The county, named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers (now in neighboring Summit County), was created in 1807 and formally organized in 1808.[3][4] In addition to the cities of Kent and Ravenna, Portage County also includes the cities of Aurora and Streetsboro, along with five villages, 18 civil townships, and several unincorporated places within those townships. Additionally, the county includes parts of the city of Tallmadge, and part of the village of Mogadore, both of which are mostly in neighboring Summit County.
History
The name "Portage" comes from an old Indian path called "Portage Path", which ran between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas rivers, where travelers portaged their canoes. The location of the trail today is within the boundaries of neighboring Summit County.[5][6]
As of 1600, the area was likely almost entirely home to the Whittlesey Culture, a presumably Algonquian people who lived along the southern shore of Lake Erie, to the west of the Erie Nation, themselves.[7] They were a mixed culture people and also exhibited signs of picking up traits from both Fort Ancients and Iroquoians. The Erie may have also held a bit of the area, but this is unclear. During the Beaver Wars (approx. 1632-1701), the Whittlesey and Erie were already at war when the Erie decided to also declare war on the Iroquois for the atrocities being committed against allied tribes in Canada.[8] The Erie lost around 1650 and the Whittlesey were likely similarly subjugated afterwards, as the Iroquois conquered all the way to the shores of Lake Michigan by the 1670s.
The Iroquois placed a vassal tribe of captured Huron in the area who became known as the Wyandot, while they conquered further west.[9] Later, the French made it to the Mississippi River and volunteered to aid the Natives in that region to push the Iroquois back to New York. By the end of the Beaver Wars, the Wyandot had broken free of Iroquois control and reabsorbed surviving Hurons taking refuge all over the Great Lakes, but set aside the area roughly between the Cuyahoga River, the Mahoning River and the OH-PA border as a collective hunting ground, to be enjoyed by all the tribes of the region. The Lenape had a village around modern day Youngstown, established maybe during the 1690s, from which they and the Seneca and Shawnee from further south staged ventures into the region [10] and up in Ashtabula County, the Ottawas, or Mississaugas, from the western end of Lake Erie were allowed to maintain a village at Conneaut.[11] Ashtabula itself seems to come from the Algonquian name for the area and roughly translates to "Place with Enough for everyone."[12] The Lenape later lost rights to the eastern extremes of their territory between the Patomac River and the Mahoning River by a government proclamation in 1763,[13] but sources say they began relocating into Tuscarawas and Holmes Counties in 1758 in preparation for such an event.[14]
The region continued being used as such until around 1785,[15] when the newly formed United States tried issuing a treaty stripping the vast majority of what is now Ohio from Native control and began offering subsidies for people to move into the region, sparking the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795).[16] In the aftermath, the government issues the Treaty of Greenville,[17] which stripped even more land from the Natives than originally planned and opened up northeast Ohio for white settlement for the first time. That being said, most Natives did not leave and mixed tribal communities still existed all over the state for some time afterwards, with permanent Ottawa, Seneca and Wyandot villages still existing in what is now Portage and Geauga Counties,[18] but all written accounts of Natives seems to have ceased sometime around the War of 1812, which is also when the Shawnee War (1811-1813) was occurring.[19] The local government had its own land arrangements with the Natives, here, for a time. It's unclear where the Natives went, after that, but this may coincide with the New Madrid Earthquake, one of the most massive earthquakes to ever hit the east coast in recorded history, and was interpreted by many Ohio Natives that they should throw their support behind Shawnee cult leader, Tenskwatawa, at the Prophettown stronghold, which also coincides with the outbreak of the Shawnee War, later that year.[20] Most of the Eastern nations got sucked up into his cult and many Natives relocated to live near him.[21]
Portage County is also home to a burial Mound- Towner's Mound, on the outskirts of Kent- which outdates all the above mentioned cultures.[22] It was unique in structure to other types of burial mounds from the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient cultures, but identical to two other excavated mounds in North Benton, OH and Warren, PA.
The first European settler in what is now Portage County was Abraham Honey in 1798 in the area now known as Mantua Township, followed by Asa Hall in what is now Atwater Township in April 1799. In June 1799, Benjamin Tappan, Jr. arrived and founded Ravenna, David Daniels came to what is now Palmyra Township, and Ebenezer Sheldon settled in what is now Aurora.[23] A family group of Huguenot refugees also eventually migrated to Portage County by 1804.[24]
1826 map of Portage County with 30 townships
When first settled, the area that presently constitutes Portage County was part of the original Jefferson County, which had been organized in 1797. In 1800, the area was made part of Trumbull County, which followed the boundaries of the Connecticut Western Reserve. In 1802, all of what is now Portage County was organized under the name of Franklin Township with other townships being formed later. On February 10, 1807, the Ohio state legislature passed the act to create Portage County from Trumbull County and it took effect June 7, 1807. Portage County remained attached to Trumbull County until June 8, 1808, when the first elections were held. Initially, the county included a large area of the Western Reserve that encompassed most of present-day Summit County, all of Medina and Huron counties, and parts of Lorain and Ashland counties. There were six organized townships in 1808: Franklin, Deerfield, Aurora, Hiram, Springfield, and Hudson with new townships organized later, reaching a maximum of 30. The present-day boundaries of Portage County were established in 1840 following the 1812 creation of Medina County, a slight boundary adjustment in 1827 with Cuyahoga County, and finally the creation of Summit County in 1840, which took 10 townships from Portage County along with 3 townships from Medina County and two from Stark County.[6]
What is referred to as the last great train robbery in US history occurred in Garrettsville in 1935.[25] The government sent in a massive team to investigate, whom the locals called the G-Men. A local school, today, has the G-Men as their team mascot.
Portage County was also the site of the Kent State incident in the 1970.[26]
Geography
Gazebo at Towner's Woods Park in Franklin Township, part of the county park system
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 504 square miles (1,310 km2), of which 487 square miles (1,260 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (3.3%) is water.[27]
West Branch State Park is a very large state park in central Portage County, consisting of a large green surrounding the Michael J. Kirwan Dam and Reservoir. There are a number of smaller state and local parks.
U.S. Decennial Census[28] 1790-1960[29] 1900-1990[30] 1990-2000[31] 2020 [1]
2000 census
As of the census[32] of 2000, there were 152,061 people, 56,449 households, and 39,175 families living in the county. The population density was 309 inhabitants per square mile (119/km2). There were 60,096 housing units at an average density of 122 units per square mile (47/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.40% White, 3.18% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23.5% were of German, 11.0% Irish, 9.9% Italian, 9.7% English, 9.7% American and 5.2% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.1% spoke English and 1.2% Spanish as their first language.
There were 56,449 households, out of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 14.30% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $44,347, and the median income for a family was $52,820. Males had a median income of $37,434 versus $26,232 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,428. About 5.90% of families and 9.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.90% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.
Using the Gini coefficient to measure household inequality, Portage County received a .43 in 2012.[33] In 2013 16.1% of the population, or 25,196 people, were poor or impoverished. The county saw an increase in its poor population, as this can be compared to a 9.3% poverty rate (13,395 people) in 1999.[34]
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 161,419 people, 62,222 households, and 40,757 families living in the county.[35] The population density was 331.2 inhabitants per square mile (127.9/km2). There were 67,472 housing units at an average density of 138.4 units per square mile (53.4 units/km2).[36] The racial makeup of the county was 92.3% white, 4.1% black or African American, 1.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population.[35] In terms of ancestry, 30.7% were German, 17.1% were Irish, 11.5% were English, 11.0% were Italian, 6.6% were Polish, and 5.7% were American.[37]
Of the 62,222 households, 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.5% were non-families, and 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age was 37.4 years.[35]
The median income for a household in the county was $50,447 and the median income for a family was $65,306. Males had a median income of $46,014 versus $34,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,097. About 8.1% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.[38]
Politics
From 1992 to 2012, Portage County had been reliably Democratic but following a trend seen throughout large parts of Ohio, in 2016 Donald Trump won Portage County by 9.87 points and then again in 2020 by 12.44 points, becoming the first Republican in almost three decades to win the county, the last time being George H. W. Bush in 1988.
United States presidential election results for Portage County, Ohio[39]
The Portage County Library Consortium is a library consortium consisting of Kent Free Library in Kent, Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna, and the five branches of the Portage County Library District, which are located in Aurora, Garrettsville, Randolph, Streetsboro, and Windham. The consortium allows patrons of any member library to use their library card at another consortium location or request materials housed at another library. Through the SearchOhio database, the consortium is connected to OhioLINK, which provides local access to the State Library of Ohio and dozens of university and college libraries across the state.[40][41]
The county is also home to the Kent State University Libraries in Kent, an academic library system with a collection of over 2.5 million volumes. The KSU system, one of three members of the Association of Research Libraries in Ohio, includes the 12-story main library and individual libraries for architecture, fashion, performing arts, and maps, on the main campus in Kent. It also includes individual libraries at each of the university's seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio.[42]
Public school districts
Portage County is home to eleven public school districts.[43]
District
Location
Communities served
Aurora City School District
Aurora
Aurora, small part of Reminderville
Crestwood Local School District
Mantua
Mantua, Mantua Township, Hiram, most of Hiram Township, most of Shalersville Township
James A Garfield Local School District
Garrettsville
Garrettsville, Nelson Township, Freedom Township, part of Hiram Township, small part of Charlestown Township
Field Local School District
Brimfield
Most of Brimfield and Suffield Townships, parts of Tallmadge and Kent annexed from Brimfield
Portage County also has two public schools that serve students from multiple districts:
Maplewood Career Center in Ravenna, a joint vocational school for students in grades 11 and 12 from nine of the county's school districts (all but Kent and Aurora) and Mogadore.
St. Patrick School, a Roman Catholic school for grades K–8 in Kent, affiliated with the Diocese of Youngstown[47]
Valley Christian Academy, a Christian school for grades PK–8 in Aurora[48]
Higher education
Portage County is home to three institutions of higher learning:
Kent State University, located in Kent; a large regional public research university with around 40,000 students. It serves as the county's largest employer.
Hiram College, located in Hiram in northeastern Portage County; a small liberal arts college of around 1,200 students.
Cowrie-Lowrie-Beatty Portage County Historical Society Museum, Ravenna
Media
Record-Courier, a newspaper based in Ravenna that covers news for the entire county online and in print
The Portager, an online news source based in Randolph that covers the entire county[50]
KentWired, an online news source from Kent State University independent student media outlets The Kent Stater and TV2[51]
Weekly Villager, online news source based in Garrettsville with news from Portage, Geauga, and Trumbull counties[52]
Communities
Map of Portage County municipal, township, and census-designated place labels
Portage County is arranged as a 4 x 5 grid of 20 rectangles and contains all or part of 18 unincorporated townships, five cities, and six villages. Under Ohio law, there are two types of incorporated municipal jurisdictions: cities and villages; and any territory within a county that is not part of an incorporated municipality is part of a township. Townships have limited local government and services.
In addition to the cities, village, and townships, the United States Census Bureau has four census-designated places (CDP) in Portage County. These CDPs are for statistical purposes only and have no government or official boundaries separate from the township they are located in. There are also 17 additional named places in the county. All 17 places are considered part of whatever jurisdiction they are located in (township or municipality) and have no formal boundaries or additional government of their own.
Camp James A. Garfield, formerly known as the Ravenna Training and Logistics Site and commonly known as the Ravenna Arsenal, occupies much of the land in Charlestown, Paris, and Windham townships, as well as a small part of Freedom Township. While the portions of Camp Garfield are still considered part of the various townships they cover, the land is under the jurisdiction of the US federal government.
^Cherry, Peter Peterson (1911). The Portage Path. Akron, Ohio: The Western Reserve Company. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
^ abBrown, R.C.; Norris, J.E. (1972) [1885]. History of Portage County Ohio. Chicago, Illinois: Warner, Beers, and Company. pp. 192–196. Portage County received its name from the fact that the old Indian Portage Path, between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers, was, originally, within its limits, though now in Summit County.
^"Whittlesey Culture - Ohio History Central". ohiohistorycentral.org. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
^Mahr, August C. (November 1959). "Practical Reasons for Algonkian Indian Stream and Place Names". Ohio Journal of Science. 59 (6): 365–375. hdl:1811/4658. ISSN 0030-0950. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
^Linda Matys O'Connell and David Venditta (2006-11-27). "How peace was made". The Morning Call.
^Ohio Annals: Historic Events in the Tuscarawas and Muskingum Valleys; Michener, C. H.
^"Treaty of Fort McIntosh (1785) - Ohio History Central". ohiohistorycentral.org. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
^Barnes, Celia (2003). Native American Power in the United States, 1783–1795. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. ISBN 978-0838639580.
^"Treaty With The Wyandot, Etc., 1785". Oklahoma State University Libraries Tribal Treaties Database.
^History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties, vol. 3
^John Ehle (1988). Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. pp. 102–4. ISBN 978-0-385-23954-7. (Page numbers may be for a different printing.)
^R. David Edmunds (1985). The Shawnee Prophet. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. p. 29
^"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. 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 (May 4, 2005). "The Kent State Shootings, 35 Years Later". NPR. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
United States
Ohio
