The home of the Kent Historical Society and Museum is the Clapp-Woodward House at 237 E. Main St. The Victorian structure was built in 1883 and stands out among its neighbors. It was built for Harriet Kent Clapp, the daughter of Zenas Kent and Marvin's older sister. It represents a direct link to the Kent family, along with the Kent Masonic Center, which was built as the Marvin Kent homestead at around the same time. The restoration efforts of KHS and its previous owners, Bob and Mary Paton, have kept the home in good condition.
The house is typical of many Victorian era homes with high ceilings, large rooms trimmed with carved cherry woodwork, three sets of pocket doors and a large entryway featuring an elaborate staircase. But, in other respects, it is unique. The ornate brass door and window hardware throughout the house rivals that found in the Marvin Kent home. There are four distinctive fireplaces, as well as interior wooden shutters for nearly all the windows. A large front porch overlooks East Main Street.
The structure is believed to be one of the only remaining residences with ties to the community’s leading family. The Kent Historical Society & Museum is very pleased to call this house its permanent home and to be able to share it with the community.
In 1975, the Kent Historical Society purchased the historic A&GW/Erie Depot and saved it from demolition. The train station was built in 1875 when Marvin Kent was President of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Company in Ohio. The depot was surprisingly large for Kent's population at the time. It contained ticket offices, waiting rooms, baggage and express rooms, a dining room and kitchen on the first floor. The second floor included living quarters for the proprietors of the restaurant and reading rooms.
In 1970 the last passenger train left the station and the depot was no longer needed. With the building being vacant and boarded up, there was talk of it being razed. A group of civic-minded citizens came together and formed the Kent Historical Society in 1971. The group was successful in raising funds to purchase the building. After years of restoration, in 1981, KHS offices and a museum were housed on the second floor, with The Pufferbelly restaurant on the first floor. KHS headquarters remained at the depot until it moved to a location on Water Street in 2005 and then finally settled into the Clapp-Woodward House in 2012. The depot now houses the restaurant, Treno Ristorante.
