Kent (Ohio)



Kent is a college town in Northeast Ohio. Kent, the home of Kent State University, is a quaint town with a very diverse community where northeast Ohio locals mix with students from across the state nation and globe. Kent is also home to many annual events, such as its annual Folk Music Festival.

Understand
Kent, a city of 30,071 (2016) people on the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio, is part of the greater Akron area.

Established in 1805 as Franklin Mills, a settlement that exploited the river to operate water-powered mills. 1830s and 1840s development was based around the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal. Franklin Mills was a waypoint on the Underground Railroad before the American Civil War; abolitionist John Brown operated a tannery here from 1836-1837 (the site is now John Brown Tannery Park, a nature park on the Cuyahoga River) and Woodard’s Tavern was a station on the Underground Railroad (the tavern building is gone, although a private home once occupied by Joshua Woodard and his wife Rebecca Wordon still stands).

In 1864, the settlement was renamed for Marvin Kent, who brought the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad maintenance shops to town. Kent has been a college town since Kent State University was established in 1910 alongside its sister school in Bowling Green.

Kent is infamous as the site of the Kent State massacre, in which unarmed college students at Kent State University were shot by members of the Ohio National Guard (killing four and wounding nine others) on 4 May 1970 during a protest against the US military bombing of Cambodia. This created a counter cultural legacy that continues to this day.

The aftermath of the shootings inspired protest music, notably from Bruce Springsteen and Crosby Stills and Nash. The event also inspired locals who would later become founding members of DEVO and The Pretenders to change the style of their music.

Kent offers public bus service and hike-and-bike trails, Kent is "The Tree City". The town has nearly 20 parks and preserves with a number of annual festivals related to Earth Day, folk music and the U.S. Independence Day.

By car
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. State Route 43 is the main north–south highway, mainly following North Mantua and South Water Streets. SR 43 connects Kent with Interstate 76, approximately to the south via exit 33 in Brimfield and to the Ohio Turnpike/Interstate 80 and the eastern terminus of 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. State Route 261 passes through the southern and eastern edges of the city and is a four-lane 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 on the southwest.

By bike
Kent is a very bike friendly town! Covered bike parking is often available, and the PARTA Kent Central Gateway has bike lockers for completely enclosed storage. The Kent State Student Center has a free self-service bike repair station outside.

By foot
Kent is a very walkable city due to its compact size and dedicated walkways like the Lester Lefton Esplanade.



Hackathons & computer science
Kent State University has a large, active, computer science program, and this is reflected in many of its facilities and annual events. You don't have to be a Kent native or student to work in this scene, so don't be a stranger.



Sports
Most of the Kent State sports facilities are far from the campus and downtown; some walks to some facilities from campus are not wheelchair friendly. Be sure to allow for ample time to walk, or take a PARTA bus to the game.



Smoking
Kent State is a non-smoking campus. All forms of smoking, vaping, and hookah are prohibited on campus. Off campus smoking is somewhat more tolerated, but still generally prohibited near many locations.

May 4th
"Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years before (March 5, 1770), which it resembled, it was called a massacre not for the number of its victims but for the wanton manner in which they were shot down."

- Philip Caputo

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard killed 4 students and shot 9 others. Although there was an ongoing anti-war protest, not all the victims were protesters, and some were just walking to class. One of the victims was even enrolled in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. The site of the May 4th Shootings is a solemn location. Please respect the location and victims of the shootings.