Franklin Township is one of the eighteen
townshipsA civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...
of
Portage CountyPortage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2000, the population was 152,061. Its county seat is Ravenna. Portage County is named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
found 5,276 people in the township.
Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities:
- Streetsboro
Streetsboro is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is formed from the former township of Streetsboro, which was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve. It is nearly co-extant with the former Streetsboro Township; the village of Sugar Bush Knolls was also formed in part from a...
- north
- Shalersville Township
Shalersville Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,976 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern part of the county, it borders the following other townships and cities:...
- northeast corner
- Ravenna Township
Ravenna Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 9,270 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the center of the county, it borders the following townships and city:...
- east
- Rootstown Township
Rootstown Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 7,212 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
- southeast corner
- Brimfield Township
Brimfield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 7,963 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities:...
- south
- Kent
Kent is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in the northeastern part of Ohio and the western edge of Portage County...
- southwest
- Stow
Stow is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 32,139 at the 2000 census and 33,899 as of 2008. It is a suburban community that is part of the Akron metropolitan area. Stow is located adjacent to several other suburban communities in Summit and Portage Counties...
- west
- Hudson
Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,439 at the 2000 census, making it the 389th largest city in the Midwest. This number rose to 23,037 at the 2008 census estimates. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan...
- northwest corner
All or parts of three municipalities are located in land that was formerly part of Franklin Township:
- The village of Brady Lake
Brady Lake is a village in Portage County, Ohio, United States. The population was 513 at the 2000 census and 497 in the 2006 estimate. Incorporated in 1927, it originally developed as an amusement park and summer resort that opened in 1891. It was formed from a small portion of Franklin Township...
, in the east (seceded from township in 1993)
- Most of the city of Kent, in the southwest (seceded from township in 1993)
- A small part of the village of Sugar Bush Knolls
Sugar Bush Knolls is a village in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It was formed from portions of Streetsboro and Franklin townships in 1964. The population was 227 at the 2000 census. It is essentially made up of a single affluent subdivision...
, in the north
Outside of these municipalities, Franklin Township has an area of .
It is one of twenty-one
Franklin Townships statewideFranklin Township, Ohio may refer to:*Franklin Township, Adams County, Ohio*Franklin Township, Brown County, Ohio*Franklin Township, Clermont County, Ohio*Franklin Township, Columbiana County, Ohio*Franklin Township, Coshocton County, Ohio...
.
Franklin Township was formed from the
Connecticut Western ReserveThe Connecticut Western Reserve was land claimed by Connecticut in the Northwest Territory in what is now northeastern Ohio.-History:Although forced to surrender the Pennsylvania portion of its sea-to-sea land grant following the Yankee-Pennamite Wars and the intercession of the federal...
.
Franklin Township is one of the eighteen
townshipsA civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...
of
Portage CountyPortage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2000, the population was 152,061. Its county seat is Ravenna. Portage County is named for the portage between the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers...
,
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The
2000 censusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
found 5,276 people in the township.
Geography
Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities:
- Streetsboro
Streetsboro is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is formed from the former township of Streetsboro, which was formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve. It is nearly co-extant with the former Streetsboro Township; the village of Sugar Bush Knolls was also formed in part from a...
- north
- Shalersville Township
Shalersville Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,976 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern part of the county, it borders the following other townships and cities:...
- northeast corner
- Ravenna Township
Ravenna Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 9,270 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the center of the county, it borders the following townships and city:...
- east
- Rootstown Township
Rootstown Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 7,212 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
- southeast corner
- Brimfield Township
Brimfield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 7,963 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities:...
- south
- Kent
Kent is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in the northeastern part of Ohio and the western edge of Portage County...
- southwest
- Stow
Stow is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 32,139 at the 2000 census and 33,899 as of 2008. It is a suburban community that is part of the Akron metropolitan area. Stow is located adjacent to several other suburban communities in Summit and Portage Counties...
- west
- Hudson
Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,439 at the 2000 census, making it the 389th largest city in the Midwest. This number rose to 23,037 at the 2008 census estimates. It is an affluent exurban community and is part of the Akron, Ohio Metropolitan...
- northwest corner
All or parts of three municipalities are located in land that was formerly part of Franklin Township:
- The village of Brady Lake
Brady Lake is a village in Portage County, Ohio, United States. The population was 513 at the 2000 census and 497 in the 2006 estimate. Incorporated in 1927, it originally developed as an amusement park and summer resort that opened in 1891. It was formed from a small portion of Franklin Township...
, in the east (seceded from township in 1993)
- Most of the city of Kent, in the southwest (seceded from township in 1993)
- A small part of the village of Sugar Bush Knolls
Sugar Bush Knolls is a village in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It was formed from portions of Streetsboro and Franklin townships in 1964. The population was 227 at the 2000 census. It is essentially made up of a single affluent subdivision...
, in the north
Outside of these municipalities, Franklin Township has an area of .
Name and history
It is one of twenty-one
Franklin Townships statewideFranklin Township, Ohio may refer to:*Franklin Township, Adams County, Ohio*Franklin Township, Brown County, Ohio*Franklin Township, Clermont County, Ohio*Franklin Township, Columbiana County, Ohio*Franklin Township, Coshocton County, Ohio...
.
Franklin Township was formed from the
Connecticut Western ReserveThe Connecticut Western Reserve was land claimed by Connecticut in the Northwest Territory in what is now northeastern Ohio.-History:Although forced to surrender the Pennsylvania portion of its sea-to-sea land grant following the Yankee-Pennamite Wars and the intercession of the federal...
. It was initially and was purchased by
Aaron OlmsteadCaptain Aaron Olmstead , sometimes spelled Olmsted, was a wealthy sea captain in the China trade out of New England, and one of 49 investors who formed a syndicate in 1795 to purchase a major part of the Western Reserve from the U.S. state of Connecticut...
at a cost of 12.5 cents an acre. Olmstead named the township after his son, Aaron Franklin Olmstead. The first settlers, the Haymakers, came in November 1805 and settled along the Cuyahoga River in what would become the city of
KentKent is a city in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in the northeastern part of Ohio and the western edge of Portage County...
. Initially, the settlement was simply "Franklin," but later as mills began to spring up along the river the village became known as "Franklin Mills" before officially changing the name to Kent in 1867. Another settlement also formed in the township just north of Franklin Mills, known as Carthage. It slowly merged with Franklin Mills as they grew and is today part of Kent's west side.
Government
The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees. As of 2006, the trustees are Mark Beckwith, Keith Benjamin, and Gary Falstad, and the fiscal officer is Sue Lucas.
External links