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Ohio · Northeast Ohio · #818
Portage County, Ohio
Between Cleveland and Akron in the headwaters country of the Cuyahoga River, Portage County's Kent State University is permanently associated with May 4, 1970 - the day National Guard soldiers opened fire on students protesting the Kent State campus and the Cambodia invasion, killing four and wounding nine in an event that galvanized the antiwar movement and remains one of the most studied instances of political violence on an American campus.
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Office: Portage County Emergency Management Agency – established 1989; runs the “Portage Prepares” citizen preparedness education program covering Aurora, Kent, Ravenna, Streetsboro, Garrettsville, Mantua, Hiram, Windham, and their townships; uses WENS (Wireless Emergency Notification System) paired with FEMA’s IPAWS.
Hospital/ER: University Hospitals Portage Medical Center – 6847 North Chestnut Street, Ravenna, OH; Level III trauma center, 117 staffed beds, open since 1894.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-59 and SR-43/44 serve Ravenna, the county seat, roughly 30 miles south of Cleveland
Transit: Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) – headquartered near Kent, formed 1975; 6 county routes plus 12 campus routes; interurban service connecting Ravenna, Kent, and Stow; express routes to downtown Cleveland and Akron; weekday rural service to Windham, Garrettsville, and Hiram; over 1.1 million annual riders (2024).
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Portage County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via portagecounty-oh.gov.
Notes: Portage County, created by the Ohio General Assembly on June 9, 1808, is home to Kent State University, the site of one of the most significant events in modern American history. On May 4, 1970, during a campus protest against U.S. military action in Cambodia, members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students, killing Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Schroeder, and wounding nine others. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016. Kent State’s May 4 Visitor Center and the University Libraries’ May 4 Collection (established 1970, over 750 cubic feet of primary sources) preserve the history; the university holds an annual commemoration each May. In 1971, the university established what is now its School of Peace and Conflict Studies, growing directly out of the events of that day.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Portage County Veterans Service Commission – 466 South Chestnut Street, Annex Building, Ravenna, OH 44266 | (330) 297-3545 | [email protected]; provides transportation to Akron, Canton, and Wade Park VA Clinics, full VA claims case management, and direct financial assistance; 90-day county residency required.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Portage County has multiple independent library systems: Reed Memorial Library (Ravenna), 167 E. Main Street, Ravenna, OH 44266 | (330) 296-2827 | Hours: Mon-Thu 10 AM-8 PM, Fri 10 AM-6 PM, Sat 10 AM-5 PM, closed Sunday, serving over 20,000 residents; Kent Free Library, 312 W. Main Street, Kent, OH 44240 | (330) 673-4414, a Carnegie library dating to 1892/1903; Portage County District Library, 10482 South Street, Garrettsville, OH 44231 | (330) 527-5082, with branches in Aurora, Brimfield, Randolph, Streetsboro, and Windham.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Kent State May 4 Visitor Center and Memorial (National Historic Landmark) and Kent State University’s campus are the county’s most historically and nationally significant sites.
Notes: The genuine, nationally significant May 4, 1970 Kent State history is treated here factually and respectfully as a designated National Historic Landmark.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Portage County Auditor – confirm current phone via portagecounty-oh.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Portage County Dog Warden – 8120 Infirmary Road, Ravenna, OH 44266 | (330) 297-6924 | Fax: (330) 298-2053 | [email protected]; Chief Dog Warden David McIntyre.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Portage County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via portagecounty-oh.gov.
NOTES: Portage County is the fourth county in this batch (Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Portage, Preble, Putnam, Richland) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine, nationally significant May 4, 1970 Kent State history – a designated National Historic Landmark – is treated here factually and respectfully. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Portage County
Portage County’s Kent State University carries the May 4, 1970 shooting as its most historically significant moment – the May 4 Visitors Center on the campus, the gymnasium annex where the National Guard had their command post, and the memorials marking where Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder fell are maintained as a site of conscience and historical record. The university has engaged with this history with increasing directness over the decades.
Beyond May 4, Kent State is a mid-sized public research university with about 25,000 students and particular strength in fashion design (its fashion school has produced nationally recognized alumni), nursing, and journalism. The Cuyahoga River’s headwaters in Portage County are the starting point for the river that once caught fire – the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire in Cleveland that helped catalyze the Clean Water Act and the modern environmental movement. Portage County’s river corridor is now clean and recreation-accessible.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Ohio assesses property at 35% of true market value, reappraised every six years with triennial updates. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Revision. Ohio offers a homestead exemption for qualifying homeowners 65 or older. Ohio has no state estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Portage County Office on Aging
705 Oakwood Street, Ravenna, OH 44266
Phone: (330) 297-3511
Senior Services
Portage County Office on Aging
705 Oakwood Street, Ravenna, OH 44266
Phone: (330) 297-3511
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
203 West Main St, Ravenna, OH 44266
(330) 297-3612
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Portage County Probate Court, Ravenna (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Portage County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Portage County Probate Court 203 West Main Street, Ravenna, OH 44266 (330) 297-3870 Portage County is in northeastern Ohio, seated in Ravenna.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Ohio has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, but has incorporated some streamlined concepts into its own system under Title 21 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC Chapters 2101-2131).
Summary Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – available for very small estates valued at $5,000 or less. Lets the court release assets quickly, often to cover funeral expenses and support the surviving family, without a fiduciary being appointed.
Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – Ohio’s broader small-estate shortcut. Available when the gross probate estate is $35,000 or less, OR up to $100,000 if the entire estate passes to a surviving spouse (by will or by Ohio’s intestacy law). No executor/administrator is appointed; the court releases the estate directly to the person(s) entitled to it.
Full Estate Administration – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds or the situation is otherwise contested or complex. The court appoints a fiduciary (Ohio’s term for executor/administrator), issues a Certificate of Appointment once any will is admitted, and the fiduciary inventories assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays debts, and distributes what remains under ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and an application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent resided.
If pursuing Release from Administration or Summary Release, complete the applicable court forms (Form 5.0 for standard Release, Form 5.10 for Summary Release) along with a complete asset inventory and supporting documents.
For full administration, the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary publishes notice to creditors; claims generally must be presented within 6 months of the date of death.
The fiduciary inventories and manages estate assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or Ohio’s intestacy law, reporting to the court along the way.
The estate is closed once a final account is filed and approved by the court.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county – check with Portage County directly for current fees.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax (repealed effective January 1, 2013). Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates ($15,000,000 per individual as of 2026).
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
203 West Main St, Ravenna, OH 44266
(330) 297-3612
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
449 South Meridian St, Ravenna, OH 44266
(330) 296-6486
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
449 South Meridian St, Ravenna, OH 44266
(330) 297-3511
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Combined General Health District
705 Oakwood St, Ravenna, OH 44266
(330) 296-9919
Job and Family Services
449 South Meridian St, Ravenna, OH 44266
(330) 297-3750
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Portage County Health Department – confirm current contact via portagecounty-oh.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Ravenna
Population: 162,000
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Portage County facilities via Amazon.
