 In 1863 the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad was constructed through Franklin Mills , due largely to the efforts of local businessman Marvin Kent , son of Zenas Kent . Marvin Kent had started his own railroad company , the Franklin and Warren Railroad , in 1851 after Franklin Mills , already home to several Kent family ventures and properties , was bypassed by the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad that same year . Kent was also successful in getting the village named as the location of the railroad 's maintenance yards and shops in 1864 . The geographic location along the railroad and being home to the shops reinvented and revitalized the village as an important stop on the east @-@ west line between St. Louis and New York City . The shops would open in 1865 and the railroad would play an important part of Kent 's industry and development through the early 20th century before the shops were completely shut down in 1930 . To honor Marvin Kent , the village was renamed Kent in 1864 , although this change was not official until the village was incorporated on May 6 , 1867 . 
