histOHry: Ohio's History Today: McKinley Monument and Museum

William McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio but married and spent most of his life in Canton, Ohio. Despite being gunned down just into h is second term of office in 1901, McKinley is a highly rated president and may have soared into greatness had he fulfilled his second term. Instead his death allows for a greater figure in American political history, Theodore Ro oseve lt, to come center stage.

But it is here in Ohio, in Canton, that you can visit his monument, museum and library (see above right, click to enlarge). I believe this was the first presidential library for a former president. The library has quite a collection of both McKinley and other primary source artifacts of his time.

The entire grounds is a multi-faceted tourist attraction. The memorial sits a top a hill, 108 steps from ground level, and can be seen on many days from I-77 as you drive north through Canton towards Akron and Cleveland. The cemetery visible from the highway, West Lawn Cemetery (photos, famous burials, Thomas Edison early film of McKinley funeral entering), is adjacent to the grounds. At least one historic book was written on this cemetery and walking the grounds takes you back to the world of many notable Canton figures from the 19th century.

Standing atop the memorial plaza you can gaze at downtown Canton, and wonder what it must have been like in its heyday. It's not exactly a kodak moment of the downtown skyline. But you do have a sweeping gaze of the area and will be surprised at the number of joggers running the grounds and the steps.

Inside the vault the architecture of the dome (see left, click to enlarge) rivals that of the Ohio statehouse, the U.S. Capitol rotunda and other Washington, DC greek and roman structures. The crypts of William and Ida sit side by side (see above, click to enlarge), something you don't often see with the final resting places of famous folk. The memorial itself is quite spectacular.

The museum bills itself as a science and history museum. It is a great place to visit, and if you live locally and have preschoolers in the family, it's worth the annual membership for short visits to the hands-on areas of the complex. During the winter time you can see evidence of sledding from the one side down into the municipal park that adjoins the eastern edge. It is not advisable, as you can cross into roads, creeks and ponds fairly quickly.

The basement section of the museum features a Science/Discovery area with dinosaurs, fossils, and an animatronic T-Rex (which roars, but also pops and hisses from the hydraulics!). There are some neat science/physics principles on display for kids to play with. It is very hands on and has a few live animals on displays. The second level features a very nice planetarium.

The third level is a walk through history. Entering a large room, artifacts from different eras have been gathered to show what a room would look like in colonial, Victorian and other eras in Stark County's history. The lead towards a huge wall photo-mural of McKinley on his front porch surrounding by family and friends after winning the presidency.

Behind the wall is a room full of McKinley artifacts (called the McKinley Gallery), complete with an animatronic William and Ida McKinley (see left, click to enlarge). The room welcomes you with the look and feel of a gathering room at the McKinley homestead. If you aren't paying attention closely, your presence will trip the sensors initiating William and Ida and they begin talking to you. It's a bit Pirates-of-the-Caribbean feeling from Disneyland because it is that same technology.

Most of the items in the room are the McKinleys. One of the neat items that is easy to pass by is a desk chair with engraved arms. Being a Republican, McKinley's chair is engraved with two large elephants heads with the trunks running down the arms to the chair itself (see right, click to enlarge). It is a rather unique piece of furniture and one I passed by without noticing on several visits.

The Street of Shops takes you back to the turn of the century at what Canton may have looked like (see right, click to enlarge). There is a large sitting area for school kids in what is a log cabin blown out wide to host school groups and another large room for presentations and gatherings complete with a school bell for kids (of all ages) to pull.

There are merchant shops, an inn (with a balcony area to walk), a saloon, stables, a doctor and dentist office and fire department.

As you can imagine, the fire department is a popular kid stop (see left, click to enlarge), as it is complete with an authentic pole kids can slide down! It is not for the faint-of-heart, as you have to have long legs or take a little leap to get to the pole and slide down. There is a bit of padding at the base of the pole.

Just off of the street of shops is a very large model train exhibit and many, many pictures of the history of rail in Canton.

The final room, which if I remember right will be undergoing a transformation, is an area where rotating exhibits are held. At one point gowns of the first ladies were shown here. An area to the side is a tribute to the industrialism of Stark County and ends up being a little more than a trade show set up. You can sit in a chair that a Hoover vacuum (no longer manufactured in the county) will lift off the ground, ring several fire and alarm bells made in the county and read static displays from the Timken Company.

While McKinley is often a footnote to history, his legacy was huge and furthered not just by Teddy Roosevelt, but by Roosevelt's hand-picked replacement and fellow Ohioan, William Howard Taft.

Below are more pictures from the McKinley Museum.

- J.

The rooms of Stark County over time (from the History Gallery preceding the McKinley Gallery):