Kent

History

The region was originally inhabited by Native Americans, including the early Mound Builders. Around 1780, Captain Samuel Brady achieved notoriety for his activities in the area, including his leap of over the Cuyahoga River to avoid capture by a Native band. 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 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 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 and Sally Haymaker and their three children moved west from Warren 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 in 1807. Initial growth in the area was slow, but eventually two small villages developed due to the potential for power generated by the Cuyahoga River to 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 be known briefly as Carthage. In the 1820s, Franklin Mills was included in the route of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal (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,…

Geography

Kent is located in west-central Portage County in Northeast Ohio approximately northeast of Akron and southeast of Cleveland. 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 on the west. Other nearby communities include Ravenna to the east and Sugar Bush Knolls and Streetsboro to the north. It is included in the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area and the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area. Located on the western end of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, 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 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, as of 2010 the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Kent's climate is classified as a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa) meaning it typically has very warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters with moderate and variable springs and autumns. The record high temperature is , set on July 7, 1988, with the record low of recorded January 17, 1982. During the spring and summer, thunderstorms are fairly common and the area is susceptible to tornadoes, 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…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  35,041
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  31,244
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  30,414
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  26,379
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23,410
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  22,217
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,768
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  21,720

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-03-05
  3 km SW of Madison, Ohio
• M 2.7 — 2026-01-06
  4 km ENE of North Madison, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2025-05-12
  4 km ESE of Madison, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2024-06-01
  1 km E of Madison, Ohio
• M 3 — 2024-03-30
  2 km SSW of Maple Ridge, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2024-01-05
  3 km SE of Madison, Ohio