One home in ten here is a mobile home
About 10% of Springfield Township’s roughly 6,600 homes are mobile homes, by the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 estimates. That is a far higher share than in Copley, Bath or Coventry, where the figure rounds to zero or one percent.
The rest of the housing is mostly modest and owner-occupied:
- About 85% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
- The median build year is 1962, and about 15% of homes date from 1939 or earlier.
- The median home value, as owners estimate it, is about $156,900.
Selling a manufactured home takes more paperwork than selling a house. The home may be part of the real estate, or it may carry its own title that has to transfer separately from the land. If you can’t find that title, start with our guide to replacing a lost mobile home title in Ohio, then see selling a mobile home.
Septic and well country outside the sewer lines
Springfield Township says only a limited area of the township has centralized sewer and water, provided by the Summit County Department of Environmental Services. Outside that area, homes depend on septic systems and private wells.
That brings in Summit County Public Health’s transfer rule. Before the property changes hands, a registered contractor has to inspect the septic system and test the well. Plan on these points:
- The inspector needs the tank lids exposed and access to the house.
- Leave the tank unpumped until the inspection is done.
- A failed result won’t stop the transfer, but the county will follow up with the owner.
A buyer’s lender may still want a failed system fixed before closing. That’s often where a direct sale helps, because we can buy the house with the system as it is. Our septic and well inspection guide covers the process step by step.
The 1994 Akron JEDD and the end of annexation
Springfield used to lose land to Akron. Ellet, now an Akron neighborhood, once sat in the township’s northwest corner, and the township’s original high school building was annexed by Akron in 1929.
In 1994, the township signed a Joint Economic Development District agreement with Akron. Businesses in the JEDD areas, and the people who work there, pay a 2.25% income tax. In exchange, Akron agreed to install water and sewer lines and not to annex further into the township.
For a homeowner, that agreement is why your house is likely to stay a township property, with township zoning and township police and fire.
Springfield Lake, interurban trains and summer cottages
Springfield is one of the original Western Reserve townships. General Simon Perkins surveyed it in 1806, settlers began arriving in 1807, and trustees were first elected in 1808. It is named after Springfield, Massachusetts.
Springfield Lake, in the center of the township, is a natural kettle lake fed by an underground spring. An amusement park opened on it in 1914, and interurban trains brought picnickers from Cleveland and Canton. The park ran until 1930, when a roller coaster accident injured 13 people.
Summer cottages around the lake later grew into the Sawyerwood and Lakemore housing areas as Akron’s rubber industry expanded. Lakemore is now its own village; see the Lakemore page.
Roads, schools and services in Springfield
Springfield Township has full-time professional police and fire departments, with paramedic service. Its main routes include:
- Interstate 76 and U.S. 224
- State Routes 91, 241 and 532
- Canton Road, Krumroy Road, Mogadore Road and East Waterloo Road
Akron-Fulton Airport is next door to the west, and Akron-Canton Airport is about 5 miles south.
The Springfield Local School District serves the whole township, with three elementary schools and one junior-senior high school building. Part of the village of Mogadore lies inside the township’s original lines too.
County-wide matters such as probate and the conveyance fee are on the Summit County page. When you’re ready, you can ask for a written offer on your Springfield property.