Rootstown Township | |
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Coordinates: 41°6′38″N81°14′32″W / 41.11056°N 81.24222°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Ohio |
County | Portage |
Area | |
• Total | 27.2 sq mi (70 km2) |
• Land | 26.5 sq mi (69 km2) |
• Water | 0.7 sq mi (2 km2) |
Elevation | 1,066 ft (325 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 8,602 |
• Density | 324.6/sq mi (125.3/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP code | 44272 [2] |
Area code(s) | 330, 234 |
FIPS code | 39-68392 [3] |
GNIS feature ID | 1086838 [1] |
Website | www.rootstowntwp.com |
Rootstown Township is one of the eighteen civil townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 8,602 people in the township. [4]
Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:
No municipalities are located in Rootstown Township.
Formed from the Connecticut Western Reserve, Rootstown Township covers an area of 26.4 sq mi (68 km2). [5]
It is the only Rootstown Township statewide. [6]
Rootstown is named for Ephraim Root, a native of Coventry, Connecticut who was a lawyer and investor in the Connecticut Land Company. [7] He was the proprietor of the township as well as several other properties in the Connecticut Western Reserve. Root first visited the township in 1800 and his brother David was the first settler, moving to Rootstown in 1802. Rootstown was originally surveyed from the Western Reserve as survey township Town 2, Range 8 and was formally organized as a civil township in 1810 after previously having been part of Franklin Township. In 1821 the Rootstown Post Office was established. [8] It continues today under the ZIP Code Rootstown, OH 44272 and serves much of the township. In 1832, many German immigrants came who were farmers, stonemasons and carpenters. A plague in 1845 took 49 victims, including the town's only physician, Dr. Andrew Basset. In 1850 a band of 16 whaling sea captains from Nantucket bought land, built large homes and became farmers. Nelson Converse opened the first general store in 1853 in the center of town. In 1866 the Central and Pacific Railroad was built through the northeastern part of the township.
Electricity brought modern conveniences to the area in 1921, and street lights to both Rootstown and New Milford in 1949. 27 men formed the volunteer fire company in 1938. Its equipment was housed in the basement of the town hall until a new building was constructed by volunteer work and community fundraiser carnivals in 1955–1956. The department constructed a new building in 2002 adjacent to the former at the intersection of Tallmadge Road and SR 44. It opened during the bicentennial weekend; the previous fire station was razed.
The first religious body established in Rootstown was the Rootstown Congregational Church in 1810 and they were followed by the Methodist Church in 1815. St. Peter of the Fields Catholic Church was established in 1868 and Grace Church of Rootstown (formerly New Milford Baptist) in 1948. In 1961, a Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that serves southern Portage County was relocated to Rootstown. [8]
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, [9] 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.
The Rootstown Town Hall was built in 1809 and remains in use today. It first received electricity in 1921 and indoor plumbing in 1963. In 1999 the township zoning board began using the basement of the town hall to store accumulated files and records. Today, it is located along SR 44 just south of the town center.
Several highways pass through Rootstown Township—SR 5, SR 44, and I-76. Public transportation is provided by the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA), which provides routes to Kent, Ravenna, and other parts of Portage County.
Rootstown Township is served by the Rootstown Local School District, which includes an elementary school serving grades K–5, a middle school for grades 6–8, and a 9th–12th grade high school. All three schools are located on a central campus on State Route 44 just north of the town center. Across the street from the Rootstown Schools campus is the campus of Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). The NEOMED campus is also home to the Bio-Med Science Academy, a grades 9-12 STEM+M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Medicine) academy. [10]
There are three cemeteries in Rootstown Township: the Old Cemetery, St. Peter of the Fields Cemetery, and Homeland Cemetery.
The first death in Rootstown Township was on August 31, 1808, with the death of 51-year-old Nathan Chapman, Sr. This cemetery was used until 1897 when a fire destroyed the township records. The last known burial at the Old Cemetery was in 1999.
Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,791. Located in Northeast Ohio, Portage County is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area. Its county seat is Ravenna and its largest city is Kent.
Brimfield Township is one of the eighteen townships in Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 11,352 people in the township.
Ravenna is a city in and the county seat of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,323 in the 2020 census. It is located 15 miles (24 km) east of Akron. Formed from portions of Ravenna Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve, Ravenna was founded in 1799 and is named after the city of Ravenna, Italy. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area.
Windham Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,784 people in the township.
Freedom Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,649 people in the township.
Shalersville Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,245 people in the township.
Palmyra Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,780 people in the township.
Paris Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,648 people in the township.
Charlestown Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,735 people in the township.
Ravenna Township is one of the eighteen civil townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 8,980 people in the township.
Edinburg Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,351 people in the township.
Deerfield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,838 people in the township.
Atwater Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census there were 2,564 people living in the township.
Suffield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,973 people in the township.
Franklin Township is a civil township in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It is on the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The 2010 Census found 5,527 people in the township and the 2020 census recorded 6,283 people. The township is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area and the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area.
Braceville Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,467 people in the township.
The Rootstown Local School District is a secondary school district located in Rootstown, Ohio, United States. The district serves approximately 1,300 students in Rootstown Township in Portage County and has three schools: Rootstown Elementary School serving grades K-5, Rootstown Middle School serving grades 6–8, and Rootstown High School serving grades 9–12. All three schools are located on a central campus along SR 44 between I-76 and Tallmadge Road, just north of the Rootstown town center. Each building is named in honor of a past prominent member of the Rootstown Schools.
Rootstown High School is a public high school in Rootstown, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Rootstown Local School District. Their nickname is the Rovers.
Randolph Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,276 people in the township.
Bio-Med Science Academy is a public STEM+M school in Portage County, Ohio, United States. The school's original location, now known as the Rootstown campus, is on the campus of Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in Rootstown, and houses grades 7 through 12. The school, originally a grades 9–12 high school, has expanded to include lower grade levels, with grades 5 and 6 at its Ravenna campus and grades K-4 at the Shalersville campus. Bio-Med opened as a community charter school in August 2012, but in April 2013 the school received a formal STEM designation for the State of Ohio. This new designation required the closing of the community school which occurred June 30, 2013, and the opening of Bio-Med Science Academy STEM School on July 1, 2013. With its new title it became an official independent and public STEM school.