Editing Massillon, Ohio (section)

==History==
===19th century===
[[File:OhioandErieCanalMassillon.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ohio and Erie Canal]] in Massillon at the turn of the century <ref>{{Cite web |title=Massillon History: Canal |url=https://massillonmuseum.org/51 |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=Massillon Museum |language=en}}</ref>]]
The original settlement of [[Kendal, Ohio|Kendal]] was founded in 1812 by Thomas Rotch, a [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] originally of [[New Bedford, Massachusetts]], and [[Hartford, Connecticut]]. James Duncan of [[New Hampshire]] first settled in Kendal before recording the plot for Massillon on December 6, 1826.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://massillonohio.gov/residents/about-massillon/city-history/ | title=City History }}</ref> Duncan, known as the city's founder, named the town after [[Jean-Baptiste Massillon]], a [[French people|French]] [[Catholic bishop]], at the request of his wife.<ref name=starkplats>{{cite book|title=Stark County Recorder's Office, Plats, Book 5|pages=17}}</ref>  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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Captain Pearl R. Nye: Life on the Ohio and Erie Canal - Timeline 1803 -1950|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/nye/timeline2.html|publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|access-date=November 30, 2012}}</ref> Among the leading merchants were the Wellman brothers Hiram and Marshall.<ref>[https://www.visitcanton.com/blog/stark11-11-historic-homes-in-massillon/ 11 historic homes in Massillon]</ref> Marshall Wellman was the grandfather of the American author [[Jack London]]. 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Captain Pearl R. Nye: Life on the Ohio and Erie Canal - Timeline 1803 -1950|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/nye/timeline3.html|publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|access-date=November 30, 2012}}</ref> The first [[telegraph line]]s would reach Massillon in 1847, and the [[Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway|Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad]] would extend its rails to Massillon in 1852.<ref name=timeline /> Massillon incorporated as a village in 1853. In 1868, Massillon incorporated as a city when the populated reached 5,000.<ref name=timeline />

The [[Ohio Women's Convention at Massillon in 1852|Ohio Women's Convention]] met at Massillon on May 27, 1852.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=First Women's Rights Movement - Ohio History Central|url=https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/First_Women%27s_Rights_Movement|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=ohiohistorycentral.org}}</ref> The president of the convention was [[Hannah Tracy Cutler]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dodson|first=Angela P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jl-dDQAAQBAJ&q=Massillon+1852+convention&pg=PT116|title=Remember the Ladies: Celebrating Those Who Fought for Freedom at the Ballot Box|date=May 23, 2017|publisher=Center Street|isbn=978-1-4555-7095-9|language=en}}</ref> The meeting was held in Massillon Baptist Chapel.<ref name=":1">Sarah Miller Little, [https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/230131607.pdf A Woman of Property: From Being It to Controlling It - A Bicentennial Perspective on Women and Ohio Property Law, 1803 to 2003], 16 Hastings Women's L.J. 177 (2005).</ref> Attendees voted to establish the Ohio Women's Rights Association (OWRA), which held its first meeting the following year in [[Ravenna, Ohio|Ravenna]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Massillon History Timeline|url=https://massillonmuseum.org/50|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=Massillon Museum|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Russell and Co Works, Massillon, May 5th 1908 (North front - Russell Sawworks and Threshing Machines)v01.jpg|thumb|left|Russell & Company Works (1908)]]
The [[Russell & Company (Steam Tractor)|C. M. Russell & Company]], formed in 1848<ref name=timeline /> by Charles. M. Russell and his brothers, Nahum Russell and Clement Russell, manufactured [[threshing machine]]s and other agricultural implements in Massillon. The company began producing train cars in 1852 and incorporated in 1864 as [[Russell & Company (Steam Tractor)|Russell & Company]] Inc. In 1884, Russell & Company began producing its famed steam traction engines and quickly became one of the largest producers of industrial and agricultural equipment.<ref name=russellhistory>{{cite web|title=The Early History of The Russell & Company|url=http://russellcollectors.org/articles/russell-company-history.asp|access-date=November 30, 2012}}</ref>  A merger with the Griscom-Spencer company in 1912 created the Griscom-Russell Company.<ref name=vogtreflections>{{cite book|last=Vogt|first=Margy|title=Massillon: Reflections of a Community|year=2009|publisher=Margy Vogt}}</ref> Griscom-Russell produced heat exchangers for the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]].<ref name=greatestgeneration />  The company closed in 1962.<ref name=timeline />

The [[Massillon Bridge Company|Massillon Iron Bridge Company]] was founded by Joseph Davenport in 1869 <ref name=timeline>{{cite web|title=Massillon Museum {{!}} Research|url=http://www.massillonmuseum.org/research_massillonhistory_timeline.html|publisher=Massillon Museum|access-date=November 30, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923233359/http://www.massillonmuseum.org/research_massillonhistory_timeline.html|archive-date=September 23, 2012}}</ref> 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 Massillon Bridge Company. The Massillon Bridge Company designed and built steel truss bridges up through the mid-1900s, many of which stand today.

[[File:Massillonstatehospital2.jpg|thumb|right|Massillon State Hospital in early 1900s]]
The Massillon State Hospital for the Insane opened in 1898<ref name=timeline />  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.<ref name=museumhosptial>{{cite web|last=Sues|first=Hannah|title=Massillon History: Massillon State Hospital|url=http://www.massillonmuseum.org/research_massillonhistory_statehospital.html|access-date=November 30, 2012}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  Today it is known as Heartland Behavioral Healthcare.<ref name=mentalhealth>{{cite web|title=Heartland Behavioral Healthcare|url=http://mentalhealth.ohio.gov/what-we-do/provide/hospital-services/regional-psychiatric-hospitals/heartland.shtml|publisher=Ohio Department of Mental Health|access-date=November 30, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121228235408/http://mentalhealth.ohio.gov/what-we-do/provide/hospital-services/regional-psychiatric-hospitals/heartland.shtml|archive-date=December 28, 2012}}</ref>

===20th century===
The [[Jewell (automobile)|Forest City Motor Company]] was founded in Cleveland in 1906 but relocated to Massillon that same year.<ref name=timeline /> 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.<ref name=clymer>{{cite book|last=Clymer|first=Floyd|title=Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925|year=1950|publisher=Bonanza Books|location=New York}}</ref>

Although steelmaking 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]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Sues|first=Hannah|title=Industry in Massillon|url=http://www.massillonmuseum.org/research_massillonhistory_industry.html|publisher=Massillon Museum|access-date=November 30, 2012}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 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]].<ref name=chicagosteel>{{cite web|title=Republic Steel Corp.|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2824.html|publisher=Chicago Historical Society|access-date=November 30, 2012}}</ref>  Enduro closed in 1985, and it and other stainless plants went through several ownership changes over the following 15 years.<ref name=pittsburgh>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Ohio Steel Plant to Reopen|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20000203&id=sOlRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HnADAAAAIBAJ&pg=5461,1042548|access-date=November 30, 2012|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=February 3, 2000}}</ref>  The main Republic facilities on the southwest side of Massillon closed by 2002.<ref name=demolitionpermit>{{cite news|last=Rink|first=Matthew|title=Permit issued to demolish former Republic Steel HQ|url=http://www.indeonline.com/news/x813647855/Permit-issued-to-demolish-former-Republic-Steel-HQ|access-date=November 30, 2012|newspaper=Massillon Independent|date=October 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013001516/http://www.indeonline.com/news/x813647855/Permit-issued-to-demolish-former-Republic-Steel-HQ|archive-date=October 13, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Stanley Macomber]] designed the open-web steel joist in 1921 while working for Massillon's Central Steel Company.<ref name=huba>{{cite news|last=Huba|first=Stephen|title=He revolutionized an industry|url=http://www.indeonline.com/business/x1135867077|access-date=November 30, 2012|newspaper=Massillon Independent|date=April 11, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517034859/http://www.indeonline.com/business/x1135867077|archive-date=May 17, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name=invent>{{cite web|title=Stanley Macomber|url=http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/440.html|publisher=National Inventors' Hall of Fame|access-date=November 30, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105173951/http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/440.html|archive-date=January 5, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:LincolnWayMassillon.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lincoln Highway]] ([[US-30]]) looking east into downtown Massillon, 1966]]
[[Lincoln Highway]], the first U.S. highway to run from coast to coast, was envisioned in 1913<ref name=weingroff>{{cite web|last=Weingroff|first=Richard F.|title=The Lincoln Highway|url=https://highways.dot.gov/highway-history/general-highway-history/lincoln-highway|publisher=USDOT FHWA|access-date=November 30, 2012}}</ref>  and followed Main Street through the center of Massillon. Main Street was eventually renamed Lincoln Way in recognition of the new highway.<ref name=lincolnhighway>{{cite web|last=Eggleston|first=Kelly|title=America's Main Street: The Lincoln Highway|url=http://www.massillonmuseum.org/research_massillonhistory_lincolnhighway.html|publisher=Massillon Museum|access-date=November 30, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110818115234/http://massillonmuseum.org/research_massillonhistory_lincolnhighway.html|archive-date=August 18, 2011}}</ref> In 1928, the federal government renamed Lincoln Highway to [[U.S. 30]]. A controlled access freeway was constructed in 1971, bypassing U.S. 30 around to the city's most southern part.<ref name=timeline /> The old Lincoln Highway that runs through Massillon and Canton was reassigned as State Route 172.

Massillon was a site where one of the most tragic instances of [[anti-union violence]] in the history of the United States occurred, during the [[Little Steel strike]] of 1937. 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 barricade 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.<ref name=ziegler>{{cite book|last=Ziegler|first=Robert H.|title=The CIO, 1935-1955|year=1995|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill, NC|isbn=0-8078-2182-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cio1935195500robe/page/62 62–63]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/cio1935195500robe/page/62}}</ref>

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.<ref name=littlesteelmarker>{{cite web|title=Remarkable Ohio|url=http://www.remarkableohio.org/HistoricalMarker.aspx?historicalMarkerId=1054|access-date=November 30, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822224258/http://www.remarkableohio.org/HistoricalMarker.aspx?historicalMarkerId=1054|archive-date=August 22, 2014}}</ref>

[[Jacob S. Coxey, Sr.]], sometimes known as General Coxey of Massillon, 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 to Washington, D.C., to present a "Petition in Boots" demanding that the 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 one year.<ref name=vogtreflections />