Editing Canton, Ohio (section)

==History==
[[File:William Mckinley Monument Canton OH.JPG|alt=William McKinley National Monument|thumb|Canton is home to the [[McKinley National Memorial]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/mckinley_tomb.html|title=William McKinley's Tomb – Presidents: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref> (pictured) and the [[William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum|McKinley Presidential Library]]|left]]

Canton was founded in 1805.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=279481|title=cantonrep.com|date=March 10, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310230620/http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=279481|archive-date=March 10, 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=April 3, 2018}}</ref> Its plat was recorded at [[Lisbon, Ohio|New Lisbon, Ohio]], on November 15, 1805, by surveyor [[Bezaleel Wells]], who later served in the [[Ohio Senate]].<ref name="brick">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bricktileindustr0000mcco/page/8/mode/2up |title=The Brick and Tile Industry in Stark County, 1809–1976 |last=McCollam |first=C. Harold |year=1976 |publisher=The Stark County Historical Society |pages=9–18 |via=[[Archive.org]] |access-date=2023-08-28}}</ref>

Canton was likely named as a memorial to Captain [[John O'Donnell (merchant)|John O'Donnell]], an Irish merchant marine with the British [[East India Company]] whom Wells admired. O'Donnell named his estate in [[Maryland]] after the Chinese port city of [[Guangzhou]], formerly romanized as Canton. O'Donnell was the first person to transport goods from Guangzhou to [[Baltimore]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Canton-Ohio|title=Canton {{!}} Ohio, United States|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> The name selected by Wells may also have been influenced by the [[Huguenots|Huguenot]] use of the word "canton," which meant a division of a district containing several communes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalshoebox.org/digital/collection/p17043coll1/id/34465/|title=Bezaleel Wells Founder of Canton and Steubenville, Ohio|last=Heald|first=Edward|date=1948|website=www.digitalshoebox.org|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> 

Through Wells' efforts and promotion, Canton was designated the [[county seat]] of Stark County upon its division from [[Columbiana County, Ohio|Columbiana County]] on January 1, 1809. Canton was incorporated as a village in 1822 and reincorporated as a city in 1838. Wells donated his personal holdings in the city to Canton; these holdings would become the Christ United Presbyterian Church, Timken Vocational High School and McKinley Park (originally a cemetery).<ref name="brick"/>

===President William McKinley===
[[File:Hon. William McKinley and Chicago Wheelman at Canton, Ohio LCCN96512023.tif|alt=President McKinley front porch re-election campaign in Canton, Ohio 1900|thumb|[[William McKinley|President McKinley]] front porch [[1900 United States presidential election|re-election campaign in Canton, 1900]]]]

For most of his adult life, Canton was the home of [[William McKinley]], the 25th president of the United States. Born in [[Niles, Ohio]], McKinley first practiced law in Canton around 1867 and was prosecuting attorney of [[Stark County, Ohio|Stark County]] from 1869 to 1871. The city was his home during his successful campaign for Ohio governor, the site of his [[Front porch campaign|front-porch presidential campaign]] of [[1896 United States presidential election|1896]] and [[1900 United States presidential election|the campaign of 1900]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanheritage.com/front-porch-campaign|title=The Front Porch Campaign |website=www.americanheritage.com  |publisher=American Heritage |access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> Canton is now the site of the [[William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum]] and the [[McKinley National Memorial]], dedicated in 1907.

President McKinley's impact on Canton as his adopted home is still reflected today in many different ways, and he remains the namesake of [[McKinley High School (Canton, Ohio)|McKinley Senior High School]] of the Canton City School System.

===Debs' antiwar speech===
{{multiple image
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 | total_width = 230
 | image1 = Debs_Canton_1918_large.jpg
 | caption1 = [[Eugene V. Debs]] speaking in Canton, 1918
 | image2 = 2016 Eugene Debs' Anti War Speech Historic Marker Canton Ohio.jpg
 | caption2 = Ohio Historical Marker for Debs' Anti War Speech at Nimisilla Park
}}

On June 16, 1918, [[Eugene V. Debs]] delivered the keynote speech at the annual Ohio Socialist Convention held in Canton's Nimisilla Park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/news/20190923/eugene-debs-1918-canton-speech-got-him-in-prison-he-still-ran-for-president|title=Eugene Debs' 1918 Canton speech got him in prison, he still ran for president|last=Post|first=Terence McArdleThe Washington|website=The Repository|language=en|access-date=September 23, 2019}}</ref> At the time, Debs had been a four-time candidate for president and was considered the country's leading socialist and labor organizer. During his speech he decried America's involvement in the [[First World War]], saying, "They have always taught you that it is your patriotic duty to go to war and slaughter yourselves at their command. You have never had a voice in the war. The working class who make the sacrifices, who shed the blood, have never yet had a voice in declaring war."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2017/winter/debs-canton|title=Free Speech on Trial|date=May 16, 2018|website=National Archives|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> Among Debs' audience at Nimisilla Park were agents of the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]].

On June 30, 1918, Debs was arrested and charged with, among other things, "unlawfully, willfully and feloniously cause and attempt to cause and incite and attempt to incite, insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny and refusal of duty, in the military and naval forces of the United States" under the [[Espionage Act of 1917]]. Debs' trial began on September 10, 1918, in the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio|U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio]]. On September 12, 1918, a jury found Debs guilty. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. On March 10, 1919, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] affirmed the constitutionality of Debs' conviction in ''[[Debs v. United States]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/249/211/|title=Debs v. United States, 249 U.S. 211 (1919)|website=Justia Law|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> Debs began serving his prison sentence on April 13, 1919, and remained incarcerated until December 25, 1921, when he was released after [[Warren G. Harding|President Warren Harding]] commuted his sentence to time served.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-01-10 |title=100 years ago, a president forgave his opponent's alleged subversion |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/01/06/warren-harding-eugene-debs/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision affirming Debs' conviction was sharply criticized by legal scholars at the time<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kalven |first=Harry |date=1973 |title=Ernst Freund and the First Amendment Tradition--Professor Ernst Freund and Debs v. United States Freund and Debs v. United States |url=https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=12997&context=journal_articles |journal=University of Chicago Law Review |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=235}}</ref> and is generally regarded as a low point in First Amendment jurisprudence.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kalven|first=Harry|date=1973|title=Ernst Freund and the First Amendment Tradition – Professor Ernst Freund and Debs v. United States|url=https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=12997&context=journal_articles|journal=University of Chicago Law Review|volume=40|pages=235|doi=10.2307/1599114|jstor=1599114}}</ref> The lead author of the opinion, progressive [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.|Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes]], later changed course that same term and authored a dissenting opinion recognizing the constitutional protection of such speech in ''[[Abrams v. United States]].'' [[Louis Brandeis|Justice Louis D. Brandeis]] was the only other jurist to join Justice Holmes' dissent, and the minority opinion had no effect on Debs' conviction and continued incarceration. The changed mind articulated by Justice Holmes on November 10, 1919, nevertheless had a profound impact on the development of American constitutional law.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cameron |first=Jamie |date=2016-01-01 |title=Book Review: The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind – And Changed the History of Free Speech in America, by Thomas Healy |url=https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/olsrps/174/ |journal=Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series}}</ref> His dissent in ''Abrams'' is considered by many legal scholars to be the canonical affirmation of free speech in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The great dissent: how Oliver Wendell Holmes changed his mind and changed the history of free speech in America |date=2013 |publisher=Metropolitan Books |isbn=978-0-8050-9456-5 |editor-last=Healy |editor-first=Thomas |edition=1. |location=New York, NY}}</ref>

While Debs' speech in Canton and subsequent conviction ultimately aided Debs in delivering the Socialist Party's antiwar platform, his age and the deleterious effects of prison exhausted his ability as an orator. Debs died of heart failure on October 20, 1926.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=October 21, 1926 |title=EUGENE V. DEBS DIES AFTER LONG ILLNESS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/10/21/archives/eugene-v-debs-dies-after-long-illness-socialist-leader-succumbs-to.html?smid=url-share |access-date=October 17, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> His obituary in ''The New York Times'' recounted his words from the Ohio federal courtroom: "At his trial he admitted the charges against him, declaring he would not retract a word he had uttered to save himself from going to the penitentiary for the rest of his days. Before the sentence was passed on him, Debs said to the Court:

'''Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class I am in it; while there is a criminal element I am of it; while there is a soul in prison I am not free.'"<ref name=":1" />''

In June 2017 Canton applied for and received a historical marker from the [[Ohio History Connection]], formerly the Ohio Historical Society. The marker is located next to where Debs stood in Canton on the afternoon of June 16, 1918. It commemorates the significance and legacy of his speech at Nimisilla Park, notes the many speeches at the park by other prominent historical figures, and honors the park's continued importance as a gathering place for the community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/news/20170614/nimisilla-park-to-receive-historic-marker|title=Nimisilla Park to receive historic marker|website=The Repository|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>

===Major companies===
[[File:Timken Roller Bearing Co. (16100734127).jpg|alt=Timken Roller Bearing Co., 1922|thumb|[[Timken Roller Bearing Company|Timken Roller Bearing Co.]], 1922]]

The [[Timken Company]] has been among the largest employers in Canton for nearly 100 years. In 1898, [[Henry Timken]] obtained a patent for the [[tapered roller bearing]], and in 1899 incorporated as the Timken Roller Bearing Axle Company in [[St. Louis]]. In 1901, the company moved to Canton as the automobile industry began to overtake the carriage industry. Timken and his two sons chose this location because of its proximity to the American car manufacturing centers of Detroit and [[Cleveland]] and the American steel-making centers of [[Pittsburgh]] and Cleveland. By 1960, Timken had operations in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, France, South Africa, Australia and Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Timken_Company|title=Timken Company |website=www.ohiohistorycentral.org|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> The company changed its corporate structure in 2014; the roller bearing-producing part of the company was separated from the steel-producing part of the company, resulting in two separate companies. The Timken Company continues to manufacture roller bearings, while TimkenSteel produces steel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/article/20140630/Business/140639961|title=TimkenSteel launches a new era in Canton|last=Pritchard|first=Edd|website=The Repository|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>

Today, TimkenSteel remains headquartered in Canton and employs 2,800 people, most of them in Northeast Ohio.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timkensteel.com/en/who%20we%20are/100%20years|title=Made in America for More than 100 Years|website=TimkenSteel|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> The company makes special bar quality steel, used in applications all over the world. The Timken Co. is now headquartered in [[Jackson Township, Stark County, Ohio|Jackson Township]], a suburb of Canton, and employs 14,000 people around the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timken.com/|title=The Timken Company {{!}} Bearings & Mechanical Power Transmissions|website=The Timken Company|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> The company designs, engineers, manufactures and sells bearings, transmissions, gearboxes, chain and related products, and offers a spectrum of power system rebuild and repair services around the globe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/news/20171226/stark-heritage-timken-name-and-its-tremendous-impact-on-county-history|title=Stark Heritage: The Timken name and its tremendous impact on county history|last=Botos|first=Tim|website=The Repository|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>

The [[Dueber-Hampden Watch Company]] was an important employer in Canton during the early 1920s. It was formally organized in 1923, having previously consisted of two separate companies: the Dueber Watch Case Company and the Hampden Watch Company. In 1886, John Dueber, the owner of the Dueber Watch Case Company, purchased a controlling interest in the Hampden Watch Company. In 1888, he relocated the Hampden Watch Company from [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] and the Dueber Watch Case Company from [[Newport, Kentucky]] to Canton, Ohio. These two companies shared manufacturing facilities in Canton but remained two separate companies. The Dueber Watch Case Company and the Hampden Watch Company quickly became two of Canton's largest employers. In 1888, the companies' first year in Canton, they employed 2,300 Canton residents. In 1890, Canton's population was 26,337. Thanks to these two companies, Canton became an important center for watch manufacturing in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Dueber-Hampden_Watch_Company|title=Dueber-Hampden Watch Company |website=www.ohiohistorycentral.org|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> In 1927 the company went bankrupt, finally ceasing operations in the city in 1930. The machinery and tools were sold to the [[Amtorg Trading Corporation]], one of Soviet Russia's buying agencies in the US, for $329.000. The company's massive brick factories, which covered over 20 acres and included an ornate 150-foot clock tower, were demolished to accommodate the construction of [[Interstate 77]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/article/20160328/news/160329321|title=1930: Canton watchmakers, wives started Russian watch factory|last=Hoover|first=Shane|website=The Repository|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>

===Football history===
[[File:Canton bulldogs 1923.jpg|thumb|The 1923 [[Canton Bulldogs]] were [[History of the National Football League championship|NFL champions]]]]

On September 17, 1920, a meeting was held at the [[Hupmobile]] showroom in the [[Independent Order of Odd Fellows]] Building in Canton to found the [[American Professional Football Association]] (renamed the National Football League in 1922). The attendees included [[Ralph Hay]], owner of the Hupmobile showroom and the hometown [[Canton Bulldogs]], and [[George Halas]], owner of the [[Decatur Staleys]]. [[Jim Thorpe]] of the Bulldogs was the league's first president.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/the-birth-of-the-national-football-league|title=The Birth of the National Football League|last=Klein|first=Christopher|website=history.com|language=en|access-date=February 18, 2019}}</ref> In 2014 a sculpture titled ''Birth of the NFL'' was erected in downtown Canton marking the exact location in the Hupmobile showroom where the NFL was created in 1920.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/article/20140801/News/140809905|title='Birth of the NFL' statue unveiled|last=Lisko|first=B.J.|website=The Repository|language=en|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>

On December 6, 1959, the ''[[The Repository|Canton Repository]]'', a local newspaper, called for city officials to lobby the [[National Football League]] to create a football hall of fame in the community. Canton officials formally proposed their city as the site for the Hall of Fame in 1961. The NFL quickly agreed to the city's proposal. To help convince NFL officials to locate the Hall of Fame in Canton, city officials donated several acres of land on Canton's north side to the project. Local residents also raised almost $400,000 to help construct the Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Pro_Football_Hall_of_Fame|title=Pro Football Hall of Fame |website=www.ohiohistorycentral.org|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>

The [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] formally opened on September 7, 1963. Initially, the museum consisted of two buildings, but in 1971, 1978, 1995, and 2013, the Pro Football Hall of Fame experienced several expansions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballhof.com/visit/hall-of-fame-history/|title=History of the Pro Football Hall of Fame |website=www.profootballhof.com|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> As of 2013, the museum consisted of five buildings, covering 118,000 square feet. Since its founding, over 10 million people have visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballhof.com/pro-football-hall-of-fame-welcomes-10-millionth-visitor/|title=Pro Football Hall of Fame Welcomes 10 Millionth Visitor |website=www.profootballhof.com|access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> "Welcome to Canton" is the official way of saying congratulations to a new enshrinee.

===21st century===
Starting in the mid-2010s, Canton began experiencing an urban renaissance, anchored by a growing arts district centrally located in the downtown area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.downtowncanton.com/places/category/canton-arts-district/|title=Canton Arts District in Canton, Ohio, United States – Downtown Canton}}</ref> Several historic buildings have been rehabilitated and converted into upscale lofts, attracting hundreds of new downtown residents into the city.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20160906/construction-of-apartments-underway-at-hercules-site-in-canton|title=Construction of apartments underway at Hercules site in Canton|last=Matas|first=Alison|date=September 6, 2016|newspaper=The Repository|access-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref> Furthering this downtown development, in June 2016, Canton became one of the first cities in Ohio to allow the [[United States open-container laws|open consumption of alcoholic beverages]] in a "designated outdoor refreshment area" pursuant to a state law enacted in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20160603/city-officials-first-friday-attendees-kick-off-outdoor-refreshment-district|title=City officials, First Friday attendees kick off outdoor refreshment district|last=Wang|first=Robert|date=June 3, 2016|newspaper=The Repository|access-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/to-enliven-downtowns-some-cities-promote-public-drinking_us_5813572ce4b09b190529c35e|title=To Enliven Downtowns, Some Cities Promote Public Drinking|last=Henderson|first=Time|date=October 28, 2016|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref>