История Франклинского поселения и становление города Кент.

The first settlers arrived in November 1805 when John Haymaker and his family moved west from Warren to the banks of the Cuyahoga River. They were joined by John's brother George and their father Jacob Haymaker and their families early the next year, and built a gristmill in 1807. Initial growth in the area was slow, but eventually two small villages would develop due to the potential power generated by the Cuyahoga River that could be used in gristmills and manufacturing. The first village, known as Franklin Mills, or locally as the "Lower Village", developed mostly around the original Haymaker property. In 1818, Joshua Woodard arrived in the area and began constructing buildings just north of the village forming the "Upper Village" that would come to be known briefly as Carthage. In the 1820s, Franklin Township was included in the route of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal (P & O Canal). When construction began on the canal in the mid 1830s, land speculation was rampant in many areas of northeast Ohio along the canal, including Franklin Mills. As a result, an industrial and business region was established along the east side of the river in what is now downtown Kent. Factories and mills were either planned or constructed along the Cuyahoga River, some of which either were never built or ultimately failed, due mostly to effects of the Panic of 1837. The canal officially opened in 1840, but it would be relatively short lived, lasting into the 1860s. By 1870 the canal was completely shut down. During this time, what would become the Franklin Township Hall was constructed in 1837 as the intended home of the Franklin Silk Company. The company failed before the building was finished so the township took over the building, finished construction, and began using it for the seat of township government beginning in 1840. In 1851, the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad was built across the northern part of the township with a station at Earlville, a small settlement that once existed along present day State Route 43 north of Kent. Though the railroad did little in terms of spurring economic development in the township, it would indirectly lead to later economic and population growth. The creation of what would become the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad under the direction of Marvin Kent began that year after Kent was upset by the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad bypassing Franklin Mills. The arrival of the Atlantic and Great Western in the township in 1863 and the establishment of Franklin Mills as the site of the railroad's maintenance yards and shops the next year fueled a new spurt of prolonged economic and population growth in the village, culminating in it being renamed Kent in 1864 and formally incorporating in 1867.

Franklin Township is in west central Portage County in Northeast Ohio approximately 10 mile (16 km) northeast of Akron and 30 mile (48 km) southeast of Cleveland. It is bordered by Kent on the south and west, Brimfield Township on the south, Stow on the west, Streetsboro and Sugar Bush Knolls to the north, and Ravenna Township on the east. Franklin Township also touches the city of Hudson on the northwest corner, Shalersville Township on the northeast corner, and Rootstown Township on the southeast corner. Within the boundaries of the township is the unincorporated community of Twin Lakes, a residential area on either side of State Route 43 just south of Sugar Bush Knolls. Immediately south of Twin Lakes is the location of the historical town of Earlville which existed primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a stop on the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. Franklin Township is included in the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area and the larger Cleveland Akron Elyria Combined Statistical Area. Located on the western end of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, the topography of Franklin Township includes rolling hills and varied terrain. Lake Rockwell, the main drinking water source for the city of Akron, is in the northeastern part of the township. It was created in 1913 and impounds water from the Cuyahoga River, covering approximately 1.3 square miles (3 km2). In addition to Lake Rockwell, there are seven natural kettle lakes in the township. The largest, Lake Pippen, is owned by the city of Akron as an unused part of the city's water supply. Brady Lake, located in the southeastern part of the township, is used for recreation along with East Twin Lake and West Twin Lake, which straddle each side of State Route 43 in the northern part of the township. The United States Geological Survey lists the township's elevation at 1106 feet (337 m) above sea level at a point inside the Kent city limits near the township's original geographic center. According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2021 the township has an area of 14.3 square miles (37 km2) of which 12.5 square miles (32 km2) is land and 1.8 square miles (5 km2) water.

Franklin Township's climate is classified as a humid continental climate in the Dfa Köppen climate classification meaning it typically has very warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters with moderate and variable spring and autumn seasons. During the spring and summer months, thunderstorms are fairly common and the area is susceptible to tornadoes. Effects from tropical systems can also be felt, usually taking the form of increased humidity, rain, and wind, such as with the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008. During the winter months, snowfall is common and can occur in large quantities with considerable cloud cover. Franklin Township is not considered part of the Lake Erie snowbelt, though lake effect snow does occur at times. The township is in what is referred to as the "secondary snowbelt", meaning it will receive heavier snowfall totals from lake effect snow when certain wind directions are more prevalent, but typically sees far less snowfall than areas to the north closer to Lake Erie. While temperatures below the freezing point are typical in the winter months, thaw periods where temperatures exceed and even are not uncommon in January and February.

Initial population growth in Franklin Township was influenced by the location on the Cuyahoga River which led to the development of industrial and manufacturing jobs. Early settlers mainly came from the northeastern United States and were largely of German descent. As of the 2020 Census, there were 6,283 people, 2,399 households, and 1,415 families residing in the township. The population density was There were 3,074 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the township was 93.7% White, 2.0% African American, 2.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 0.7% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,174 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.99. For every 100 females there were 104.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.4 males. The median income for a household in the township was $47,750, and the median income for a family was $64,792. This compared with Ohio's median household income of $40,956 and $41,994 for the United States.

The location of Franklin Township along the Cuyahoga River and later the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal and multiple railroad lines made it attractive initially for the establishment of small gristmills and factories. Progressively larger factories would later develop due to increased power potential of the river and later due to the ease and lower cost of transportation of goods to other markets. Changes in the structure of the railroad and declines in the manufacturing sector during the mid 20th century combined with the rapid growth of Kent State University following World War II led to the university becoming Portage County's largest employer and influencing the development of other areas of the township's economy. Kent State University operates Centennial Research Park, along Ohio State Route 59 in the Joint Economic Development District with Kent, which houses two high tech start up companies in the liquid crystal industry. As of 2000, the educational, health, and social services fields were the township's largest sector, and employed approximately 29% of the workforce. 17.8% is employed in manufacturing, with 13.6% in retail. Arts and entertainment accounts for 7.9% of the workforce with 7.3% in professional and management services. At the state level, Franklin Township is part of the 75th district of the Ohio House of Representatives, represented by Republican Gail Pavliga of Randolph since 2021. In the State Senate, Franklin Township is part of the 18th district, represented since by Republican Jerry Cirino of Kirtland since 2021. At the Federal level, the township is part of Ohio's 13th congressional district, represented by Democrat Tim Ryan of Howland.

Preschool, elementary, and secondary education is mainly provided by the Kent City School District with a small portion of the northwest part of the township served by the neighboring Stow Munroe Falls City School District. Franklin Township operated its own school district until 1959 when it merged with the Kent City School District and the Brady Lake School District. In addition to serving most of Kent and Franklin Township, the Kent City School District also includes the village of Sugar Bush Knolls and a small part of southern Streetsboro. In 1985, Theodore Roosevelt High School was given the United States Department of Education Excellence in Education award and the school has been rated "Excellent" by the Ohio Department of Education since 2004. In December 2009, it was named in U. S. News & World Report as one of the best high schools in the United States, earning the publication's Bronze Medal designation. The Kent City School District has been consistently rated as "Excellent" or "Effective" by the Ohio Department of Education and in 2007 Walls Elementary School was named a "School of Promise" by the Ohio Department of Education, while Longcoy Elementary earned the U. S. Department of Education's prestigious Blue Ribbon School award.

Franklin Township is part of the Cleveland Akron Television Market Area as defined by the Federal Communications Commission, which includes a 17 county region of Northeast Ohio. It currently ranks as the 18th largest media market in the United States according to Nielsen Media Research. While most stations are located in Cleveland and Akron, Franklin Township is home to the studios for WAOH and W35AX, local affiliates for the Retro Television Network. Franklin Township is also in range of the television stations that broadcast out of Youngstown. For radio, Franklin Township is part of the Akron Radio Market, though it is within range of major stations in the Cleveland Radio Market as well as many in the Youngstown Warren and Canton markets. Two stations licensed to the city of Kent, one FM and one AM, are located in Franklin Township. WNIR, at 100.1 FM, is broadcast from studios shared with sister station WJMP and television stations WAOH and W35AX. WJMP, which broadcasts at 1520 AM, is a daytime only news/talk station. The Record Courier, a daily paper based in Kent which covers news for Portage County, is the main source of printed media for Franklin Township. The Record Courier was formed by the merger of the Ravenna Evening Record and the Kent Courier Tribune. The township is also served by Kent State University's Daily Kent Stater, which is available in select locations on and off campus and online via KentWired. com, a collaborative site with TV 2 and Black Squirrel Radio. The Akron Beacon Journal and The Plain Dealer also serve Franklin Township through regional coverage and delivery.

The township provides limited services to residents including curbside recycling pickup, seasonal leaf and Christmas tree pickup, chipping and mulching, and road maintenance. Waste collection is handled individually and township residents maintain their own wells and septic systems. Portage County handles the township's curbside recycling collection. Within the boundaries of the Joint Economic Development District with the city of Kent along State Route 59, water and sewer service is provided by Kent. Local phone utilities are provided through AT&T Ohio through the 330 and 234 area codes, electricity is supplied and lines are maintained by FirstEnergy in the former coverage area of Ohio Edison, and natural gas is supplied and lines are maintained by Dominion Resources East Ohio Energy. While residents are free to choose their own natural gas and electric suppliers, the township is part of the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council, or NOPEC, the largest government aggregation in the United States.

State Route 59, Summit Road, and Brady Lake Road are the main east–west highways providing links to neighboring Kent and Ravenna while Ravenna Road connects the township with Hudson. State Route 43 is the main north–south highway with Diagonal Road a secondary road northeast to Mantua via Streetsboro. SR 43 connects Franklin Township with Interstate 76, approximately 3 mile (5 km) to the south via exit 33 in Brimfield and to the Ohio Turnpike/Interstate 80 and the eastern terminus of Interstate 480, approximately 7 mile (11 km) to the north via Turnpike exit 187 in Streetsboro. SR 43 is a two lane road in the township and widens to four and five lanes in Kent. SR 59 is a three lane road before widening to five lanes just east of the junction with State Route 261. State Route 261 passes through the southeastern part of the township as a two lane highway mainly running north–south before turning to an east–west direction and widening to a four lane divided highway for a short distance in northern Brimfield Township and southern Kent. It serves as a bypass of Kent between SR 43, SR 59, and Summit Street and connects the township to Tallmadge on the southwest. PARTA serves Franklin Township through a dial a ride service, the seasonal Black Squirrel route along SR 59 during Kent State University's Fall and Spring semesters, and the Interurban connecting with Stow and Ravenna.

Hospital care is provided mainly through Robinson Memorial Hospital. The 150 bed main hospital is located in Ravenna and the system operates additional facilities throughout Portage County. The township is home to one free clinic, Portage Community Health Center, located along State Route 59 in the Joint Economic Development District with Kent.