page_title: History of Kent, Ohio
section_title: Railroad era
hierarchical_section_title: History of Kent, Ohio / Early history / Railroad era
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of the former Atlantic &amp; Great Western/Erie Railroad depot in downtown Kent. The building now houses the restaurant, Pufferbelly Ltd. Restaurant &amp; Bar Originally uploaded to English Wikipedia 12 March 2007.
context_page_description: The area now occupied by the city of Kent, Ohio, was previously inhabited by various Native American tribes until the 19th century. Though no record of any settlement exists, the area was located along several known trails. In 1798 it was sold to Aaron Olmsted as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. He initially named the area "Franklin" after his son, Aaron Franklin Olmsted. The first settlers, the Haymaker family, arrived in late 1805, having been attracted to the area by the Cuyahoga River and its potential for powering gristmills.
  Twin settlements developed along the river, known locally as the "upper" and "lower" villages and collectively as Franklin Mills, though the upper village was also known for a time as Carthage. In the late 1830s and early 1840s, construction of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal helped fuel construction of a central business area opposite the twin villages though most of the anticipated growth from the canal was never realized.
context_section_description: In 1863, a local businessman by the name of Marvin Kent was influential in bringing the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad through the village. The railroad reinvented the village as an important stop on the east-west line between St. Louis and New York City as it was also home to the railroad's maintenance yards and shops.  To honor Marvin Kent the village was renamed Kent in 1864, although this change was not official until the village was incorporated on May 6, 1867.
  Originally, before naming the city after Marvin Kent, city leaders including Marvin Kent were also considering the name Rockton, a name which Marvin Kent actually preferred, (hence the name of the Masonic Lodge as Rockton Lodge) after Standing Rock.
  John Davey came to Kent in 1881 as head grounds keeper at Standing Rock Cemetery, planting several trees and landscaping the cemetery as well as performing experiments on trees.  In 1901 he published his theories on tree surgery with his book The Tree Doctor and later established the Davey Tree Expert Company in 1909, which led to Kent becoming known as "The Tree City."  On February 15, 1949, Kent was officially proclaimed "The Tree City of Ohio" by a resolution and has been designated as a Tree City USA for over 20 years.  The city's official emblem features a tree logo and can be found on Kent's street signs and other city signs and offices.
caption: The former depot for the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, built in 1875.
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