Portage county
Founded: June 7, 1807
Area: 492.39 sq mi
Named for: Derived from an Indian portage
County Seat: Ravenna, Ohio
Portage County Profile (from Ohio.gov)
Fun Fact: In 1942, the US government chose Windham as the site of an army camp for workers at the newly-built Ravenna Arsenal. As a result, Windham experienced the largest increase in population of any municipality in the United States between the 1940 and 1950 censuses: The population increased from 316 residents to 3,946.
People of note from County: Anne Heche – actress, Eddie Morgan, former Major League Baseball player. Athletes include football players Antonio Gates, Joshua Cribbs, and Jack Lambert; Major League Baseball players Thurman Munson, Rich Rollins, and Andy Sonnanstine; and college football coaches Nick Saban and Lou Holtz. Comedians Drew Carey and Arsenio Hall, actor Michael Keaton, musician Joe Walsh, and additional members of the band Devo attended and spent time at Kent State University. Chris Bangle; automobile designer, David D. Busch; best-selling author, William Rufus Day; U.S. Supreme Court justice, Calvin Hampton; Classical organist, Al Hodge; actor in films such as Captain Video and The Green Hornet and producer of The Lone Ranger radio program, Maynard James Keenan; singer for Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer, Marvin Kent; politician and businessman, namesake for neighboring city of Kent, Peggy King; singer and television personality, Don Nottingham; pro football player, Henry Adoniram Swift; third governor of Minnesota, Erastus B. Tyler; Union general in the American Civil War, Jeffrey Harold West; pro football kicker, Don M. Wilson III; former Chief Risk Officer at JP Morgan Chase Bank
Major Employers: East Manufacturing Corp, General Electric Co, Kent City Board of Education, Kent State University, McMaster-Carr Supply Co, Ravenna City Bd of Ed, Robinson Memorial Hospital, State of Ohio, Step2 Company
Cities: Aurora, Kent, Ravenna, Streetsboro
Villages: Brady Lake, Garrettsville, Hiram, Mantua, Mogadore, Sugar Bush Knolls, Windham
Townships: Atwater, Brimfield, Charlestown, Deerfield, Edinburg, Franklin, Freedom, Hiram, Mantua, Nelson, Palmyra, Paris, Randolph, Ravenna, Rootstown, Shalersville, Suffield, Windham
Other communities: Diamond, Wayland, Brimfield
