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Kent Free Library
Kent Free Library Kent Free Library, Kent, Ohio.

Kent

Ohio, United States
Also known as: Franklin Mills, Riedsburg
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Soaring architecture, delightful menu big draws at Bell Tower Brewing • Oct. 21, 2026, 6:12 AM ET (Akron Beacon Journal)

Kent, city, Portage county, northeastern Ohio, U.S., on the Cuyahoga River, immediately northeast of Akron. The site was first settled in about 1805 by John and Jacob Haymaker and was called Riedsburg. It was later named Franklin Mills, and when incorporated as a village in 1867 it was renamed for Marvin Kent, a promoter of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad (later Erie Lackawanna Railway).

Community growth was stimulated by the foundation in 1910 of a state normal school, later Kent State University. In 1970 the university received international attention when an anti-Vietnam War protest there resulted in the deaths of four students. Manufactures (promoted by Akron’s industrial expansion) include electric motors, machine tools, dairy products, greenhouse equipment, plastics, and machinery. Inc. city, 1920. Pop. (2000) 27,906; (2010) 28,904.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
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