Massillon, Ohio

Massillon is a city located in Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio, approximately 8 miles to the west of Canton, Ohio, 20 miles south of Akron, Ohio, and 50 miles south of Cleveland, Ohio. The population was 32,149 at the 2010 census.

The City of Massillon is the second largest incorporated area within the Canton–Massillon, Ohio metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the Canton-Massillon metropolitan area had a population of 404,422 and includes all of Stark and Carroll counties.

The city's incorporated area primarily resides in the western half of Perry Township, with portions extending north into Jackson Township, west into Tuscarawas Township, and south into Bethlehem Township. The village of Navarre borders the city to the south.

Port of Massillon
The original settlement of Kendal was founded in 1812 by Thomas Rotch, a Quaker originally of New Bedford, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut. James Duncan of New Hampshire first settled in Kendal before recording the plot for Massillon in December 6, 1826. Duncan, known as the city's founder, named the town after Jean Baptiste Massillon, a French Catholic bishop. The town plat was established along the east bank of the Tuscarawas River, which was the surveyed route for the Ohio and Erie Canal being constructed to connect Lake Erie with the Ohio River. The canal section spanning from Cleveland to Massillon was completed in 1828. Massillon quickly became a major port town along the canal route, known as the Port of Massillon, following the canal's completion in the 1832. The first telegraph lines would reach Massillon in 1847, and the Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad would extend its rails to Massillon in 1852. Massillon incorporated as a village in 1853. In 1868, Massillon incorporated as a city when the populated reached 5,000.

C. M. Russell & Company
The C. M. Russell & Company, formed in 1842 by Charles. M. Russell and his brothers, Nahum Russell and Clement Russell, manufactured threshing machines and other agricultural implements in Massillon. The company began producing train cars in 1852 and incorporated in 1864 as Russell & Company Inc. In 1884, Russell & Company begain producing its famed steam traction engines and quickly became one of the largest producers of industrial and agricultural equipment. A merger with the Griscom-Spencer company in 1912 created the Griscom-Russell Company. Griscom-Russell produced heat exchangers for the United States Navy during World War II. The company closed in 1962.

Massillon Bridge Company
The Massillon Iron Bridge Company was founded by Joseph Davenport in 1869 after moving to Massillon from Boston to work at the C. M. Russell & Company. Davenport also invented and built the first locomotive "cowcatcher" and cab in Massillon. The company incorporated in 1887 as the The Massillon Bridge Company. The Massillon Bridge Company designed and built steel truss bridges up through the mid-1900s, many of which stand today.

Massillon State Hospital
The Massillon State Hospital for the Insane opened in 1898 on 240 acres of land given to the state of Ohio for the purpose of constructing the hospital. The hospital was established by Ohio governor William McKinley. By 1950 there were 3,100 patients in the hospital. Today it is known as Heartland Behavioral Healthcare.

Jewel Motor Car Company
The Forest City Motor Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1906 but relocated to Massillon during that same year. Forest City produced approximately 1,000 of their Jewel automobiles in Massillon between 1906 and 1909. The name of the company was changed to the Jewel Motor Car Company but the company eventually ceased production in 1909.

Steel Era
Although steel making and fabrication is found throughout its history, some say Massillon's steel age didn't start until 1909 when the first sheet of steel was rolled at the Massillon Rolling Mill Company. Massillon Rolling merged into the Central Steel Company in 1914, and lit its first open hearth furnace in 1915. Central Steel eventually became known as the Central Alloy Steel Company. In April 1930, Central Alloy merged with Republic Steel, becoming the third largest steel company in the world, with its Massillon operations employing nearly one-half of the city's workforce by 1959. This included other Massillon divisions like Massillon Union Drawn Steel and its stainless steel division Enduro Stainless. In 1984 Republic Steel was purchased by LTV Steel. Enduro closed in 1985, and it and other stainless plants went through several ownership changes over the following 15 years. The main Republic facilities on the southwest side of Massillon closed by 2002.

Massillon Steel Joist
Stanley Macomber designed the open-web steel joist in 1921 while working for Massillon's Central Steel Company. Macomber left Central Steel and founded the Massillon Steel Joist Co. in 1923. His open-web steel joist, patented in 1924, was known as the Massillon Steel Joist. Macomber's invention was a revolutionary assembly of steel joists with a top slab used to support of floors, ceilings and roofs. The basis of Macomber's steel joist design is still used today. Stanley Macomber was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2011.

Lincoln Highway


Lincoln Highway, the first US highway to run from coast to coast, was envisioned in 1913 and followed Main Street through the center of Massillon. Main Street was eventually renamed Lincoln Way in recognition of the new highway. In 1928, the federal government renamed Lincoln Highway to US 30. A controlled access freeway was constructed in 1971, bypassing US-30 around to the city's most southern part. The old Lincoln Highway that runs through Massillon and Canton was reassigned as State Route 172.

Little Steel Strike
Massillon was a site where one of the most tragic instances of anti-union violence in the history of the United States occurred. The Steel Workers Organizing Committee began an attempt to organize workers at Republic Steel in the spring of 1937, following the unionizing of workers at the country's two largest steel companies US Steel and Jones & Laughlin Steel. In retaliation, Republic Steel expelled over 1000 union supporters at plants in Canton and Massillon. On May 26, the union eventually called for all workers at Republic Steel, Youngstown Sheet and Tube, and Inland Steel (together known as Little Steel) to strike in response to the treatment of workers in Massillon and Canton.

On the night of July 11, 1937, a car failed to dim its headlights as it approached a police barracade near a picket line at one of the Massillon plants. City police assumed the worst and without warning opened fire with rifles and shotguns. Police then used this infraction to raid a peaceful crowd that was gathered in front of the union headquarters. Police pumped tear gas canisters and opened fire into the fleeing crowd. Joined by National Guardsmen, the police destroyed the union hall and arrested every suspected unionist they could find. Three men were killed and hundreds were injured during this incident.

Ohio Historical Marker #18-76 was erected in 2004 in front of the Massillon City Hall in memory of the Little Steel Strike of 1937.

Coxey's Army
Jacob S. Coxey, Sr. sometimes known as General Coxey (April 16, 1854 – May 18, 1951) of Massillon, Ohio, was an American politician, who ran for elective office several times in Ohio. He twice led Coxey's Army in 1894 and 1914, consisting of a group of unemployed men that he led on marches from Massillon, Ohio to Washington, D.C. to present a "Petition in Boots" demanding that the United States Congress allocate funds to create jobs for the unemployed. Although his march failed, Coxey's Army was an early attempt to arouse political interest in an issue that grew in importance until the Social Security Act of 1935 encouraged the establishment of state unemployment insurance programs.

Jacob Coxey was elected Mayor of Massillon in 1931 and served for one year.

Geography
Massillon is located at 40.79667°N, -81.52139°W (40.7967, 81.5214), along the Tuscarawas River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.76 sqmi, of which, 18.58 sqmi is land and 0.18 sqmi is water.

The following residential neighborhoods are located in and around the city: Amherst Heights, Belmont, C.H.A.R.M, Charity Rotch, Chestnut Hills, Clearview, Colonial Hills, Columbia Heights, East Brookfield, Elms Acres, Greenwood Acres, Kendall Heights, Lawndale, Mayflower Village, Moffitt Heights, New England, Oak Ridge, Perry Heights, Raynell, Sippo Heights, University Village, Walnut Hills, Wellman, West Brookfield, West Park, and Westadaro

Massillon continues to grow in area through annexations.

Demographics
The median income for a household in the city between 2006-2010 was $38,278, and per capita income for the city was $20,030. About 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 32,149 people, 13,140 households, and 8,268 families residing in the city. The population density was 1730.3 PD/sqmi. There were 14,497 housing units at an average density of 780.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 87.4% White, 8.8% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population.

There were 13,140 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.1% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.95.

The median age in the city was 40.1 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.9% were from 25 to 44; 27.1% were from 45 to 64; and 16.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.

Economy
While no longer home to large steel plants of the 20th century, the following businesses are headquartered or otherwise prominent in the city:
 * Affinity Medical Center
 * Ameri Cold Logistics
 * Aqua Ohio (incorporated 1926 as the Massillon Water Service Company)
 * A.R.E.
 * Crown Cork & Seal
 * Fresh Mark Inc.
 * Greif Brothers
 * The Health Plan
 * Heinz Frozen Food Co.
 * Massillon Cable TV, founded 1965
 * MCA Industries
 * Midwestern Industries (Headquarters)
 * NFM Welding
 * People's Cartage
 * Republic Steel
 * R.W. Screw
 * Shearer's Foods (manufacturing and headquarters)
 * Tower Industries

Massillon has a central business district along Lincoln Way stretching from approximately State Route 21 to Wales Road. There are a few shopping areas, notably Towne Plaza, Amherst Shopping Center, Mayflower Shopping Center, Massillon Marketplace, and Meadows Plaza.

Government
The city is governed by an elected mayor and city council. There are six council positions representing the city's six wards and three at-large council positions.

Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry (D)

Massillon City Council
 * President of Council- Tony Townsend (D)
 * Ward 1 - Sarita Cunningham-Hedderly (R)
 * Ward 2 - Nancy Halter (R)
 * Ward 3 - Andrea Scassa (D)
 * Ward 4 - Tony Townsend (D)
 * Ward 5 - Donnie Peters Jr. (R)
 * Ward 6 - Ed Lewis (R)
 * At-Large - Paul Manson (D)
 * At-Large - Larry Slagle (D)
 * At-Large - Milan Chovan (R)

The Massillon municipal court system serves all residents in western Stark county located in the cities of Massillon, Canal Fulton and Bethlehem Twp, Jackson Twp., Lawrence Twp., Perry Twp., Sugar Creek Twp., Tuscarawas Twp., Villages of Beach City, Brewster, Hills and Dales, Navarre and Wilmot.

Public Schools
The following public school districts reside within the Massillon metropolitan area:


 * Massillon City School District, Massillon Washington High School
 * Jackson Local School District, Jackson High School (Stark County, Ohio)
 * Perry Local School District, Perry High School (Perry Township, Ohio)
 * Tuslaw Local School District, Tuslaw High School
 * Fairless Local School District, Fairless High School (Brewster, Ohio)

Additionally, the R.G. Drage Career Technical Center, Stark County Area Vocational School District, Stark County, Ohio is located within city limits.

Private schools
Private schools serving the Massillon area include Massillon Christian School, St. Barbara's Elementary, St. Mary's Elementary, and Central Catholic High School (Canton, Ohio).

Post secondary
Ashland University has a satellite campus located in Massillon, which provide graduate degree programs to area residents. Stark State College, the largest university in Stark County, has a satellite center at R.G. Drage Career Technical Center.

Several other institutions are located nearby. Stark State College's main campus is located in Jackson Township. Kent State University has a regional campus located in Jackson Township. Malone University, a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Evangelical Friends Church, is located in Canton. Walsh University is a Roman Catholic university located in North Canton.

Massillon Museum
The Massillon Museum was established in 1933 in order to preserve the city's rich history. The museum was accredited in 1972 by the American Alliance of Museums and is currently located downtown in the historic Gensemer Brothers Dry Goods building. The museum's collection encompasses approximately 100,000 objects in 94 categories, 60,000 photographs, and 18,000 archival and reference documents. The Immel Circus is one of the museum's most interesting collections. The 100-square foot miniature circus contains 2,620 pieces: thirty-six elephants, 186 horses, 102 assorted animals, ninety-one wagons, seven tents, and 2,207 people. Most of the pieces were hand-carved by Dr. Robert Immel of Massillon using tools from his dental practice.

Lions Lincoln Theatre
The 1915 landmark movie theatre, designed by Guy Tilden, was saved from demolition by the local Lions International club in 1982. Today, it hosts community events and screens classic movies on weekends.

Parks and Recreation
The City of Massillon operates a Parks & Recreation department operates a recreation center, senior center, and 35 parks and open spaces. Massillon's municipal golf course, The Legends of Massillon, opened in 1995. The City maintains the Stark County section of the Sippo Valley Bike & Hike Trail, leading trail users to Dalton in Wayne County. The Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail also passes through the city.

Football
Football has long been one of the most prominent contributions to the culture of Massillon.

Professional Football
While the first players known to be paid to play football are believed to have played for club teams in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, perhaps the first great professional football rivalry was between the Massillon Tigers and Canton Bulldogs from 1903 to 1906 and 1915 to 1919. This rivalry predates both the NFL and the aforementioned rivalry between the Massillon and Canton high schools which continue to use the nicknames of these early professional teams. The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) web site includes articles about the early years of this rivalry, as well as articles about the history of football through the 1970s.

Massillon Tigers
The name Massillon is most notably associated with the Massillon Washington High School football team, the Tigers. Distinguished Massillon alumni include former Ohio State University, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals coach Paul Brown, and former Ohio State University player and former NFL All-Pro linebacker Chris Spielman. The Tigers are historically one of the winningest high school football teams in the United States, second only to Valdosta High School in Valdosta, Georgia. Along with the Canton McKinley High School Bulldogs, the Tigers represent one half of what many consider to be the greatest high school football rivalry in the nation. Both Massillon and their fierce rivalry with Canton are subjects of the 2001 documentary film Go Tigers!.

Paul Brown Tiger Stadium
The construction of Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon was completed in 1939 through the Works Progress Administration program. The stadium currently holds 16,884 people and is named after former Tiger player and head coach Paul Brown. Besides being the regular season home of the Massillon Tiger Football team, the stadium hosts numerous Ohio High School Athletic Association state football playoff games as well as divisional championship games. The stadium also hosts the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame drum and bugle corps competition. The stadium is marked with a historical marker dedicated to Paul Brown and his contribution to the sport

Paul L. David Athletic Training Center
Massillon's Paul L. David Athletic Training Center was built in 2008 by local philanthropist Jeff David in honor of his late father. The 3 million dollar, 80,000 square foot building is the largest indoor football practic facility in the state of Ohio, 20,000-square-feet larger than the facility used by the NFL's Cleveland Browns

City of Champions
The Massillon Tigers have accumulated 22 state AP championships and 9 national AP championships during the school's history. As of 2012, the Tigers have accumulated an overall record of 821-249-35, a performance not approached by any Ohio high school football team. In the years since the Ohio high school playoff system was instituted in 1972, the Tigers have accumulated a current record of 316-117-4. The Tigers have made the playoffs 19 times, the final four six times, and the final championship game three times. There have been 23 professional players, 3 NFL coaches, and 14 collegiate all-Americans that have graduated from Massillon Washington High School.

Tiger Swing Band
The Massillon Tiger Swing Band was created by the legendary George "Red" Bird in 1938 during the Paul Brown era of Massillon football. The band became known as "The Greatest Show in High School Football" and is still a very important part of the Massillon football tradition. The band's swing style includes moving formations and musicians marching with a swing step. The Tiger Swing band begins every home football game with the traditional hometown songs of Massillon Will Shine, Stand Up and Cheer (to acknowledge the other team), the National Anthem, Eye of the Tiger and the WHS Alma Mater. At the beginning of each half time show, they perform what is known as "Opening Routine." This is a tradition that goes back for decades and consists of the band's entrance ("Turn Arounds") followed by Fanfare, Tiger Rag and Carry On. This entire routine is marched at 180 beats per minute and is practiced from the beginning of the rehearsals through the entire season.

ESPN Titletown U.S.A finalist
In July 2008 Massillon was nominated as one of only twenty cities nationwide as a finalist in ESPN's "Titletown U.S.A" contest. On July 21, a rally was held at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium while ESPN filmed a segment that was aired on SportsCenter. Massillon finished fourth in the voting behind Valdosta, Georgia; Parkersburg, West Virginia; and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Transportation
Massillon is served by the following state and federal highways: US Route 30, US Route 62, Ohio State Route 21, Ohio State Route 172, Ohio State Route 241, Ohio State Route 236, and Ohio State Route 93. Interstate 77 bypasses the city to the east and is accessible via interchanges on US-30, SR-21, SR-241, and SR-172.

Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) has a transit center downtown and provides public transit bus service within the city, including service to Canton, the Akron-Canton Regional Airport, and the Amtrak station located in Alliance.

Fidelity US Coach Tours provides charter bus service from the city.

Air
The Akron-Canton Regional Airport is located 10 miles north of the city and provides daily commercial passenger and air freight service.

Rail
Amtrak offers daily service to Chicago and Washington D.C. from a regional passenger station located in Alliance, Ohio. Passenger rail service within the city was ended in 1971.

Norfolk Southern, Wheeling-Lake Erie, and the R. J. Corman railroads provide freight service in Massillon.

Media
Massillon is part of the greater Cleveland and Akron markets.

The Independent is the local newspaper serving the city of Massillon and western Stark County.

WTIG AM 990 is located in Massillon and serves the local Massillon/Western Stark County area.

Massillon Cable TV provides local access television for the city of Massillon as well as portions of Bethlehem, Jackson, Perry, and Tuscarawas Townships.

Notable natives
Listed alphabetically, by last name:


 * John Blackburn, wrote the lyrics of "Moonlight in Vermont"
 * Paul Brown, football player and hall of fame coach
 * David Canary, actor
 * Jacob S. Coxey, Sr., politician and activist
 * Shawn Crable, second-team All-American linebacker and defensive team captain at the University of Michigan; selected in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft by the New England Patriots
 * Joseph Davenport, founder of the Massillon Bridge Company, inventor of the locomotive cab and cow catcher
 * Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano
 * Mayhew Folger, ship captain and uncle of Lucretia Mott
 * Lillian Gish, film star
 * Rod Graber, member of 1958 Cleveland Indians
 * Bobby Grier, first African-American to play in a college football bowl game (the 1956 Sugar Bowl)
 * Mike Hershberger, MLB player for the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, and the Milwaukee Brewers
 * Jim Houston, member of College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Bowl linebacker for the Cleveland Browns
 * Lin Houston, an All-American guard who played for Paul Brown in Massillon, at Ohio State and with the Cleveland Browns
 * Don James, college football coach
 * Bob Knight, college basketball coach
 * Mark Kozelek, singer/songwriter
 * Matt Lanter, actor and model
 * Stanley Macomber, inventor of the open-web steel joist
 * Ed Molinski, member of College Football Hall of Fame, two-time All-American guard, member of 1938 Tennessee Volunteers National Championship team
 * Jack Oliver, geophysicist, led team that proved continental drift theory, or plate tectonics as it was more correctly termed
 * Robert R. Scott, Machinist's Mate First Class aboard the USS California (BB-44) posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
 * Warren Shanabrook, Major League Baseball player
 * Joe Sparma, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and quarterback for Ohio State University
 * Chris Spielman, 1987 Lombardi Award winner at Ohio State and two-time All-Pro NFL linebacker<ref name=spielman /
 * Rick Spielman, GM of Minnesota Vikings
 * Stalley, rapper
 * Harry Stuhldreher, three-time All-American quarterback at Notre Dame, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame
 * Patrick Sweany, blues-rock musician
 * Jeff Timmons, founder/member of pop group, 98 Degrees
 * Ryan Travis, Tuslaw High School graduate signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks
 * Bob Vogel, football player
 * John Wager, NFL center
 * Tom Weiskopf, professional golfer
 * Stalley, rapper
 * Stanfield Wells, Massillon's first All-American football player, selected in 1910
 * Alex Wood, college and NFL football coach
 * James Young, White House physician to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson