150th anniversary party will celebrate the Erie Depot that brought industry to Kent

June 1, 1875, was a big day for Kent. Marvin Kent, the man for whom the city is named, opened the Erie Depot in the hopes of attracting trains, business and industry.

It worked, and 150 years later to the day, the Kent Historical Society is marking the event with a slate of family activities.

Starting shortly before 3 p.m. on June 1, 2025, the Theodore Roosevelt High School band will welcome people as they gather. Local musicians Brad Bolton and Christie Anderson will perform ragtime and traditional folk songs composed from 1890 to 1920.

Youngsters can enjoy a train-themed coloring book designed by Stanton Middle School students. The book and crayons are free, courtesy of the Kent Historical Society. Also on offer will be temporary tattoos.

The Kent Historical Society will also be distributing a 40-page booklet detailing the depot’s history. A photo booth will be set up for people to commemorate their presence at the occasion, and a period diesel locomotive will be parked outside. People will be on hand to explain its workings and significance, but interior tours will not be possible.

No long speeches are planned, though Kent Historical Society President Emeritus Sandy Halem will deliver a short address. She will also unveil a bronze plaque indicating the building’s inclusion on the National Registry and two more detailing the building’s architecture and history. All three plaques will be on permanent display in the foyer.

On sale will be history-themed books authored by Charles Madonio and the late Roger DiPaolo.

What’s a birthday without balloons and treats? The Kent Historical Society will provide a birthday cake and Over Easy at the Depot, the building’s current tenant, will provide lemonade and cookies.

Like any century-plus building, the depot has its history.

“Not many people know two baby girls were born in the Depot,” Halem said. “There was a family, the Elgin family, that lived there in the 1880s in the center tower, and the father ran the restaurant.”

Kent’s first library was housed in the north tower, boasting all of 800 books. Patrons had to pay a dollar a year to belong and could take out one book at a time for up to three weeks. Those books eventually formed the core of Kent’s Carnegie Library (now Kent Free Library) when it opened in 1903, Halem said.

Years passed, Kent was no longer a railroad hub, and the Erie Depot fell on hard times. By the late 1960s, the building was in such bad shape that it was slated for demolition, to be replaced by a parking lot.

“That’s why we came together in 1971,” Halem said. “It was very clear that if we didn’t save the depot, it would be gone. That’s our mission. We keep it for the people of Kent.”

Enriched by community donations, the Kent Historical Society acquired the building for $28,000 in January 1976. In today’s dollars, the society, various community members and assorted investors put the equivalent of $2 million into saving the structure.

“That was to get it off life support. This is a commitment, and that commitment’s a lifetime,” Halem said.

By 1974, the structure had gained its spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Renovations were still ongoing in 1978, when a local theater took over the depot’s first floor. The Kent Acting & Touring Company presented a Mark Twain play and The Fantasticks.

“People saw the building could be saved. It had life again. It had been dead for eight years,” Halem said.

Kent Historical Society’s leadership understood that it wasn’t enough to buy the property. They had to give it a reason for existing. Having pronounced the depot fully restored on Dec. 6, 1981, they signed a 35-year lease with the owners of The Pufferbelly restaurant. It opened for business the same day and remained there throughout its lease.

The Kent Historical Society maintained its museum and offices in the depot’s north and center tower before moving to a Water Street location in 2005 and then its current home on East Main Street in 2012.

Throughout The Pufferbelly’s residency, no infrastructure work had been done. Enter Kent developer Ron Burbick, who committed his funds to doing so, and opened his restaurant, Treno Ristorante, in the building. That venture was short-lived, a victim of the pandemic and Burbick’s untimely death, Halem said.

The depot got its new—and current—lease on life in 2023, when Shannon Zemba, who ran the small Rise and Shine restaurant on West Erie Street, moved to the depot. The Kent Historical Society retains ownership of the building, and remains responsible for its exterior. On deck: updated windows.

“Those windows are expensive. That’s our big nut to crack now,” Halem said.

The celebration will continue until 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public.