Kent Industrial District
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Kent Industrial District
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1875 Atlantic & Great Western Depot as seen from the Cuyahoga River
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Location in the state of Ohio.
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| Location | Downtown Kent, Ohio |
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| Coordinates | 41°9′11″N 81°21′37″W / 41.15306°N 81.36028°WCoordinates: 41°9′11″N 81°21′37″W / 41.15306°N 81.36028°W |
| Area | 43 acres (0.17 km2) |
| Built | 1851 |
| Architectural style | Italian Villa |
| NRHP Reference # | 74001603 |
| Added to NRHP | December 30, 1974 |
The Kent Industrial District is a historic district in Kent, Ohio, United States, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The district covers around 43 acres (17 ha) of downtown Kent on either side of the Cuyahoga River and is roughly bounded by West Main Street on the north, River Street to the west, Franklin Avenue to the east and Haymaker Parkway to the south. Within the district are three buildings and two stone structures of historical significance. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Kent namesake Marvin Kent was involved in several aspects of the district's development and the area would play a key role in the development of Kent during much of the 19th century. The earliest structures in the district date to the 1830s with the most recent historic structure, the livery and carriage shop building, dating to 1910. The area today is occupied mostly by the city of Kent's Franklin Mills Riveredge Park, Heritage Park, and various private landowners.
The area that now comprises the historic district was attractive to early settlers due to potential power from the Cuyahoga River. John Haymaker, the first white settler in what is now Kent, built the first gristmill along the river just north of present day Stow Street in 1807. Development along the river did not begin to pick up until the late 1830s with the construction of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal and the hopes that the village, then known as Franklin Mills, would become a center for the production of silk. These events led to rampant land speculation along the river and resulted in the construction of much of what is today downtown Kent. The Panic of 1837 and the area's unfavorable climate for silkworms ended any hopes for the village becoming a silk industrial center. It was during this time, however, that the first parts of today's historical district were constructed. As part of the canal, a 19-foot stone arch dam was constructed with an attached lock in 1836. Zenas Kent, father of Kent namesake Marvin Kent, built a flour mill in 1837 on the site of the Haymaker's first mill, just south of the current district's boundaries. He also built a tannery across the street from the mill which he operated with John Brown for a short time.
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