What's in a name? The city of Kent has identified with various names and nicknames throughout its establishment in 1805. Originally known as Franklin Mills, the city was once a thriving industrial town. The mills located on the banks of the Cuyahoga River brought money, people and pride to this northern Portage County settlement. Overlooking the Cuyahoga River is the Star of the West Flour Mill (originally known as the Williams Brothers Mill). It is the only fully functional mill left in the city of Kent.
Established in 1879 by the Williams Brothers, the Star of the West specializes in producing flour and tops fifteen million dollars in sales each year. Other prominent mills of the past include the Kent Mill, also a flour mill, and the Alpaca Mill which originally specialized in milling silk.
The mills of Kent have left a lasting impression on the city. Water power for the mills was harnessed from the Cuyahoga River with the construction of the Kent Dam in 1836. Reliance on the Cuyahoga, however, did not come without a price. In 1913, the river flooded and wiped out many of the mills on the riverbanks, including the Kent mill. Once the pride of the area, the Kent mill stopped running after the flood and was torn down in 1931.
Early on, goods from Kent's mills were shipped via the Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal which ran parallel to the Cuyahoga. The canal was short lived and shipping methods were replaced when prominent banker Marvin Kent brought the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad to town in 1863. Mr. Kent's rail lines had a tremendous impact on the city and in 1864 Franklin Mills was renamed Kent in honor of him. Today, Kent is still a flourishing community with a history as rich as they come. Meanwhile, the Star of the West Flour Mill continues to carry on the traditions of the city's earliest industrial history into the 21st century.
]]>Water, something we all take for granted today, was often the key resource needed to make a new settlement thrive. This was certainly the case for Kent, located in northern Portage County, about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland.
The area around Kent was originally owned by the Connecticut Land Company, which sold parcels of land to pioneers such as Moses Cleaveland, John Haymaker, and Zenas Kent in the late 1700s. One of the most important geographic requirements for the new settlers was a water source, which could be used to power various mills and, later on, factories. The Cuyahoga River runs through Kent, which made the city an ideal location for settlers. The river was both friend and foe to the early developers of the area. Several times floods caused terrible damage. To end this constant struggle with nature, the residents of Kent decided to construct a dam.
The Kent Dam was completed in 1836 and was considered to be one of the greatest engineering successes of its time. The arched dam is the oldest masonry dam in Ohio and is the only dam to be connected to a canal lock. In its early days the Kent Dam played an essential part in providing water power to the many businesses and mills located on the banks of the Cuyahoga. The lock connecting the dam to the Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal made shipping goods to and from the area very convenient.
In 2004, the dam was bypassed due to environmental problems associated with the river's low flow. Though the dam today has no real function, it remains intact because the citizens of Kent have grown to love it. The rich history of the dam and its impact on the development of the city have made it an essential part of Kent's identity.
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