Stow, Ohio

Stow, Ohio
—  City  —
Stow City Hall
Seal Logo
Location in Summit County
Stow, Ohio Location in Ohio
Coordinates: 41°9′34″N 81°26′25″W
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Summit
Founded	1804
Incorporated	1957
Founder	Joshua Stow
Government
• Mayor	Sara Drew
Area
• Total	44.9 km2 (17.3 sq mi)
• Land	44.3 km2 (17.1 sq mi)
• Water	0.6 km2 (0.2 sq mi)
Elevation	333 m (1,093 ft)
Population (2008)
• Total	33,899
• Density	768.6/km2 (1,991/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	44224
Area code(s)	330, 234
FIPS code	39-74944
GNIS feature ID	1065392
Website	www.stow.oh.us

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. It is bordered on the south by the cities of Tallmadge and Munroe Falls and the village of Silver Lake, on the east by the city of Kent and Franklin Township, on the north by the city of Hudson, and on the west by the city of Cuyahoga Falls.

History

Stow Township, now Stow City, was a small part of the State of Connecticut's Western Reserve. At the close of the Revolutionary War, several states had conflicting claims for the vast territory west of them. They finally settled their dispute by each one of them turning over what land they claimed to the central government -- the U.S. Of the thirteen original states, only Connecticut held anything back, reserving a strip of land lying south of Lake Erie. As the new state's government was short of money, part was given in lieu of bonuses to Revolutionary soldiers. Connecticut sold the rest of the Reserve to the Connecticut Land Company, made up of speculators organized for that purpose. Joshua Stow of Middletown, Connecticut, secured for his share the land that is now the City of Stow. All of this land was surveyed under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance: divided into counties, the counties into townships, the townships into sections.

Stow Township was first a part of Trumbull, then of Portage, and finally of Summit County. In the original draft it was known as Town 3, Range 10.

John Graham came to Stow in 1809 and bought his farm on what is now West Graham Road. His sons, Maxwell and William, became very well known horticulturists and the owners of large fruit farms.

Geography and climate

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.3 square miles (44.Fs9 km²), of which, 17.1 square miles (44 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (1.33%) is water.

Stow is a suburb of the city of Akron, Ohio and has a very similar climate. Weather varies during each season.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 32,139 people, 12,317 households, and 8,745 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,878.1 people per square mile (725.2/km²). There were 12,852 housing units at an average density of 751.0 per square mile (290.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.20% White, 1.54% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.91% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population.

There were 12,317 households out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.08.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1960	12,194		—
1970	19,847		62.8%
1980	25,299		27.5%
1990	27,702		9.5%
2000	32,139		16.0%
Est. 2008	33,899		5.5%

In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

As of the Selected Economic Characteristics: 2005-2007, the median income for a household in the city was $63,868, and the median income for a family was $77,556. Males had a median income of $53,537 versus $40,047 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,259. Employment status was 97.3% employed and 2.7% unemployed. About 2.9% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Stow has several community parks including Adell Durbin Park, Meadowbrook Lake Park, Silver Springs Park, and Oregon Trail Park. Stow also owns Fox Den Golf Course. Stow Parks and Recreation allows children and teenagers to participate in sports such as baseball and basketball. The tennis courts at Stow's parks are free to the public. The tennis courts at Adel Durbin Park are also lit for nighttime play.

Roses Run Country Club

Stow is also home to the Roses Run Country Club, which overlooks a section of the Cuyahoga River. In 2006 it was ranked the 18th most challenging 18-hole golf course in Northeast Ohio by the Northern Ohio Golf Association. Fox Den Golf Course is another 18 hole 72 par golf course located in the eastern part of Stow and is owned and operated by the city of Stow. In 2009 it was named as one of the top-ten golf courses in Northeast Ohio by the Akron Beacon Journal.

The 33.5-mile (53.9 km) Summit County MetroParks Bike and Hike trail runs through Stow beginning near the Pambi Farm Estates and Roses Run Country Club. The paved Bike & Hike Trail parallels a scenic section of the Cuyahoga River where great blue herons, Canada geese, ducks, turtles and white-tailed deer can be seen. The trail continues west through the neighboring cities of Munroe Falls and Silver Lake then continues north to Brandywine Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in Ohio. All 33.5 miles of the trail are paved and can be used for hiking, biking, rollerblading as well as cross-country skiing in the winter. Picnic areas can be found at numerous places along the trail.

The Akron General Health and Wellness Center (North) also calls Stow its home. Built in 2007 and located at 4300 Allen Road, Wellness has been named one of the Top 100 Clubs as well as the #1 hospital-owned medical fitness center in the nation by Club Industry Magazine. The health club features a six-lane heated lap pool, family pool, warm water physical therapy pool, spa treatments, steam room, sauna, whirlpool, rock climbing wall, fitness equipment, indoor and outdoor track, gymnasium, personal training, shops, restaurants, nutrition services as well as doctor-prescribed physical therapy.

Education

Main article: Stow-Munroe Falls City School District

Stow is served by the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District, along with most of neighboring Munroe Falls. The district includes six elementary schools (Echo Hills, Fishcreek, Highland, Indian Trail, Riverview and Woodland), Lakeview Intermediate School, Kimpton Middle School and Stow-Munroe Falls High School. All of the district schools are located in Stow, with the exceptions of Riverview Elementary and Kimpton Middle School, both of which are located in Munroe Falls.

Media

Stow is served by a local newspaper — the Stow Sentry — published twice weekly by Record Publishing Co, LLC. Maintained by the area division of Time Warner Cable, Stow also sponsors a Government-access television (GATV) station on cable TV — Stow Community Channel 15. The station broadcasts live audio from city council meetings, and regular announcements relating to: city and school functions; maintenance work; area businesses; and any upcoming local events.

Transportation

Three Ohio State Routes run through Stow: Ohio State Route 8, a limited access highway; Ohio State Route 59 (Kent Road); and Ohio State Route 91 (Darrow Road). Both the Akron Metropolitan Regional Transit Authority (METRO RTA) and Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) have bus lines that stop in Stow, and the city is also home to Kent State University Airport.

Notable people

• Haley Bennett - singer, songwriter and actress.
• Richard Cooey - convicted murderer and rapist; executed in 2008.
• Larry Csonka - former NFL football player; Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
• Ben Curtis - professional golfer; winner of the 2003 British Open
• Ed Donatell - current and former secondary coach for the Denver Broncos
• Joe Ebanks - champion poker player
• Mark Gangloff - 2008 Olympian and gold medal winner
• Jim Graner - former weeknight sports anchor for WKYC; color commentator for Cleveland Browns radio network
• Dave Jamerson - former NBA basketball player
• Neel Kashkari - Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability; led effort to purchase troubled financial assets under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
• Erick Purkhiser - better known as Lux Interior, lead singer and founding member of The Cramps
• Jennifer Rohn - scientist and novelist
• Mike Vrabel - NFL football player

External links

• City of Stow
• Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce
• Stow Historical Society