Ephraim Root returned to Rootstown in 1801 to plant a wheat field and build a log house. In 1802, his brother David Root, with his wife Clara and four sons, moved from Connecticut to Rootstown to establish a home. Rootstown was settled in 1802 and grew into a fruit and dairy community with connection to the early railroads and canals. Rootstown Township was organized in 1810. The town celebrated its centennial in 1902, its sesquicentennial in 1952, and its bicentennial in 2002.