A town of its own until 1929
Ellet started as farmland, not as an Akron neighborhood. In the early 1800s an Englishman named Samuel Elliott, also known as Samuel Ellet, bought more than 500 acres from Col. Simon Perkins, son of Akron’s co-founder. His granddaughter Minnie Jane Ellet later wrote for the Akron Beacon Journal for 50 years.
The community petitioned Akron for annexation and joined the city in 1929. Today it is Akron’s largest neighborhood by both land and people, with more than 19,000 residents on about seven square miles in the southeast corner. Wikipedia’s neighborhood article notes that Ellet grew in the 1990s even as Akron as a whole lost population.
Ellet borders Mogadore to the east and Springfield Township to the south. I-76, the Little Cuyahoga River and the airport separate it physically from the rest of the city, which is part of why residents describe a small-town feel.
Landmarks and everyday life
Several of Akron’s most familiar sites are here:
- Derby Downs, home of the All-American Soap Box Derby, next to the Akron Skate Park and Akron BMX.
- The Goodyear Airdock, built for blimp construction and listed on the National Register in 1973.
- Akron Fulton International Airport, whose 1800 Triplett Boulevard administration building is on the Register.
- Strickland’s Frozen Custard on Triplett, the chain’s first stand, placed so customers could watch planes and blimps.
- Ellet Community Learning Center, whose marching band one resident can hear from her front porch.
Ellet has five community learning centers, tied with North Hill for the most of any neighborhood. Commercial activity runs along East Market Street and Eastgate Plaza on Canton Road. Mayor Shammas Malik has announced plans for more infill housing in the area, and the city budgeted $25,000 for the Hyre Park Nature Trail.
When a cash sale fits an Ellet house, and when it doesn’t
With 63% of homes owner-occupied and, in Wikipedia’s words, numerous single-family households, Ellet is a neighborhood where many houses will sell well with an agent. If yours is in good shape and you have time, list it. We’d rather tell you that than buy a house below what the market would pay you.
A direct sale is worth a look when:
- the house needs a roof, furnace or other big repair before a lender would approve a buyer, a situation covered in selling a house that needs work
- you’ve inherited it and live out of state; see selling a house from out of state
- you need to close by a set date
For the citywide market picture, see the Akron housing market guide. If you want a number to compare against a listing price, ask for a written offer.