Kent House With a History is Ready to Roll

Kent State University will preserve one of the oldest houses along the new University Esplanade extension by literally moving it several lots south of its current location at 128 S. Willow St., at the corner of Erie Street.

University officials decided to not demolish the 110-year-old house as it was the longtime home of May H. Prentice (1857-1935), Kent State’s first female faculty member.

Starting at 1 p.m. Monday, Stein House Movers Inc. will be relocating the structure from its present location to the 214/220 S. Willow St. lots where the university demolished two homes on Jan. 31. The Prentice house will sit primarily on the lot at 214 S. Willow.

Tom Euclide, Kent State’s associate vice president for Facilities Planning and Operations, said officials decided to save the Prentice house because of its historical connection to the university.

“This structure is not only significant to Kent State’s history, but is also representative of the evolution of both our campus and city,” Euclide said.

Officials said the Prentice house is in better shape than most houses its age located around the University Esplanade extension because of its owner occupancy. It was not recently used as a rooming or boarding house, as many other homes in the area have been.

On Wednesday, employees from Stein House Movers lifted the Prentice house off its foundation and moved it northward so that wheels could be placed underneath. Workers were at the site Friday making further preparations for the move.

Prentice – who lived in the South Willow house until her death at age 79 in 1935 – was on the faculty of Kent State from 1912 to 1930. She taught English, history of education and school management. One website reports she was the director of teacher training.

The university's oldest gateway, located at the intersection of East Main and Lincoln streets, is officially named the May H. Prentice Memorial Gate.

According to the university, it was built with funds donated by the 1928 through 1934 graduating classes and was dedicated on Jan. 5, 1935. Prentice was reportedly too ill to attend the ceremony and died three weeks later.

Prentice Hall, a three-story coeducational residence hall located at 250 Midway Drive on campus, was dedicated in her honor in 1959.

Emily Vincent, director of media relations, said Kent State will announce plans for the use of the Prentice house once they are finalized.

The Kent State Board of Trustees bought the 1,950-square-foot Prentice house from Andrej M. Petryna for its appraised value of $225,000 during a Sept. 15, 2010, meeting.

The trustees approved the University Esplanade extension project in 2011 to create a pedestrian path that will connect the university campus to the city of Kent. The project is a key component of the economic revitalization of downtown Kent.