Massillon ( MASS ih lən) is a city in western Stark County, Ohio, United States, along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 32,146 at the 2020 census. Massillon is a principal city of the Canton, Massillon metropolitan area, which includes all of Stark and Carroll counties and had a population of 401,574 in 2020.
Founded in the early 19th century and incorporated in 1853, the city developed as an industrial center due to its location on the Ohio and Erie Canal and later railroad access. Steel and machinery manufacturing played a significant role in the city’s economic growth. Massillon is located approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of Canton, 20 miles (32 km) south of Akron, and 50 miles (80 km) south of Cleveland.
At a Glance
- County: Stark County
- State: Ohio
History 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 on December 6, 1826. Duncan, known as the city’s founder, named the town after Jean Baptiste Massillon, a French Catholic bishop, at the request of his wife. 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. Among the leading merchants were the Wellman brothers Hiram and Marshall. 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. 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Massillon, Ohio, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.