Nestled in downtown Canton is the First Ladies' Library. This is the first, and only, museum complex dedicated to the Presidential wives and their contributions to America, dedicated in 2003 with an address by Laura Bush. There are two parts of the complex, the first is the Ida Saxton House (see left, click to enlarge) and the second the education center and library located one block north.
Ida Saxton was the wife of President McKinley and it is their home (known as the Saxton McKinley House) that is the museum part of the complex. Real gas lighting (see right, click to enlarge) and an array of potted floral arrangements along the sidewalks, which extend towards the library building.Ida's father was John Saxton, the founder of the Canton Repository newspaper. The Repository still functions today in the tough market of Northeastern Ohio, dominated by the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Akron Beacon Journal. The Repository is now owned by Gatehouse Media.
The property is open for tours (see historical marker to left, click to enlarge) and is a finely restored Victorian mansion worth the time and money. Parking is tricky to find on-site, but plenty abound on the street or in decks around it. The properties are one block south of the downtown business district of Canton and across the street from the McKinley Grand Hotel.
The library and education center is also open to the public and hosts programs and offers research opportunities. There are many different programs run by the museum that rotate over time as all museums do. December 2008 showcases first ladies red dresses.
From the walkway (see left, click to enlarge) to the library right up to the front door (see right, click to enlarge), this is a grand display of our country's grandest ladies.Downtown Canton is working hard to revitalize itself, but is another of those Ohio towns that had its heyday decades ago. But it is just this sort of landmark and development that give hope to a sustainable future for an historic region.
- J.
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