Massillon, Ohio



Massillon is a city in Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio, located approximately 50 miles south of Cleveland. The population was 31,325 at the 2000 census.

Massillon, along with neighboring Canton, are principal cities of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area. The metropolitan area includes all of Stark and Carroll counties.

History
The town of Kendal was founded in 1812 by Thomas Rotch, a Quaker originally of New Bedford, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut. Massillon's founder, James Duncan of New Hampshire, first settled in Kendal. On December 6, 1826, Duncan recorded the plat for Massillon. It is named after Jean Baptiste Massillon, a French Catholic bishop. Massillon was incorporated as a village in 1853, absorbing the neighboring towns of Kendal and West Brookfield. It incorporated as a city in 1868.

Early in the 20th Century, Massillon was home to a brass era automobile maker, Forest City Motor Car Company; despite its name, the Jewel did not shine, and the company went under.

Little Steel strike
Massillon is the site of one of the most tragic instances of anti-union violence in the history of the United States. The Steel Workers Organizing Committee was attempting to organize workers at Republic Steel in the spring and summer of 1937. When the company refused to recognize their union, the workers struck.

A crowd of strikers and their families had taken to gathering nightly for a rally and dance in front of the union's headquarters. On the night of July 11, 1937, a citizen of the town failed to dim the headlights on his car as he approached the rally. City police assumed the worst and without warning opened fire with rifles and shotguns on the crowd. One auxiliary policeman shouted, 'Let them have it boys! Break them down!' Police pumped tear gas canisters into the fleeing crowd; one officer raked the street and local houses with sub-machine gun fire. Wounded people who attempted to seek medical attention were shot at. The wounded sought refuge in the union hall's kitchen, where the walls became smeared with blood. The police hunted down fleeing families throughout the night, sporadically firing on anyone they found. Three men were killed, and a large number of men, women and children wounded.

Geography
Massillon is located at °N, °W (40.795270, -81.522896), along the Tuscarawas River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.9 square miles (43.7 km²), of which, 16.8 square miles (43.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (0.83%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,325 people, 12,677 households, and 8,328 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,870.3 people per square mile (722.1/km²). There were 13,567 housing units at an average density of 810.0 per square mile (312.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 9.39% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.

There were 12,677 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,734, and the median income for a family was $41,058. Males had a median income of $32,021 versus $22,327 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,633. About 8.3% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Public high school students in Massillon attend either Massillon Washington High School, Perry High School, Tuslaw High School or Jackson High School. Most attend Washington High in the Massillon City School District. Residents of Perry Township attend Perry High and residents of a small annexed section of Jackson Township attend Jackson High.

Football
In Ohio and elsewhere, the name Massillon is probably most associated with the Massillon Washington High School football team, the Tigers. Distinguished Massillon alumni include Paul Brown and Ohio State University graduate 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 the Valdosta High School Wildcats, 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 documentary film Go Tigers!.

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.

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 is also home to the Massillon Tiger Swing Band, as it has been since 1938 with the legendary George "Red" Bird. The band is still known as "The greatest show in highschool football" and is still a very important part of Massillon.

Transit
Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) provides bus service between Massillon and nearby Canton.

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
 * 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
 * Charles Frederick McDew, Chairman, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, 1961-1964.
 * Ed Molinski, member of College Football Hall of Fame, two-time All-American guard, member of 1938 Tennessee Volunteers National Championship team
 * 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.
 * Robert Peet Skinner, Appointed First U.S. Consul to Abyssinia by President William McKinley
 * 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
 * Harry Stuhldreher, three-time All-American quarterback at Notre Dame, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame
 * Patrick Sweany, Musician
 * Stalley, rapper
 * Jeff Timmons, founder/member of pop group, 98 Degrees
 * Bob Vogel, football player
 * 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