November is Native American Heritage Month. Celebrate the traditions of Native Americans through stories and inspired crafts. Read the book "Fry Bread" and taste your own! Children up to Grade 6.
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the history, cultures, and traditions of Native American communities. Join us for a celebration of stories, art, history, and much more!
There are 574 federally recognized Native American tribes in the US today. Families of children up to grade 6 can learn about a few of those tribes by hearing The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush and creating their own sunset painting, and practice the art of weaving. They can also hear the story of fry bread and make their own!
In 1897, local public servant and storekeeper George Harsh willed $10,000 for “public library purposes.” The funds purchased nearly 10,000 volumes for Massillon’s first public library. Also in 1897, J.W. McClymonds announced his gift of an endowment of $20,000 for a library. The Russell sisters, Flora and Annie, who married the McClymonds brothers, donated the Nahum S. Russell home, located on Prospect Street (now Fourth Street NE), in memory of their parents. The McClymonds Public Library opened on January 1, 1899, and was funded by private subscriptions and an annual disbursement of city funds. In 1922, the McClymonds Public Library became the Massillon City School District Library and was now funded by tax revenue.
In 1930, Annie Steese Baldwin willed her home “as the site for a new public library.” Built around 1835, the brick home overlooking downtown Massillon from Hill Street (now Second Street NE) was first the residence of the city’s founder, James Duncan.
The current Massillon Public Library (Main Location), located at the corner of Lincoln Way East and Second Street NE, opened in 1937. Designed by Albrecht & Wilhelm and funded in part by a Works Progress Administration grant, the Duncan/Baldwin home was connected by a Jeffersonian portico and rotunda to a west wing Reading Room and Children’s Room. The Massillon Museum was also housed at this location until 1996 when it moved to its present location at 121 Lincoln Way East.
