Kent, Ohio

Kent is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in the northeastern part of Ohio and the western edge of Portage County. Part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, Kent was originally settled in 1805, and first developed as two separate villages: Franklin (later Franklin Mills) and Carthage, which eventually grew into Franklin Mills. The village would develop first due to the potential for gristmills along the Cuyahoga River and later as a stop on the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal in the 1830s and 1840's. Leading up to the American Civil War, Franklin Mills was noted for its activity in the Underground Railroad. With the decline of the canal and the emergence of the railroad the village became the home of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad shops, which ultimately led to the village being renamed Kent in 1864 after railroad owner Marvin Kent. Today Kent is known mostly for being home to the main campus of Kent State University, founded in 1910.

www.kentohio.org/