Massillon, Ohio

Massillon (On the Highway since 1913) Pop: 32,000

•  Massillon was founded by James Duncan in 1826. The town first prospered by warehousing and shipping wheat on the Ohio and Erie Canal. Then coal mines opened throughout western Stark County, shipping to Lake Erie for steam ships and iron mills. With the advent of the railroad in 1852, Russell & Company became the worlds largest producer of steam engines. 1915 began the inception of Massillon's all-important steelmaking industry, which continued until the 1960's.
  
  Massillon native Coach Paul E. Brown was an Ohio State coach and founder of the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. Other famous natives include actors Lillian and Dorothy Gish, actor David Canary and famous photographers Abel Fletcher and wife, MM Fletcher.
  
  Coxey's March, (the first protest march in the history of the world) started on the road which became the Lincoln Highway. "General" Coxey's "army" of the unemployed marched to Washington DC in 1894 to rally support for two economic Bills.
  
   

• The 1821 Spring Hill Historic Home was a station on the Underground Railroad.  1:00 to 4:00, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday during June, July, and August.

• Another local landmark is the Four Chaplains Memorial Bridge, dedicated to courageous clergymen in WWII. The bridge is part of the old Lincoln Highway, and crosses US 21 and the Tuscarawas River.

• A LH concrete post has been relocated to the intersection of First St. and Lincoln Way.

• Historic Fourth Street (grand homes on a brick street); the neighborhood is listed on the National Register.

• The Ohio Society of Military History Museum

• Massillon Museum.

• Three murals by Eric Grohe, Marysville, WA, depicting the canal, Massillon's football heritage and a 1950's apartment building. A fourth mural, "Valor" by Larry and Monica Zink honors veterans. Gallery in the Alley in Diamond Court n' plaques honoring famous Massillonians.
  
   

• Liebermann's Bakery (Established 1880) 5th generation of the same family.

• Ohregionalities' the Massillon Museum shop.

• American Eagle Antiques.
  
   

• Copper's, an American dining experience in an old canal warehouse.

• Blue Heron Deli, located at the Lake Avenue trailhead.

• The Lincoln Highway Cafe' in the Massillon Museum.

• Smiley's in the heart of downtown for Italian casual dining.
  
   

• Hampton Inn

• Red Carpet Inn

• Thomas H Russell House B&B (Historic 4th St.).
  
   

• Entertainment: Lions Lincoln Theatre. Restored 1915 theatre open for nearly-first run movies every weekend.
  
   

• The Legends of Massillon 27-hole Golf Course

• Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail

• Sippo Valley Trail, 35 public parks and green spaces.
  
  Visit us on the web at massillongateway.com  Map of the sites and links.

Massillon is one of the hotbeds of High School football and commemorates that with a building mural, one of several in the city.

Mural of the Ohio Erie Canal.

Spring Hill Historic Home is an 1820's home, once a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Home of Lillian Gish in the Historic Fourth Street district.

1915 Lincoln Theater downtown, named after the Lincoln Highway.

Left, 1920's gas station in Massillon, west of downtown.

Right, Teen's era gas station west of Massillon near the Stark/Wayne County line.

Buckeye Motel west of Massillon.