Local events in Rootstown Township, Portage County
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Rootstown Township, Portage County began
Rootstown Township is named for Ephraim Root, a Coventry, Connecticut lawyer and Connecticut Land Company investor who first visited the township in 1800 with a young companion, Harvey Davenport, who died there of a chill and became the township's first recorded death; Root's brother David became its first permanent settler in 1802. Yale-educated eccentric Nathan Muzzy, hired as a carpenter, gave his name to Muzzy Lake after wandering the township following a failed romance in Massachusetts. Organized as its own civil township in 1810 after starting out as part of Franklin Township, Rootstown drew a wave of German immigrant farmers, stonemasons and carpenters in 1832 and, in 1850, sixteen retired whaling captains from Nantucket — including John Rodgers, Albert Ray, Isaac Brayton, William and Josiah Whippey, and Alexander Coffin — who bought land and took up farming, an oddity local histories remembered for generations. A typhoid-like epidemic in 1845 killed 49 residents, including the township's only doctor. Today it is home to the Northeast Ohio Medical University campus and has 8,619 residents (2020).
Settled 1802 (David Root, first permanent settler), incorporated Organized as a civil township September 10, 1810, separating from Franklin Township, by Ephraim Root (proprietor); David Root (first settler).
Where the name comes from
Named for Ephraim Root, a lawyer and Connecticut Land Company investor from Coventry, Connecticut, who first visited the township in 1800; his brother David settled there in 1802.
Before the town
No named Native American village, camp or mound site specific to Rootstown Township is documented in the sources consulted, and the township is not among those the 1957 county history 'Portage Heritage' lists as holding recorded prehistoric sites. The 1885 county history does record that as late as 1806 the Indian title to lands west of the Cuyahoga River and the Portage Path, including Rootstown, had not been extinguished, causing settlers unease over their land titles; proprietor Ephraim Root wrote to fellow investor Elijah Wadsworth on March 5, 1805 that a treaty was pending, and the resulting Treaty Council at Fort Industry (1805), later ratified by the U.S. Senate, extinguished the claims. For the county's broader Native history.
Timeline
- — Ephraim Root, the township's Connecticut proprietor, visits with a young companion, Harvey Davenport, who overheats himself and dies of a violent cold after lying on damp ground; his is the township's first recorded death.
- — Root's brother David Root returns and settles on Lot 6, building a two-story log cabin near the future Campbellsport; Nathan Muzzy, a Yale graduate turned wandering carpenter after a failed love affair, is engaged to do the carpentry and later discovers and gives his name to Muzzy Lake.
- — John McCoy, son of Irish immigrant Samuel McCoy, becomes the first child born in the township, winning Ephraim Root's promised 50-acre prize over a rival Root family birth by about twenty days.
- — Henry O'Niell, an Irish immigrant elected Justice of the Peace for the combined Franklin territory (then including Rootstown), is later forced from office around 1811 after a disgruntled litigant discovers he lacks U.S. naturalization papers.
- — Rev. Giles H. Cowles organizes the township's first Congregational church society with eleven founding members, including Samuel and Alpheus Andrews and their wives.
- — Rootstown holds its first election as an organized township, separating from Franklin Township; Gersham Bostwick is chosen Chairman.
- — A post office is established at Rootstown.
- — A wave of German immigrant farmers, stonemasons and carpenters settles in the township.
- — An epidemic kills 49 township residents, including Dr. Andrew Basset, the township's only physician.
- — Sixteen retired whaling captains from Nantucket, Massachusetts, including John Rodgers, Albert Ray, Isaac Brayton, William and Josiah Whippey, Alexander Coffin, Josiah Long and George W. Greene, purchase land in the township and take up farming; annual 'Nantucket picnics' are held for many years afterward, and W. Victor Folger later joins them from the same island.
- — Nelson Converse opens the township's first general store.
- — The Central and Pacific Railroad is built through the township's northeastern section.
- — A blight strikes the township's apple, pear and peach orchards, ending decades of orchard activity by growers including George Prindle, William Camp, John Smith and John Chapman.
Stories
Whaling captains take up farming
In 1850, sixteen men who had spent their working lives commanding whaling ships out of Nantucket, Massachusetts arrived in landlocked Rootstown Township and bought farmland: Captains John Rodgers, Albert Ray, Isaac Brayton, Gardner, William Whippey, Josiah Whippey, Alexander Coffin, Barnard, Chase, Russell, Josiah Long, George W. Greene, Phelps and Wyer among them, with W. Victor Folger following later from the same island. It is an unusual enough fact that both the 1885 and 1957 county histories preserved it as one of the township's defining stories, complete with the annual 'Nantucket picnics' the transplanted islanders and their descendants kept up for years afterward, though neither source explains what drew a cluster of retired sea captains so specifically to this one inland Ohio township rather than any other. Whatever brought them, they became farmers rather than continuing any connection to the sea, joining a township that only five years earlier had lost 49 residents, including its only doctor, to an epidemic — a reminder of how precarious frontier and small-town life still was at mid-century even as the township's population and economy grew.
The carpenter who carved a lost love's name
Nathan Muzzy arrived in Rootstown around 1802 to do carpentry work for the newly settled Root brothers, a Yale College graduate who had once been a promising young minister in Massachusetts. A disappointment in love, the 1885 county history says delicately, left 'a screw loose in his mental machinery,' and he wandered west rather than continue his intended career. Whatever grief drove him, it never left him: for the rest of his working life he carved the name 'Emma Hale' into every building and gate he built in the township, a private memorial no one else could explain. He discovered the small lake that still bears his name, lived out his years in increasing poverty, and eventually died in the county poorhouse; friends who took pity on his lonely old age had him removed from the poorhouse and buried in Palmyra rather than let him end there entirely alone.
Photographs
Photo: Nyttend, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org
Water
Mostly private wells The water here
- Ravenna City84% of residentsLake Hodgson
- Kent City10% of residentsBreakneck Creek Wellfield, Buried Valley Aquifer
- Maple Del Manor Llc2% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Birchwood Manor Mhc New2% of residentsGroundwater wells (1 wells)
- Akron City1% of residentsLake Rockwell (Cuyahoga River impoundment)
- Aqua Ohio - Beechcrest0% of residentsBuried valley/sandstone aquifer wells (12 county wells)
- Ranch Club Estates Water Association0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Portage County Water Resources0% of residentsBuried valley/sandstone aquifer wells (12 county wells)
- Beechwood Island Estates0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Orchard Estates I Mhc, Llc0% of residentsBuried valley/sandstone aquifer wells (12 county wells)
- Meadow Creek Condo Assoc0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Spring Lakes Mobile Home Park0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Fairlane Water Co.0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Portage County Wr - Rivermoor0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Fox Run Estates0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Stark County Water District0% of residentsWells in Tuscarawas Valley sand & gravel aquifer
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Rootstown Township, Portage County's boundary: 1 fire or EMS station, 1 college, 1 high-hazard dam, 4 public schools, 2 poor-rated bridges, 1 police station, 2 shale and injection wells, 3 Toxics Release Inventory facilities and 8 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Fire and EMS stations (1)
-
Rootstown Fire DepartmentRootstown
- Address
- 4152 Tallmadge Road, Rootstown, OH 44272
- Coordinates
- 41.09892, -81.24303
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.
Colleges (1)
-
Northeast Ohio Medical UniversityPublic university · Rootstown
- What it is
- Public university
- City
- Rootstown
- Students, 2023-24 (12-month count)
- 1,017
- IPEDS unit ID
- 204477
College Navigator (NCES) ↗ IPEDS data (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: NCES IPEDS 2024 directory, 2023-24 enrollment and tuition, graduation rates for the 2017 (four-year) and 2020 (two-year) entering classes.
High-hazard dams (1)
-
Hickory Hills Park Lake Dam PoorTributary To Mahoning River · condition: poor
- Hazard class
- High: a failure would probably cost a life
- Condition
- Poor (assessed 12/01/2021)
- River or stream
- Tributary To Mahoning River
- Purpose
- Recreation
- Type
- Earth
- Height
- 12 ft
- Storage
- 121 acre-feet
- Completed
- 1958
- Owner type
- Private
- County
- Portage County
- Nearest town (NID)
- Newton Falls
- Last inspection
- 12/01/2021
- Emergency action plan
- No
- NID ID
- OH02729
National Inventory of Dams record ↗ National Inventory of Dams (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams, August 2026. "High hazard" rates what a failure would cost downstream, not how likely one is; the condition is the state's assessment.
Public schools (4)
-
Bio-Med Science Academy STEM SchoolRootstown
- Address
- 4211 State Route 44, Rootstown, OH 44272
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 960
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 54
- NCES school ID
- 390151205794
-
Rootstown Elementary School3.5 of 5 stars · Rootstown
- Address
- 4140 State Route 44, Rootstown, OH 44272
- School district
- Rootstown Local School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 436
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 22.5
- Report card, 2025-26
- 3.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 82.9%
- Ohio building IRN
- 032599
- NCES school ID
- 390492103531
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Rootstown/Mabel Schnee Bldg Middle School3.5 of 5 stars · Rootstown
- Address
- 4140 State Route 44, Rootstown, OH 44272
- School district
- Rootstown Local School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 210
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 16
- Report card, 2025-26
- 3.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 74.9%
- Ohio building IRN
- 032615
- NCES school ID
- 390492103533
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Rootstown/Ward Davis Bldg High School3.5 of 5 stars · Rootstown
- Address
- 4140 State Route 44, Rootstown, OH 44272
- School district
- Rootstown Local School District
- Kind (NCES)
- Regular School
- Students, 2023-24
- 290
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 21
- Report card, 2025-26
- 3.5 of 5 stars
- Performance index
- 78.6%
- Four-year graduation rate
- 97.8%
- Ohio building IRN
- 032607
- NCES school ID
- 390492103532
NCES school record ↗ Ohio School Report Card ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: NCES EDGE public school locations 2024-25 and Common Core of Data 2023-24 (type, students, teachers); Ohio School Report Cards 2025-26 (Department of Education and Workforce), matched by name within the district.
Bridges rated poor (2)
-
I-76 over Hattrick Rd Cr-110Poor · built 1965
- Condition
- Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
- What it is
- Bridge
- Built
- 1965
- Length
- 32 ft
- Owner
- State
- Vehicles a day
- 29,867
- Coordinates
- 41.10639, -81.21413
National Bridge Inventory (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Old Forge Road over Breakneck CreekPoor · built 1950
- Condition
- Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
- What it is
- Bridge
- Built
- 1950
- Length
- 15 ft
- Owner
- County
- Vehicles a day
- 1,583
- Coordinates
- 41.07083, -81.26861
National Bridge Inventory (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory 2025. "Poor" means one major part rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale; it calls for repair, not closing, unless the state posts or closes the bridge.
Police stations (1)
-
Northeast Ohio Medical University Police DepartmentRootstown
- Address
- 4209 State Route 44, Rootstown, OH 44272
- Coordinates
- 41.10342, -81.24484
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: USGS National Map structures, police stations, corrected and completed by hand (September 2026). The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction, not by distance.
Shale and injection wells (2)
-
Asher Port2AhsuUtica shale well
- What it is
- Utica shale well
- Drilled sideways
- Yes
- Operator
- Northwood Energy Corp
- County
- Portage County
- API well number
- 34133244300100
- Coordinates
- 41.10305, -81.25661
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.
-
Wilcox {Swiw #29} 1 InjectionInjection well (Class II)
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Operator
- Select Water Solutions, Llc
- County
- Portage County
- API well number
- 34133201140000
- Coordinates
- 41.09609, -81.19936
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources well inventory (September 2026): drilled Utica, Marcellus and horizontal wells and Class II injection wells not plugged. Older vertical wells are on the full map.
Facilities reporting toxic releases (3)
-
General AluminumToxics Release Inventory · Ravenna
- Address
- 5159 S Prospect St, Ravenna, OH 44266
- County
- Portage County County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (***unchanged***)
- EPA program ID
- 4426WGNRLL5159S
- EPA registry ID
- 110071441290
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
General Aluminum (1667070012)Toxics Release Inventory · Ravenna
- Address
- 5159 South Prospect Street, Ravenna, OH 44266
- County
- Portage County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
- EPA program ID
- 44266FSFND5159S
- EPA registry ID
- 110000388982
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Rootstown Plant 7Toxics Release Inventory · Ravenna
- Address
- 5245 S Prospect St, Ravenna, OH 44266
- County
- Portage County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
- EPA program ID
- 44266RTSTW5245S
- EPA registry ID
- 110037143793
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Toxics Release Inventory reporters. Reporting a release is required of large users of listed chemicals; it is not by itself a violation.
Spills reported since 2021 (8)
-
Hydrochloric Acid / Muriatic Acid (Hcl)2025-05-28 · Rootstown Twp
- Reported
- 2025-05-28
- What spilled
- Hydrochloric Acid / Muriatic Acid (Hcl)
- Largest amount reported
- 15 gallons
- Where
- Rootstown Twp, Portage County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2505EPA0000853
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Transformer Pcb2025-05-22 · Rootstown Twp
- Reported
- 2025-05-22
- What spilled
- Oil Transformer Pcb
- Largest amount reported
- 1 gallons
- Where
- Rootstown Twp, Portage County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2505EPA0000820
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Transformer Non Pcb2024-09-22 · Rootstown Twp
- Reported
- 2024-09-22
- What spilled
- Oil Transformer Non Pcb
- Largest amount reported
- 59 gallons
- Where
- Rootstown Twp, Portage County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2409EPA0001623
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc2024-01-16 · Rootstown Twp
- Reported
- 2024-01-16
- What spilled
- Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc
- Where
- Rootstown Twp, Portage County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2401EPA0000085
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Mineral / Baby Oil / White Oil / Liquid Paraffin2023-09-13 · Rootstown Twp
- Reported
- 2023-09-13
- What spilled
- Oil Mineral / Baby Oil / White Oil / Liquid Paraffin
- Largest amount reported
- 200 gallons
- Where
- Rootstown Twp, Portage County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2309EPA0001606
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2023-02-07 · Rootstown Twp
- Reported
- 2023-02-07
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road); Oil Petroleum Not Otherwise Specified (Nos)
- Where
- Rootstown Twp, Portage County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2302EPA0000185
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Algae / Algae Bloom2026-07-25 · Rootstown Twp
- Reported
- 2026-07-25
- What spilled
- Algae / Algae Bloom
- Where
- Rootstown Twp, Portage County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2607EPA0001361
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Manure Chicken2026-03-09 · Rootstown Twp
- Reported
- 2026-03-09
- What spilled
- Manure Chicken
- Where
- Rootstown Twp, Portage County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2603EPA0000334
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Rootstown Township, Portage County, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
Local government
Who holds office in Rootstown Township, Portage County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Auditor of State record
- No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
- OP&F Examination, 2024, released 2026-05-28
- Financial Audit, 2020 to 2023, released 2026-04-14
The county
Portage County: 15 ZIP codes, 29 cities, villages and townships, 169,745 people.
Nearby places
Quick answers
What county is Rootstown Township, Ohio in?
Rootstown Township, Portage County is a township in Portage County, Ohio, with 8,619 residents.
When was Rootstown Township, Ohio founded?
Rootstown Township, Portage County was settled 1802 (David Root, first permanent settler); incorporated Organized as a civil township September 10, 1810, separating from Franklin Township. Founders on record: Ephraim Root (proprietor); David Root (first settler). Source
How did Rootstown Township, Ohio get its name?
Named for Ephraim Root, a lawyer and Connecticut Land Company investor from Coventry, Connecticut, who first visited the township in 1800; his brother David settled there in 1802. Source
What ZIP code is Rootstown Township, Ohio?
Rootstown Township, Portage County is served by ZIP codes 44272, 44266 and 44201; 44272 holds the largest share of its residents.
Where does Rootstown Township, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Rootstown Township, Portage County (Ravenna City): Mostly private wells.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Rootstown Township, Portage County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/rootstown-township-portage-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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