Massillon, Ohio

Massillon 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.

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.

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.

The Ohio Women's Convention met at Massillon on May 27, 1852. The president of the convention was Hannah Tracy Cutler. The meeting was held in Massillon Baptist Chapel. Attendees voted to establish the Ohio Women's Rights Association (OWRA), which held its first meeting the following year in Ravenna.

The C. M. Russell & Company, formed in 1848 by Charles. M. Russell and his brothers, Nahum Russell and Clement Russell, manufactured threshing machines and other agricultural implements in Massillon. The company began producing train cars in 1852 and incorporated in 1864 as 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. A merger with the Griscom-Spencer company in 1912 created the Griscom-Russell Company. Griscom-Russell produced heat exchangers for the United States Navy during World War II. The company closed in 1962.

The Massillon Iron Bridge Company was founded by Joseph Davenport in 1869 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.

The Massillon State Hospital for the Insane opened in 1898 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. Today it is known as Heartland Behavioral Healthcare.

The Forest City Motor Company was founded in Cleveland in 1906 but relocated to Massillon that same year. 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.