenna, OH 44266 ZIP code while the western side uses the Kent, OH 44240 ZIP code for home-delivered mail. For telephone use, Brady Lake is part of the 330 and 234 and

area codes A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

, which includes the Akron-

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

and

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

areas of

Northeast Ohio The region Northeast Ohio, in the US state of Ohio, in its most expansive usage contains six metropolitan areas ( Cleveland–Elyria, Akron, Canton–Massillon, Youngstown–Warren, Mansfield, and Weirton–Steubenville) along with eight m ...

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 464 people, 201 households, and 130 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 226 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 94.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.3% Native American, 1.1%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 3.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.9% of the population. There were 201 households, of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.3% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.67. The median age in the village was 47.4 years. 14.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.1% were from 25 to 44; 39.9% were from 45 to 64; and 12.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 51.9% male and 48.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 513 people, 202 households, and 148 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 212 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.49%

, 1.56%

, 0.78% Native American, 0.58% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.78% of the population. There were 202 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were

living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00. In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $36,406, and the median income for a family was $47,917. Males had a median income of $36,667 versus $26,641 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $19,357. About 3.5% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Brady Lake is part of the

Kent City School District The Kent City School District is a public school district based in Kent, Ohio, United States. It serves approximately 3,100 students living in Kent, Franklin Township, Brady Lake, and Sugar Bush Knolls, as well as a small portion of southern ...

, which it has been a part of since 1959. Prior to that time Brady Lake operated its own school district, the Brady Lake Local School District, with all students attending a small schoolhouse. The school later served as an early "model school" for teachers in training at the new Kent State Normal School from 1913 through the 1920s. A new building opened in 1923, named for Emma Williard, who donated for the building's construction. Williard School initially served students in grades 1–11, but later in the 1920s, high school students were sent to Theodore Roosevelt High School. After merging with the Kent City Schools in 1959, Williard School functioned as an elementary school for grades 1–6 until it was closed in 1978.

Culture

Prior to 2007, the town celebrated a festival called Captain Brady Day each summer. It was first held in 1972 as a way to bring all residents around the lake, both in the village and in Franklin Township, together. It was canceled in 2007 due to lack of volunteers. The Lake Brady Association disbanded in 2008, which was the main organizer. For the last several years, the village had organized a festival, car show, and flea market get-together called the Muskrat Jamboree. It was held annually in the summer at the baseball fields by Brady Lake Road.

Dissolution

In a special election held on May 2, 2017, residents of Brady Lake voted 106–88 to dissolve the village. The vote came after years of controversy surrounding the village's government, including high taxes and its inability to maintain infrastructure. Following the vote, all village operations ceased immediately. At the time of the vote, local officials were uncertain about the community's future and believed that it would again become part of Franklin Township, which it did. The dissolution became official after the vote totals were certified on May 23 and signed off by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted in July. Portage County formally dissolved Brady Lake Township, a

paper township The term paper township refers to a civil township under Ohio law that nominally exists for certain purposes but does not act as a functioning unit of civil government. Such townships usually exist on paper as a legal fiction due to municipal ann ...

created in 1993, in July 2017, which officially returned the area to Franklin Township jurisdiction. There was also some confusion regarding the ownership of the lake, which had previously been owned by the village. By early 2018, Franklin Township assumed full ownership of the lake.

Notable people

* Eddie Morgan, former Major League Baseball player

Notes

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Portage County, Ohio Populated places established in 1927 Former municipalities in Ohio Populated places disestablished in 2017