Kent, Ohio
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Kent is a city in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
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 ...
and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the
Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...
in
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 ...
on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as part of the
Akron Metropolitan Statistical 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 b ...
and the larger
Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area 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 mi ...
. Part of the
Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms of ...
, Kent was settled in 1805 and was known for many years as Franklin Mills. Settlers were attracted to the area due to its location along the Cuyahoga River as a place for water-powered mills. Later development came in the 1830s and 1840s as a result of the settlement's position along the route of the
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal The Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, also known as the P & O Canal, the Cross Cut Canal and the Mahoning Canal was a shipping canal which operated from 1840 until 1877 (though the canal was completely abandoned by 1872). It was unique in that it se ...
. Leading up to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, Franklin Mills was noted for its activity in the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
. With the decline of the canal and the emergence of the railroad, the town became the home of the
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad The Atlantic and Great Western Railroad began as three separate railroads: the Erie and New York City Railroad based in Jamestown, New York; the Meadville Railroad based in Meadville, Pennsylvania (renamed A&GW in April 1858); and the Franklin and ...
maintenance shops through the influence of Marvin Kent. In 1864 the town was renamed Kent in honor of and in gratitude for Marvin Kent's efforts. It was incorporated as a village in 1867 and became a city after the 1920 Census. Today Kent is a
college town A college town or university town is a community (often a separate town or city, but in some cases a town/city neighborhood or a district) that is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several sma ...
best known as the home of the main campus of
Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...
, founded in 1910, and as the site of the 1970
Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...
. Historically a manufacturing center, education is the city's largest economic sector with Kent State University being the city's, and one of the region's, largest employers. 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 ...
and the Kent Free Library provide additional education opportunities and resources. Many of Kent's demographic elements are influenced by the presence of the university, particularly the median age, median income, and those living below the poverty level. The city is governed by a council-manager system with a
city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
, a nine-member city council, and a mayor. Kent has nearly 20 parks and preserves and hosts a number of annual festivals including ones related to Earth Day, folk music, and the U.S. Independence Day. In addition to the Kent State athletic teams, the city also hosts a number of amateur and local sporting events at various times during the year. Kent is part of the Cleveland–Akron media market and is the city of license for three local radio stations and three television stations and includes the regional affiliates for
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
(NPR) and the
Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...
(PBS). Local transportation infrastructure includes a public bus service and hike-and-bike trails. As the home of the Davey Tree Expert Company, Kent is known as "The Tree City" while residents are referred to as " Kentites". The city has produced a number of notable individuals, particularly in politics, athletics, and the entertainment industry.


History

The region was originally inhabited by various tribes of American Indians, including the early
Mound Builders A number of pre-Columbian cultures are collectively termed "Mound Builders". The term does not refer to a specific people or archaeological culture, but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks erected for an extended period of more than 5 ...
. Around 1780, Captain
Samuel Brady Captain Samuel Brady (1756–1795) was an Irish American Revolutionary War officer, frontier scout, notorious Indian fighter, and the subject of many legends, in the history of western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio. He is best known for repo ...
achieved notoriety for his activities in the area, including his famous leap of over the
Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...
to avoid capture by an unknown band of American Indians. The site, known as Brady's Leap, is now a city park. Settlement by Europeans began in the late 1790s and early 19th century. As part of the
Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms of ...
, the area was divided into survey 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 Olmsted, a wealthy
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
merchant, had purchased the township and named it for his son Aaron Franklin Olmsted. Franklin Township was surveyed in 1803 and settled in November 1805 when John Haymaker and his family moved west from
Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...
to the banks of the Cuyahoga River. They were joined by John's brother George and their father Jacob Haymaker and their families early the next year, and built a
gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
in 1807. Initial growth in the area was slow, but eventually two small villages would develop due to the potential for power generated by the Cuyahoga River that could be used in gristmills and manufacturing. The first village, known as Franklin Mills, or locally as the "Lower Village", developed mostly around the original Haymaker property. In 1818, Joshua Woodard arrived in the area and began constructing buildings just north of the village forming the "Upper Village" that would come to be known briefly as Carthage. In the 1820s, Franklin Mills was included in the route of the
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal The Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, also known as the P & O Canal, the Cross Cut Canal and the Mahoning Canal was a shipping canal which operated from 1840 until 1877 (though the canal was completely abandoned by 1872). It was unique in that it se ...
(P & O Canal). When construction began on the canal in the mid-1830s, land speculation was rampant in many areas of northeast Ohio along the canal, including Franklin Mills. As a result, an industrial and business region was established along the east side of the river in what is now downtown Kent. Factories and mills were either planned or constructed along the Cuyahoga River, some of which either were never built or ultimately failed, due mostly to effects of the Panic of 1837. A lock and attached arch dam, however, was completed in 1836.Grismer, pp. 19–25. The canal officially opened in 1840, but would only operate into the 1860s. By the 1870s the canal was completely shut down. In the era leading up to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, Franklin Mills was an active stop on the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
, giving fugitive slaves shelter on their escape to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. There were three notable stops in Franklin Mills, one of which still stands as of 2010. During this period, from 1835 to 1839, noted American abolitionist
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
moved to the village, operating a tannery along the Cuyahoga River with Zenas Kent. In 1863 the
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad The Atlantic and Great Western Railroad began as three separate railroads: the Erie and New York City Railroad based in Jamestown, New York; the Meadville Railroad based in Meadville, Pennsylvania (renamed A&GW in April 1858); and the Franklin and ...
was constructed through Franklin Mills, due largely to the efforts of local businessman Marvin Kent, son of Zenas Kent. Marvin Kent had started his own railroad company, the
Franklin and Warren Railroad Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral divi ...
, in 1851 after Franklin Mills, already home to several Kent family ventures and properties, was bypassed by the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad that same year. Kent was also successful in getting the village named as the location of the railroad's maintenance yards and shops in 1864. The geographic location along the railroad and being home to the shops reinvented and revitalized the village as an important stop on the east–west line between
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The shops would open in 1865 and the railroad would play an important part of Kent's industry and development through the early 20th century before the shops were completely shut down in 1930. To honor Marvin Kent, the village was renamed Kent in 1864, although this change was not official until the village was incorporated on May 6, 1867. John Davey came to Kent in 1881 as head grounds keeper at Standing Rock Cemetery, and planted several trees, landscaped the cemetery, and performed experiments on trees. In 1901, he published his theories on tree surgery with his book ''The Tree Doctor'', and later established the Davey Tree Expert Company in 1909. The efforts of Davey and the presence of Davey Tree led to the establishment of "The Tree City" as a nickname for Kent, which is reflected in the city's seal. The company continues to be headquartered in Kent and serves as the city's largest private employer. After a fire destroyed the Seneca Chain Company in 1909, one of the city's main industries at the time, city leaders created the Kent Board of Trade in 1910, a forerunner to the Chamber of Commerce. The new Board was successful later that year in having Kent 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 twenty cities were: Ashtabula, Canton, Chagrin Falls, Columbiana, East Liverpool, Geneva, Hubbard, Hudson, Kent, Lorain, Massillon, Medina, Poland, Ravenna, Salem, Seville, Urichsville, Wadsworth, Warren, and Youngstown. The site for the school was on of land donated by William S. Kent, son of Marvin Kent, on what was then the eastern edge of town. By 1929 the school was renamed Kent State College after the establishment of a college of liberal arts and degrees in the arts and sciences and in 1935 was renamed
Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...
after it was given authorization to grant advanced graduate degrees. The bill giving Kent State university status was signed into law by Ohio governor and Kent native
Martin L. Davey Martin Luther Davey (July 25, 1884March 31, 1946) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He was the 53rd governor of Ohio. Childhood Davey was born in Kent, Ohio in 1884. His father was John Davey, better known as the tree doctor a ...
, son of tree surgeon John Davey. During the 1950s and 1960s the growth of Kent State University combined with the effects of
suburbanization Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...
resulted in significant population growth for the city, rising from just over 12,000 residents at the 1950 census to over 28,000 by 1970.
Black squirrel Black squirrels are a melanistic subgroup of squirrels with black coloration on their fur. The phenomenon occurs with several species of squirrels, although it is most frequent with the eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis'') and the ...
s were brought to the campus from Canada in 1961 by Kent State University head groundskeeper Larry Woodell. The squirrels have become an icon for both KSU and the city and are often used as unofficial mascots and symbols. In early May 1970, protests began on the campus of Kent State University over the United States' invasion of Cambodia in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. These protests and demonstrations, which included rioting in downtown Kent on May 2, culminated in the
Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...
on May 4, 1970, where four students were killed and nine were wounded by the
Ohio Army National Guard The Ohio Army National Guard is a part of the Ohio National Guard and the Army National Guard of the United States Army. It is also a component of the organized militia of the state of Ohio, which also includes the Ohio Naval Militia, the Ohio ...
. Several memorials have been placed at the site over the years and commemorations have been held annually since 1971. In 2010 the entire site was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. Also during the late 1960s and into the 1970s, construction of Haymaker Parkway, completed in 1975, brought changes to the city's layout while eliminating ongoing problems with traffic congestion and blocked rail crossings. Kent received national attention in 1995 when the city's water was named "Best Tasting Municipality Water" at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting. The water and mayor
Kathleen Chandler Kathleen Chandler (born September 19, 1932) is a former Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; ...
were featured on the March 3 episode of ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...
''. Since then, Kent has placed in the top five a total of six times with the most recent being a fifth-place finish in 2011. In 2003, the 1836 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. From 1881 to 2016, downtown Kent was home to a flour mill, housed in a complex originally built from 1880 to 1881 by the Williams brothers and later acquired by the Star of the West Milling Company. The mill closed in 2016 after Star of the West consolidated operations to
Willard, Ohio Willard is a city in southwestern Huron County, Ohio, United States, approximately southwest of Norwalk. The population was 6,236 at the 2010 census. History The original name of Willard was Chicago, named for the junction of the Baltimore an ...
, and the complex was sold to a local developer in 2019. On the morning of December 2, 2022, part of the complex caught fire. In addition to the Kent Fire Department, 11 additional area fire departments and multiple other agencies responded. The fire destroyed part of the original 1881 mill building and the grain elevator, built in 1890, and damaged other parts of the complex. The adjacent taller white silos, built in 1936, were not damaged.


Redevelopment

Beginning in 2008, several redevelopment projects in the downtown area, some of which had been discussed for decades, were put into motion and resulted in nearly $110 million in total investment from public and private sources. The first of these was the Phoenix Project, a development privately financed by Kent resident Ron Burbick that renovated and expanded a section of commercial space along East Main Street. Included in the project was construction of a pedestrian alleyway lined with small shops, eventually known as Acorn Alley, which opened in 2009. A second phase of Acorn Alley opened in late 2011. Other aspects of the redevelopment, which include a 360-space parking deck and bus transfer station, a hotel and conference center, and three separate mixed-use buildings, began to take shape in 2010 following the demolition of several buildings in a four block area. New offices for
Ametek AMETEK, Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate and global designer and manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with headquarters in the United States and over 220 sites worldwide. The company was founded in 1 ...
and the Davey Tree Expert Company opened in late 2012 along with several new small businesses on the first floors of each building. The hotel, operated by Kent State University, opened in June 2013 and the new parking garage, operated 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) opened April 30, 2013, as the Kent Central Gateway. In addition to parking, the facility functions as PARTA's main bus transfer station and has storefronts on the ground level facing East Erie Street. Included in the redevelopment was the purchase and renovation of the old
Kent hotel The Kent Hotel is a former public house, pub in the Inner West (Sydney), inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain, New South Wales, Balmain, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Workers from the nearby Booth's Saw Mill and later Lever and ...
, which first opened in 1920. After being mostly vacant since 1979 and completely vacant since 2000, it re-opened on April 1, 2013, as the new home to the Kent location of
Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wild Wings (originally Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, hence the nickname BDubs, or BW3) is an American casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States, Canada, India, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Unit ...
and also houses offices, a wine and jazz bar, and apartments. A five-story mixed-use building called The Landmark was completed in 2014 and construction started in November 2015 on an additional five-story mixed-use building featuring
microapartment A microapartment, also known as a microflat, is a one-room, self-contained living space, usually purpose built, designed to accommodate a sitting space, sleeping space, bathroom and kitchenette with 14–32 square metres (150–350 sq ft). Unlike ...
s, scheduled to be completed in 2016. The developments attracted the attention of ''
The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...
'' and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and earned the city and university the 2013 Larry Abernathy Award from the International Town–Gown Association in recognition of the positive town–gown cooperation and collaboration. Additional development has been ongoing on the campus of Kent State University and the largely residential neighborhood located between downtown Kent and the western edge of campus. The university began buying properties in that neighborhood in 2007 and by December 2012 had acquired 43. Construction of the University Esplanade extension, designed to link campus with downtown, started in August 2012 after several of the buildings in the area, most of which had been rental homes, were demolished or moved. The Esplanade extension continued a segment of the Portage Hike and Bike Trail that extends to
Dix Stadium Dix Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kent, Ohio, United States. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Kent State Golden Flashes football team. In addition, since 2016 the stadium is also home to the Kent S ...
and was completed in October 2013. Kent State constructed a $48 million, facility for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design along the Esplanade extension and also relocated the former home of May Prentice, the first female faculty member at Kent State, to the extension as the home for the Wick Poetry Center. Construction on the architecture building started in October 2014 and was completed in August 2016. In total, there are plans totaling approximately $150 million for several other facilities and upgrades across campus, including a new building for the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology and a renovation and reorganization of the facilities for the School of Art. The city and county have also seen developments in the same area. A new county municipal courthouse on East Main Street was completed in April 2014, and in 2015, Kent City Council approved the sale of the city hall complex to a private developer for construction of a five-story apartment building on the site, which opened in August 2016.


Geography

Kent is located in west-central Portage County in
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 ...
approximately northeast of
Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
and southeast of
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
.Grismer, p. 202, for population years 1870–1930. It is bordered by Franklin Township on the north and east, the unincorporated community of Brady Lake on the east, Brimfield Township on the south, and
Stow Stow may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Stow, Lincolnshire or Stow-in-Lindsey, a village * Stow of Wedale or Stow, Scottish Borders, a village * Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, a small town * Stow, Shropshire or Stowe, a village * Stow ...
on the west. 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 and Sugar Bush Knolls and Streetsboro to the north. It is included in the
Akron Metropolitan Statistical 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 b ...
and the larger
Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area 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 mi ...
. Located on the western end of the
Glaciated Allegheny Plateau The Glaciated Allegheny Plateau is that portion of the Allegheny Plateau that lies within the area covered by the last glaciation. As a result, this area of the Allegheny Plateau has lower relief and gentler slopes than the relatively rugged Ung ...
, the topography of Kent includes rolling hills and varied terrain. The Cuyahoga River passes through the city, cutting a gorge with a drop of nearly adjacent to the downtown area. The
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
lists the city's elevation at above sea level at a point near Kent's geographic center. Elevations vary slightly within the city limits with several buildings on the Kent State University campus at altitudes in excess of and points as high as . According to 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 ...
, as of 2010 the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


Climate

Kent's climate is classified as a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
in the ''Dfa''
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
meaning it typically has very warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters with moderate and variable spring and autumn seasons. The record high temperature is , set on July 7, 1988, with the record low of recorded January 17, 1982. During the spring and summer months, thunderstorms are fairly common and the area is susceptible to
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
es, though the last recorded tornado in Kent occurred in 1973. Effects from tropical systems can also be felt, usually taking the form of increased humidity, rain, and wind, such as with the remnants of
Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...
in September 2008. During the winter months, snowfall is common and can occur in large quantities with considerable
cloud cover Cloud cover (also known as cloudiness, cloudage, or cloud amount) refers to the fraction of the sky obscured by clouds on average when observed from a particular location. Okta is the usual unit for measurement of the cloud cover. The cloud co ...
. Kent is not considered part of the Lake Erie
snowbelt The Snowbelt is the region near the Great Lakes in North America where heavy snowfall in the form of lake-effect snow is particularly common. Snowbelts are typically found downwind of the lakes, principally off the eastern and southern shores. Ca ...
, though
lake-effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through ...
does occur at times. The city is in what is referred to as the "secondary snowbelt", meaning it will receive heavier snowfall totals from lake-effect snow when certain wind directions are more prevalent, but typically sees far less snowfall than areas to the north closer to
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
. While temperatures below the
freezing point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends ...
are typical in the winter months, thaw periods where temperatures exceed and even are not uncommon in January and February.


Demographics

As a
college town A college town or university town is a community (often a separate town or city, but in some cases a town/city neighborhood or a district) that is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several sma ...
, Kent's demographic and population statistics are greatly affected by the presence and growth of Kent State University. As a result, several statistics are noticeably higher or lower than state and national averages including median age and the percentage of residents in the 18–24 age bracket, individuals below the poverty line, and percentage of residents with a college degree. Initial population growth in Kent was influenced by the location on the Cuyahoga River which led to the development of industrial and manufacturing jobs.Grismer, pp. 11, 25. Early settlers mainly came from the northeastern United States and were largely of
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
descent. After the arrival of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in 1863, growth was steady into the early 20th century with the village battling
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 ...
for the position of Portage County's largest city. By the 1930 Census, Kent had passed Ravenna as the county's most populous city with even larger population growth in the 1950s and 1960s rising from 12,148 in 1950 to 28,183 by 1970. As of 2010, Kent remains the county's largest city. Most recent population measurements of the city have shown the effect of changes in the city's overall population coinciding with changes in the number of students living on campus as well as a reduction in the number of persons per housing unit. As of the 2010 Census, there were 28,904 people living in the city for a
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 ...
of 3,150.5 people per square mile (1,216.4/km2). There were 11,174 housing units at an average density of 1,218.0 per square mile (470.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.1%
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 ...
, 9.6%
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 ...
, 3.7%
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 ...
, 0.2% Native American, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.5% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.9% from two or more races. 2.2% of the population is
Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...
of any race. Though slightly below the national averages for diversity, Kent is very close to the averages for Ohio and above the averages for the surrounding area. Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, the city saw slight increases in the number of minority residents. The 2015 estimate placed the population at 29,810. There were 10,288 households in 2010, out of which 20.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 27.5% 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, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 56.3% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size in Kent was 2.2 and the average family size was 2.86, which compares with the national average of 2.58 for a household and 3.14 for a family and the state average household size of 2.44 and average family size of 3.01. Includes date from United States, Ohio, and Kent. In the city the population was spread out, with 29.4% ages 19 years and under, 44.1% from 20 to 39, 15.9% from 40 to 59, 8.0% from 60 to 79, and 2.5% who were 80 years of age or older. The median age was 22.7 years, which was well below both the median age for Ohio (38.8) and the United States (35.3). The city's population was 46.3% male and 53.7% female. The rate differs slightly from the national average of 49.2% male and 50.8% female and the state average of 48.8% male and 51.2% female. It contrasts with neighboring Franklin Township, which has a population that is 51.3% male and 48.7% female.Compared statistics from the United States, Ohio, Portage County, Franklin Township, and Kent. The mean income for a household in the city was $46,848, well below the mean household incomes for Ohio ($61,397) and the United States ($70,116) in the 2010 Census. The median household income in Kent was $28,958, compared to $46,563 for Ohio and $51,222 for the U.S. For families, the mean income in Kent was $71,817 with a median income of $59,936, both of which were closer to the state ($73,084 mean, $58,566 median) and national ($81,568 mean, $62,112 median) averages. Males had a median income of $35,316 versus $35,255 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 workers in the city was $18,339. 10.4% of families and 29.3% 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 21.1% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over. While the number of individuals below the poverty line is significantly higher than both the state and national averages, with 14.8% of individuals in Ohio and 14.4% in the United States being below the poverty line, the percentage of families below the poverty line is slightly below the state (10.5%) and national (10.8%) averages. Measures of high poverty rates in similar college towns, however, is not uncommon across the U.S. Educationally, Kent is above the national, state, and local averages for residents who have attained a bachelor's, master's, or above a master's degree. At the 2010 Census, 41.9% of Kent's population above the age of 25 had obtained a college degree compared to 24.9% of the same population in Portage County, 24.1% statewide, and 27.9% nationally.


Economy

Kent's location along the Cuyahoga River and later the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal and multiple railroad lines made it attractive initially for the establishment of small
gristmills A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
for the production of flour and various factories. Progressively larger factories later developed due to increased power available from the river and eventually due to the ease and lower cost of transportation of goods to other markets. During the latter half of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, the city's largest employers were all industrially based, including the
Atlantic and Great Western Railroad The Atlantic and Great Western Railroad began as three separate railroads: the Erie and New York City Railroad based in Jamestown, New York; the Meadville Railroad based in Meadville, Pennsylvania (renamed A&GW in April 1858); and the Franklin and ...
and its successors, which operated its main maintenance shops in the village; the Seneca Chain Company; and bus manufacturer
Twin Coach Twin Coach was an American vehicle manufacturing company from 1927 to 1955, located in Kent, Ohio, and a maker of marine engines and airplane parts until the 1960s. It was formed by brothers Frank and William Fageol when they left the Fageol Mo ...
among others. A disastrous fire at the Seneca Chain Company in 1909 led to the creation of the Kent Board of Trade—an early Chamber of Commerce—which was successful in getting Kent selected in 1910 as the site of what would become Kent State University. Changes in the structure of the railroad and declines in the manufacturing sector during the mid-20th century combined with the rapid growth of Kent State University following World War II led to the university becoming the city's largest employer and influenced the development of other areas of the city's economy. Beginning in the late first decade of the 21st century, the university, along with the city and private investors, began to play a more active role in the redevelopment of downtown Kent and has aided in the development of local high tech companies. Kent State operates Centennial Research Park, along
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 ...
in Kent's
Joint Economic Development District A Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) is an arrangement in Ohio where one or more municipality, municipalities and a Township (United States), township agree to work together to develop township land for commercial or industrial purposes. Th ...
with Franklin Township, which houses two
high tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...
start-up companies in the
liquid crystal Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. T ...
industry. Kent has an additional Joint Economic Development District with Brimfield Township. Through the Kent Regional Business Alliance, the city also supports two
business incubator Business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with venture ca ...
s. As of 2010, the educational, health, and social services fields were the city's largest sector, and employed over 33.5% of Kent's workforce. This included the city's two largest employers, Kent State University and the Kent City School District, as well as
University Hospitals Portage Medical Center University Hospitals Portage Medical Center is a 117-staffed-bed hospital located in Ravenna, Ohio, United States, that serves the residents of Portage County and surrounding communities. Affiliated with University Hospitals of Cleveland, the hosp ...
, which operates an
outpatient surgery Outpatient surgery, also known as ambulatory surgery, day surgery, day case surgery, or same-day surgery, is surgery that does not require an overnight hospital stay.The International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS) would not consider al ...
center and general medical facility."City of Kent, Ohio Principal Employers". City of Kent, Ohio Department of Budget and Finance. 2009. 16.3% of the workforce is employed in arts, entertainment, and food service, with 12.2% employed in retail. Manufacturing accounts for 7.1% of the workforce with a
Land O' Lakes Land O'Lakes, Inc. is an American member-owned agricultural cooperative based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills, Minnesota, United States, focusing on the dairy industry. The cooperative has 1,959 direct producer-members, 751 ...
plant being the largest employer in the sector.
Smithers-Oasis Smithers-Oasis is a company specializing in floristry products headquartered in Kent, Ohio, United States. The company created water-absorbing foam in 1954. History The company was founded in 1954 by V.L. Smithers in Kent, Ohio after he dev ...
, a
floristry Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related sup ...
developer and manufacturer, was founded in Kent in 1954 and operates a plant in the city. Their corporate offices were moved back to Kent from Cuyahoga Falls in September 2013, having originally moved there from Kent in 1992. Kent is also home to the corporate headquarters of the Davey Tree Expert Company, which serves as the city's largest private employer. In 2010 Davey Tree announced plans to relocate staff from its Davey Resource Group, who were previously in neighboring Stow, to Kent as part of a planned downtown development and has stated long-term goals include having all corporate offices in Kent. The office, which included some office staff already in Kent at the main corporate headquarters, opened in August 2012. 75.1% of those employed commuted alone to work by way of a car, truck, or van with another 7.1%
carpool Carpooling (also car-sharing, ride-sharing and lift-sharing) is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. By having more people usi ...
ing. 10.6% of workers walked to work with 1.9% using
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
ation. The average commute time was 22 minutes. 13.0% of the workforce was unemployed in 2010, above the 9.8% for the state and 9.0% nationally. the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of t ...
estimated the unemployment rate in Kent at 7.9% in 2010 and 6.6% in October 2011.


Culture

Cultural elements in Kent include various arts, environmental, and entertainment events during the year, as well as the Kent State University Museum. The Kent Heritage Festival is held every July in the downtown area, coinciding with the U.S. Independence Day. The festival includes crafts, booths, entertainment, train rides, 5K and 10K races, and fireworks, drawing approximately 25,000 people each year. In October, Kent hosts the homecoming festivities for Kent State University, including a parade down East Main Street as well as other events and activities both on campus and around the city. Also in October, the downtown area hosts an annual, yet unofficial,
Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
celebration, which usually takes place the last Saturday of October. The event typically draws thousands, largely Kent State students, and includes many who dress in costume. In 2007 Main Street Kent, a local organization that promotes downtown Kent, created a family-oriented Halloween event downtown that precedes the unofficial celebration. Retrieved from Internet Archive January 25, 2014. Since 2007, Kent has hosted an annual environmental festival known as "Who's Your Mama?" which takes place in conjunction with Earth Day. The festival has events at various locations in the city, such as a
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
chef competition, concerts, a film festival, guest speakers, and booths on environment-based topics. Through Main Street Kent, additional events downtown include an ice cream social event in August, an outdoor concert series and "sidewalk cinema" between May and September, an art and wine festival in June, a cider festival in November, and the Festival of Lights
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
celebration in early December. Kent Potterfest, a festival celebrating the book and movie series ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'', debuted in late July 2016 and is held annually in the downtown area. It features ''Harry Potter''-themed vendors and activities, a 5k run through the campus of Kent State University, a costume contest, and the transformation of Acorn Alley into
Diagon Alley J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' universe contains numerous settings for the events in her fantasy novels. These locations are categorised as a dwelling, school, shopping district, or government-affiliated locale. Dwellings The Burrow The Wea ...
. From May to October, the Haymaker Farmers' Market operates every Saturday morning in the downtown area adjacent to and under the Greer Bridge of Haymaker Parkway. The location is marked by a commissioned
mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
completed in October 2012 on the two bridge supports that line each side of the market's area. The market was established in 1992 and includes over 40 vendors, making it one of the oldest and largest
farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
s in Northeast Ohio. An indoor Winter Market, established in 2008, is held Saturday mornings from November through April. The
Kent Stage The Kent Stage is a 642-seat theater that was built in 1927 in Kent, Ohio, United States. Since 2002, it has been used as a performance venue for music, plays and film. History In 1927, it opened as the Flannigan and Steele Theater, a movie theate ...
, located downtown, is a performance venue for a variety of arts performances in music and theater. It hosts around 90 concerts, four theatrical performances, and four film festivals or movie premiers per year, including local, national, and international performers. Since opening in 2002, it has been visited by approximately 120,000 patrons from all over Ohio, 38 U.S. states, and 3 countries. In April, it hosts events related to the "Who's Your Mama?" Earth Day festival and in June, it is one of the host venues for the Kent Folk Festival, an annual event in
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
since the late 1960s. The festival includes multiple folk music acts at venues throughout the city over a period of several days. The Kent Stage also hosts the Kent Blues Festival and a local artist music festival known as the Up From The River Music Festival. Kent is also home to the Kent State University Museum, located in Rockwell Hall on the KSU campus. The museum focuses on the history of fashion design and decorative arts in the United States and around the world from the 18th century to the present. Each year in early May, the university hosts an annual commemoration of the
Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...
, which typically features several speakers, forums, artwork, and other related events. On campus, Kent State operates the May 4 Visitors' Center, which covers the shootings and the events surrounding them. It is housed in Taylor Hall on the site added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2010 and includes three galleries covering art and media from the era of the 1960s leading up to the shootings, images from the actual event, and the local and national impact after the shootings. The center opened to the public October 20, 2012, during the Kent State Homecoming weekend. The site was named a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in December 2016. In addition to the Kent State Shootings Site near the center of campus, there are also a number of additional sites and districts in Kent on the National Register of Historic Places, some of which are open to the public. The Kent Industrial District is a historical district along the Cuyahoga River adjacent to downtown that includes an area and structures that were important in Kent's early history. On the northwestern part of the Kent State University campus is the
Ohio State Normal College At Kent The Ohio State Normal College at Kent is a historic district in Kent, Ohio, United States. It consists of the five original buildings on the main campus of Kent State University, with the first, Merrill Hall, opening in 1913 and the last, Moulton ...
district, which includes the school's five original
classic revival Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
buildings dating to 1913. There is also the West Main Street District just west of downtown that includes 20 private homes of architectural and historical significance from the post-Civil War and early 20th century periods. The district includes the Kent Masonic Center, which was originally built in the early 1880s as the home of Marvin Kent and his family, and the former residence of
Martin L. Davey Martin Luther Davey (July 25, 1884March 31, 1946) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He was the 53rd governor of Ohio. Childhood Davey was born in Kent, Ohio in 1884. His father was John Davey, better known as the tree doctor a ...
, who served as
Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
. Buildings in Kent listed on the register include three private homes noted for their architecture styles: the
John Davey House The John Davey House is a historic structure located in Kent, Ohio, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 29, 1975. An example of Second Empire architecture, the house is best known for being th ...
for the
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
style, and both the Aaron Ferrey and Charles Kent Houses as examples of
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
. Other buildings include the 1869 Kent Jail, now used by the Parks and Recreation Department, and the 1837
Franklin Township Hall The Franklin Township Hall, also referred to historically as the "Town Hall", is a town hall located in Kent, Ohio, United States, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building, located along Gougler Avenue in central Kent nea ...
, the site of eventual U.S. President
James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...
's first nomination for public office in 1859. As part of its renovation and redevelopment, the former Franklin Hotel, first opened in 1920, was added to the NRHP in 2013 for its local historical significance and its connections to notable people. The former L.N. Gross Company Building, built in 1928 and designed by Kent architect Charles Kistler, was added to the NRHP in 2016 as part of its restoration and renovation.


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
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the
Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...
East Division. Several of Kent State's teams have enjoyed league and national success, the most notable being the men's basketball team's run to the
Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...
in the 2002 NCAA Tournament and the baseball team's appearance in the 2012 College World Series. The 6,327-seat
Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center The Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, often referred to as the MAC Center and the MACC, is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The building is primarily used as an athletic venue that ...
, commonly referred to as the MAC Center, is the site of a number of athletic events in multiple sports, including
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
, women's
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
, and women's
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
in addition to men's and women's basketball. It is also a regular site for the Mid-American Conference's wrestling and women's gymnastics championships. In addition to hosting the KSU football team, Kent State's 25,319-seat
Dix Stadium Dix Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kent, Ohio, United States. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Kent State Golden Flashes football team. In addition, since 2016 the stadium is also home to the Kent S ...
has been a venue for
high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
games both in the regular-season and the state playoffs. The adjacent Murphy-Mellis Field is a location for
Ohio High School Athletic Association The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of compe ...
(OHSAA) field hockey tournament games and the Diamond at Dix is a regular venue for OHSAA regional softball tournament games. From 1975 to 1981 the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
held their
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
in Kent at Kent State University. The Kent State University Ice Arena serves as host to several local
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
programs including youth leagues, high school and professional teams, and as a site for OHSAA high school tournament games and ice skating competitions in addition to being home of KSU's club team, which competes in the
American Collegiate Hockey Association The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...
. The ice arena is also the home of the Kent Twisters, a member of the Pennsylvania-Ohio Women's Hockey Association, an adult amateur women's ice hockey league. Kent also plays host to the Portage County Open
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
tournament, held annually at the tennis courts of Theodore Roosevelt High School.


Parks and recreation

The city operates nearly 20 parks and preserves, the largest of which is the Fred Fuller park along the
Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...
, named after a former Kent Parks chairman. The park includes the Kramer Fields baseball and softball complex, which contains four fields, two of which are lighted. Several of the parks along the Cuyahoga River are on or near areas of historical significance. Franklin Mills Riveredge Park, which follows the Cuyahoga River through downtown Kent, passes through a large portion of the Kent Industrial District along with Heritage Park and includes sites related to the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal. Adjacent on the south is the John Brown Tannery Park, on the site of the former tannery
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
helped fund with Zenas Kent in the 1830s, while Brady's Leap park, adjacent to the north, is at the location of the famed leap over the Cuyahoga River by Captain
Samuel Brady Captain Samuel Brady (1756–1795) was an Irish American Revolutionary War officer, frontier scout, notorious Indian fighter, and the subject of many legends, in the history of western Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio. He is best known for repo ...
circa 1780. The parks and recreation department, in addition to operating and maintaining the city's parks and preserves, also operates a recreation center on the city's south side and offers several sports, arts, and education programs at various locations in Kent. The department also sponsors events throughout the year including Art in the Park, an ice-skating party, hayrides, and Santa's Arrival. The Kent City School District operates an indoor pool at Theodore Roosevelt High School that is available for public recreational and instructional use outside of its use by the school for athletics and physical education. The pool hosts swimming lessons and serves as a home venue for the
Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...
-based Hudson Explorers Aquatic Team, a competitive swimming program for ages five and above. Within the city are segments of the Portage Hike and Bike Trail, which is jointly managed with Kent State University, the Portage Park District, and the city of Ravenna. The main portion of the trail follows the Cuyahoga River in Kent with most of the trail paved with asphalt. In August 2012, as part of several redevelopment projects in the downtown area, Kent State University began construction of the Esplanade Extension, which was completed in August 2013 and connects the university's portion of trail extending to Dix Stadium, known as the University Esplanade, to downtown Kent. The trail connects with the hike and bike trails in neighboring Summit County and links Kent with nearby communities in Portage County. The city is also home to the
Cooperrider-Kent Bog State Nature Preserve The Cooperrider-Kent Bog State Nature Preserve is state nature preserve located mainly in Kent, Ohio. The preserve surrounds the Kent Bog, a remnant of the Wisconsin Glaciation. It is a true bog with acidic waters and unique environmental condi ...
, 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 ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...
trees in the continental United States. Through partnerships with Kent State University Recreational Services and other local agencies, additional recreational opportunities are available to city residents. A livery known as Crooked River Adventures is available at Tannery Park. The livery generally operates from May to October depending on weather and water levels. Canoe, kayak, tubing, and bicycle rentals are available to residents and students with kayak and canoe service as far as Brust Park in Munroe Falls and Water Works Park in
Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 51,114. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb of the Akron metropol ...
. Kent also has a
bicycle-sharing system A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include bot ...
known as Flashfleet in partnership with the university and PARTA. The program offers yearly memberships or hourly rentals with locations on campus and in the downtown area.


Government

Kent is governed by a
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
form of government with a council–manager system of nine council members and a mayor. The city is divided into six
wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
and voters select a mayor, a council member representing their ward, and three
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
council members in staggered four-year terms. The city charter, adopted in 1963, is reviewed by a charter commission every 10 years who then make recommendations for changes, the last review being in 2015.Darrow, p. 27; initially the charter called for reviews every 5 years until a change to 10 years in 1985. The city council hires a
city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
who oversees the day-to-day operations in the various city departments and enforces policies set by council. The mayor serves a largely ceremonial role as president of the council and votes only in the event of a tie. Kent voters approved the change from a mayor-council system to council-manager in 1975 and it went into effect in 1977. Jerry Fiala began his term as mayor January 1, 2010, and Dave Ruller began serving as city manager June 15, 2005. As part of the city government, Kent also has departments of community development, health, human services, law, parks and recreation, public safety, and public service. The Public Service Department oversees a variety of construction and maintenance works as well as the city's water treatment and water reclamation systems while the Public Safety Department includes both the police and fire departments. The Kent Police Department is housed in the city's Safety Administration Building and includes 911 dispatch for Kent and Franklin Township. Kent State University also operates its own police department, which mainly patrols the KSU campus and KSU property in and out of the Kent city limits. The two departments frequently communicate and for several years were headed by identical twin brothers: James Peach in the city and John Peach at the university. The fire department operates two stations, the main station adjacent to the Safety Administration Building and the West Side Fire Station along North Mantua Street on the western side of the Cuyahoga River. Kent Fire also provides fire and emergency medical service coverage for Franklin Township and the village of Sugar Bush Knolls. The city's main sources of tax revenue come from
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
, set at 2.25%, and
property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
. Voters approved an increase in the income tax rate from 2.0% in November 2013 to fund a new police station and the new rate took effect January 1, 2014. The rate increase includes a
sunset provision In public policy, a sunset provision or sunset clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law ...
that requires the tax rate to return to 2.0% once debt is paid off on the new facility. In 2014, the city operated on a budget of approximately $40 million. The largest percentage of the budget, 31% or $11.9 million, was spent on public safety services followed by 22% or $8.5 million on basic utilities. Debt service accounted for $6.0 million or 17% of the budget while transportation projects accounted for 9% or $3.37 million of the budget, 8% or $3.33 million towards general government expenses, and $2.35 million allocated for construction of a new police station. At the state level, Kent is in the 68th district of the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...
, represented since 2011 by
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
Kathleen Clyde Kathleen Clyde (born May 18, 1979) is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives who represented the 75th District from 2011 to 2018. Early life and career Clyde is originally from Garrettsville, Ohio. She was the valedictorian of her ...
, a Kent resident. In the
State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
, Kent is part of the 18th district, represented since 2011 by Republican John Eklund of
Geauga County Geauga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,397. The county seat is Chardon. The county is named for an Onondaga or Seneca language word meaning 'raccoon', originally the name of the ...
. At the Federal level, Kent is included in
Ohio's 13th congressional district The 13th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Tim Ryan. Due to reapportionment following the 2010 United States Census, Ohio lost its 17th and 18th congressional districts, necessitating redrawing of district lines. F ...
, represented since 2003 by Democrat Tim Ryan of Niles.


Education

Preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...
,
elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...
, and
secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...
is mainly provided by the Kent City School District. The portion of the city south of State Route 261 is part of the neighboring Field Local School District. See also :File:Portage County school districts overlay.png The Kent district was created around 1860 and later merged with the Franklin Township and Brady Lake school districts in 1959. It serves most of Kent and Franklin Township, the village Sugar Bush Knolls and a small part of southern Streetsboro. Kent has four neighborhood elementary schools that serve students in grades K–5, Stanton Middle School for grades 6–8, and Theodore Roosevelt High School for grades 9–12. The district also operates a preschool program housed at Davey Elementary School, and is a member of the Six District Educational Compact with five surrounding districts to facilitate vocational education, with many of these programs housed at Roosevelt High School. In 1985, Roosevelt High School was given the
United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
Excellence in Education award and the school has consistently been rated "Excellent" by the Ohio Department of Education since 2004. For 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2018 it was named in '' U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the best high schools in the United States, earning the publication's Bronze Medal designation. The Kent City School District has been consistently rated as "Excellent" or "Effective" by the Ohio Department of Education and 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 The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...
award. Kent also has one private school, St. Patrick School, which serves around 300 students in grades K–8 from Kent and several surrounding communities. It is part of Kent's St. Patrick parish and is affiliated with the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown The Diocese of Youngstown ( la, Dioecesis Youngstonensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church, consisting of six counties in Northeast Ohio: Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Stark, Portage, and Ashtabu ...
. The Kent Free Library is the main public library. It was established in 1892 after Kent became the first village in Ohio to use an 1892 state law which allowed municipalities under a population of 5,000 to tax residents for the upkeep of a library. Andrew Carnegie donated $10,000 in 1901 for construction of a permanent home for the library, which opened in 1903. The 2006 expansion to the library brought available space to with a book collection of 147,390 items as of 2010. It is a school district library associated with the Kent City School District and is also part of the Portage Library Consortium, connecting it with Reed Memorial Library in
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 ...
and the Portage County District Library, which maintains six branch libraries across the county and a
bookmobile A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...
. The main campus of Kent State University is located in the southeastern part of the city. The campus itself occupies and the university owns thousands of additional acres adjacent to the campus. Additional facilities include a research park and golf course just east of the city limits in Franklin Township and the
Kent State University Airport Kent State University Airport is a public airport in Stow, Ohio, United States owned by Kent State University. The airport is located along State Route 59 (Kent Road) approximately three miles (5 km) west of the central business district ...
, just west of Kent in
Stow Stow may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Stow, Lincolnshire or Stow-in-Lindsey, a village * Stow of Wedale or Stow, Scottish Borders, a village * Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, a small town * Stow, Shropshire or Stowe, a village * Stow ...
. Founded in 1910 as a teacher training institution, the university has become a world leader in the development of
liquid crystals Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. Th ...
through the
Liquid Crystal Institute The former Glenn H. Brown Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI) at Kent State University is now renamed the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute. The AMLCI is a center of study for liquid crystal technology and education, blending basic and a ...
and was the site of the first patent for the modern liquid crystal in the 1970s. Kent State also has a nationally recognized fashion design program and nationally ranked programs in
library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...
and business. As of 2010, the College of Nursing is the 5th-largest nursing school in the United States and largest in Ohio. In 2009 the university inaugurated the College of Public Health, the second
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
program in Ohio and 33rd in the U.S. The Kent State library system, which includes the 12-story main library and houses over 2.6 million volumes, includes six additional department libraries on the main campus and a branch at each of the seven regional campuses. The library system is a member of the
Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 127 research libraries at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and research l ...
, one of 3 in
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 ...
and 124 in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. The university offers over 300 programs of study combined in the undergraduate and graduate levels and serves over 41,000 students in eight campuses across
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 ...
with over 30,000 at the campus in Kent.


Media

Kent is part of the Cleveland-Akron Television Market Area as defined by the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
, which includes a 17-county region of Northeast Ohio. As of 2015 it ranks as the 18th-largest media market in the United States according to Nielsen Media Research. While most stations are located in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
and
Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
, Kent is home to the offices and main studio of Western Reserve Public Media, the Public Broadcasting Service, PBS affiliate for Akron and Youngstown, Ohio, Youngstown. The studios for WOCV-CD, the local affiliate for the Retro Television Network, are located just east of the city limits in Franklin Township. TV-2, a Kent State University student-run production, is available on campus, on local cable, and online. Kent is also in range of the television stations that broadcast out of Youngstown. For radio, Kent is part of the Template:Akron Radio, Akron radio market, though it is within range of major stations in the Template:Cleveland Radio, Cleveland radio market as well as many in the Template:Youngstown-Warren Radio, Youngstown-Warren and Template:Canton Radio, Canton markets. Two radio stations, both on the Frequency modulation, FM dial, are licensed to Kent. WKSU (), owned by Kent State University and operated by Ideastream, Ideastream Public Media, is a NPR, National Public Radio member station for the Akron, Canton and Cleveland radio markets via a region-wide Broadcast relay station, repeater network with studios in Downtown Cleveland; prior to 2021, WKSU broadcast from studios on the Kent State University campus. WNIR (FM), WNIR () carries a locally-based talk radio format for the Akron radio market operating from studios shared with WOCV-CD in Franklin Township. One Amplitude modulation, AM station was also previously licensed to Kent but has since ceased operations: WNIR's former AM adjunct, WJMP (Ohio), WJMP, which broadcast at from 1965 until 2016 at the same Franklin Township studios housing WNIR, and operated only during the daytime hours. Kent State University also operates a student-run internet radio station: Black Squirrel Radio, both available online and on local cable. The ''Record-Courier (Ohio), Record-Courier'', a daily newspaper which mainly covers Portage County, is the main source of printed news media for Kent. The ''Record-Courier'' was formed by the merger of the Ravenna ''Evening Record'' and the Kent ''Courier-Tribune'' and is published by the Record Publishing Company, a subsidiary of GateHouse Media. The ''Record-Courier'' maintained an office in Kent until 2008 before all offices were moved to Kent from Ravenna in 2012. In addition to the ''Record-Courier'', the Kent offices house the various departments of Record Publishing and its other weekly newspapers that serve several Summit and Portage County communities. Kent Patch, a local division of Patch (website), Patch Media, mainly serves as an online bulletin board for local events. It was established in 2010 and functioned as a news source specific to Kent before Patch Media downsized hundreds of local Patch sites across the United States in October 2013. The city is also served by Kent State University's ''Kent Stater'', which is available in print at select locations on and off campus and online via KentWired.com, a collaborative site with TV-2 and Black Squirrel Radio. The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' and ''
The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...
'' also serve Kent through regional coverage and delivery. Magazines published at Kent State include ''Fusion Magazine (Kent State University), Fusion'', an LGBTQ magazine; ''Kent State Magazine'', an official publication of the university; and ''The Burr'', a student-run magazine about events going on in and around Kent.


Infrastructure

The city operates its own water system, drawing groundwater from wells with an adjacent water treatment plant located just outside the city limits in Franklin Township as well as using a water reclamation facility along the Cuyahoga River in the southwestern part of the city. Waste collection for the entire city is handled through a local private contractor and Portage County handles the city's recycling collection. Kent's original recycling program was developed in 1970 by the Kent Environmental Council and was Ohio's first comprehensive and self-supporting program. Local phone utilities are provided through AT&T Ohio through the Area codes 234 and 330, 330 and 234 area codes, electricity is supplied and lines are maintained by FirstEnergy in the former coverage area of Ohio Edison, and natural gas is supplied and lines are maintained by Dominion Resources East Ohio Energy. While residents are free to choose their own natural gas and electric suppliers, the city is part of the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, or NOPEC, the largest government Group purchasing organization, aggregation in the United States.


Transportation

Ohio State Route 59, State Route 59 is the main east–west highway, following East and West Main Streets and Haymaker Parkway. Summit Street is another major east–west road mainly on Kent's eastern side, passing through and linking much of the Kent State campus. Fairchild Avenue is an important east–west road on the city's west side connecting with Stow and
Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 51,114. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb of the Akron metropol ...
. Ohio State Route 43, State Route 43 is the main north–south highway, mainly following North Mantua and South Water Streets. SR 43 connects Kent with Interstate 76 (Ohio), Interstate 76, approximately to the south via exit 33 in Brimfield, Ohio, Brimfield and to the Ohio Turnpike/Interstate 80 (Ohio), Interstate 80 and the eastern terminus of Interstate 480 (Ohio), Interstate 480, approximately to the north via Turnpike exit 187 in Streetsboro. Both SR 43 and SR 59 are four to five-lane roads within the city limits. Ohio State Route 261, State Route 261 passes through the southern and eastern edges of the city and is a four-lane Dual carriageway, divided highway for a short distance with the remainder a two-lane highway. It serves as a bypass between SR 43, SR 59, and Summit Street on Kent's south and eastern sides and to Tallmadge, Ohio, Tallmadge on the southwest. Public transportation is provided 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 ...
, known as PARTA, which is headquartered just outside the city limits in Franklin Township. PARTA serves Kent through a Demand responsive transport, dial-a-ride service, the Suburban and Kent Circulator routes completely within the city limits, the seasonal Black Squirrel route along SR 59 during Kent State University's Fall and Spring semesters, and the Interurban connecting with Stow and Ravenna. There are also two express routes, one to Akron connecting with METRO Regional Transit Authority via Brimfield, Ohio, Brimfield, and a Cleveland Express route connecting with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority via Streetsboro, Twinsburg, Ohio, Twinsburg, and Maple Heights, Ohio, Maple Heights. PARTA also includes Campus Bus Service, which provides three fixed routes on the campus of Kent State University. An Intermodal passenger transport, intermodal transit facility, known as the Kent Central Gateway, opened in 2013 in the downtown area to provide better integration of the existing bus system, hike-and-bike trails, and parking. The building was financed mainly from a $20 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant received in February 2010 and construction began in April 2011. Kent has three rail lines run by the Norfolk Southern and CSX. They are the former Erie Lackawanna line between Jersey City and Chicago, The Nickel Plate Road line between Cleveland and Zanesville, and the old Baltimore & Ohio line between Baltimore and Willard.


Healthcare

Hospital care is provided mainly through
University Hospitals Portage Medical Center University Hospitals Portage Medical Center is a 117-staffed-bed hospital located in Ravenna, Ohio, United States, that serves the residents of Portage County and surrounding communities. Affiliated with University Hospitals of Cleveland, the hosp ...
, affiliated with University Hospitals of Cleveland, which operates the UH Kent Health Center in the southern part of the city. The UH Kent Health Center includes an emergency services building with 24-hour emergency room and an urgent care center, adjacent to a medical arts building housing a medical imaging center and family medicine doctors. The 150-bed main hospital is located in Ravenna and the system operates additional facilities throughout Portage County. Free clinics include the AxessPointe Community Health Center and a clinic operated by social agency Townhall II.


Religion

The earliest organized religious services in Kent were held in 1815 when a Methodism, Methodist group was formed, followed by a Congregational Christian Churches#Congregationalism, Congregational church in 1819. The first religious meetinghouse in Kent, which also served as the first schoolhouse, was built in 1817 and was used by several different denominations. Later, the Methodists built another building in 1828 that was also used by multiple denominations. The oldest church building in Kent still used as a place of worship is the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent Ohio, Unitarian Universalist Church on Gougler Avenue, which was dedicated in 1868. The former home of the Congregational Church was dedicated in 1858 and still stands along Gougler Avenue very near the Unitarian Universalist Church. It served as the home of the First Congregational Church—which became the Kent United Church of Christ in 1964—until 1955.Darrow, pp. 89–102. It was later purchased by a local business and is used as their corporate headquarters. As of 2010, within the city are two Catholic Church, Roman Catholic parishes affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, Diocese of Youngstown, one a family parish and one a Newman Centre, Newman Center, as well as congregations of the United Methodist Church, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Free Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Church of the Brethren, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian Church, Churches of Christ, Church of Christ, Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, and Jehovah's Witnesses. There are also Unitarian Universalist, Non-denominational Christianity, non-denominational Christian, and Baháʼí Faith congregations. Although there are no Jewish synagogues or temples, there is a Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, Hillel Jewish student center on the campus of Kent State University which serves students at both Kent State and the University of Akron. Just outside the city limits in Franklin Township are the Kent congregations of the Church of the Nazarene, Assemblies of God, as well as Baptists, Baptist and Free Will Baptist churches. The Islamic Society of Akron and Kent operates a mosque, masjid and school on its main campus in Cuyahoga Falls, west of Kent. It was founded in Kent in 1979 and maintains an additional masjid in the city. Kent is also part of a Ward (LDS Church), ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rootstown Township, Portage County, Ohio, Rootstown that was first organized in Kent and includes most of southern Portage County.


Notable people

Kent has produced and been home to a number of notable individuals in varying fields. Its natives and residents are referred to as "Kentites". John Davey, a pioneer in tree surgery and founder of the Davey Tree Expert Company moved to Kent in the 1880s. His son,
Martin L. Davey Martin Luther Davey (July 25, 1884March 31, 1946) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He was the 53rd governor of Ohio. Childhood Davey was born in Kent, Ohio in 1884. His father was John Davey, better known as the tree doctor a ...
, would later serve as
Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and a U.S. Representative. Other political figures to come from Kent include Wisconsin governor Lucius Fairchild, former U.S. Representative Robert E. Cook, and noted abolitionist
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
, who lived in what was then Franklin Mills from 1835 to 1839. Noted athletes to have come from Kent include former National Football League players Mike Adamle, Tom DeLeone, and Stan White (linebacker), Stan White and former Major League Baseball player, manager, and executive Gene Michael. Three members of the band Devo, which debuted in Kent in 1973 and was founded by Kent State University students, are natives of Kent: Gerald Casale, Peter Gregg (musician), Peter Gregg, and Rod Reisman. See also
Photos of Devo's First Live Performance
Other performing artists to come from Kent include singer Julianne Baird, playwright Vincent J. Cardinal, and voice actor Joshua Seth. Lucien Price, an author and writer for ''The Boston Evening Transcript'' and ''The Atlantic Monthly'' grew up in Kent and used the pseudonym "Woolwick" for Kent in some of his stories. Kent was also the home of inventor Lucien B. Smith, regarded as the inventor of barbed wire. Additionally, people who have lived in Kent while attending Kent State University include comedians Drew Carey and Arsenio Hall, actor Michael Keaton, musicians Joe Walsh and Chrissie Hynde, and additional members of the band Devo. Athletes include American football, football players Antonio Gates, James Harrison (American football), James Harrison, Julian Edelman, Joshua Cribbs, and Jack Lambert (American football), Jack Lambert; Major League Baseball players Thurman Munson, Rich Rollins, and Andy Sonnanstine; college football coaches Nick Saban and Lou Holtz; and golfer Ben Curtis (golfer), Ben Curtis, who resides in Franklin Township just north of the Kent city limits and lists Kent as his residence.


Twin town

Kent has one town twinning, twin town, Dudince, a small spa town of about 1,500 people in southern Slovakia. The relationship was established in 2003 through Sister Cities International and resulted in the formation of the Kent-Dudince Sister City Association to promote learning and understanding of the Slovak culture, Slovakian culture. The group meets regularly and organizes cultural exchanges and programs that feature Slovakian dance and music. Cultural exchanges have included a performance of a choir from Kent's Theodore Roosevelt High School in Dudince in 2004 and tour groups from Kent visiting in 2006 and 2008.


Notes and references


External links

*
Kent Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Kent, Ohio, Cities in Ohio Cities in Portage County, Ohio Populated places established in 1805 Populated places on the Underground Railroad 1805 establishments in Ohio