The Massillon Business and Industry Database:
Data collection sources and process

Williams' Canton and Massillon Directory		Burch Official City Directory		Polk Directory
1859-1860		1884-1886 1887-1890 1895-1896 1898 1899-1900 1900-1901 1904-1905 1909 1911-1912 1915 1917 1920, 1923 1925-1926 1927-1928 1929-1930 1931-1932 1933-1934 1936-1937 1940,1942,1945,1948 1950,1952,1954,1956,1958 1960,1962,1964,1966,1968 1970,1972,1974,1975,1977,1979 1981,1983,1985,1987		1988, 1989 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 [ongoing]

1: City Directories

The first records in the Massillon Business and Industry Database were
created from listings in Massillon city directories.

The city directories owned and held by the Massillon Public Library cover years listed at right. »

All available directories up to and including 1945 were fully incorporated into the initial records of the database. Data collection will eventually resume with the 1946 directory.

Records for entities found in the city directories have dates of operation marked with an asterisk (ie., 1884* - 1901*), denoting that the entity can be found in the city directory between those dates. For example, here is a record showing approximate dates. The asterisk also signifies that no other verification or source has been [yet] found for the entity's true dates of operation. Other sources (see below) are continually being consulted by the research team, with the goal of removing all asterisks in favor of verified dates of operation (i.e., 1901 - 1919).

A note on database records: Many of the historical database records that are based solely on city directory listings consist simply of an individual's name. For example, here is the record of an individual's name listed as a grocery store. Such records may be confusing, which is why it is important to understand that early city directories often listed individuals doing business in the city by their names alone (rather than by the name of the business, which many times was the same as the individual's name).

2: Library Clippings Files

After the city directories, the next stage of data collection involved consulting the Massillon Business and Industry binders and general clippings files, which are kept in bound volumes and filing cabinets in the Massillon Public Library and maintained by reference staff. The clippings files are oriented categorically by wide-ranging subjects: from schools, to actors, to bridges, to commerce, etc. The content of the clippings files includes mostly newspaper articles from the Massillon Independent and the Canton Repository, but also pamphlets, photographs, brochures and other ephemera.

As a result of the many new entities found through this process, but often lacking information on dates of operation, many of these records' dates have been left blank pending further research. Here is an example of a record with the dates left blank.

3: Other Sources

In addition to the above methods for adding and verifying records, other records were added to the database by consulting the following books. Please note: where dates in the following books conflicted with or expanded upon the dates given in the city directories and/or clippings files for existing records, dates from the books were entered as verified (no asterisk) in the database.

Conrad, Ethel. Invaluable friends: Thomas and Charity Rotch. Massillon, 1991. 82. Print.
Heald, Edward Thornton. The Stark County story. 4 v. Print
Kane, Ruth. The Better Halves: The story of Massillon's women. Massillon, 1989. 176. Print.
Kane, Ruth. Trolley car days: Massillon at the turn of the century. 1984. 214. Print.
Kane, Ruth. Wheat, glass, stone and steel. 1976. 194. Print.
Skinner, Bessie V.R. Massillon, Once upon a time. Massillon: Massillon Print Co., 1926. 74. Print.
Smith, Georgia Freet. Upon these hills: "Massillon's beginnings & early days". 1962. 80. Print.
Vogt, Margy. 4th Street: A century of history and design. Massillon: Bates Publishing Co., 2002. 47. Print.
Vogt, Margy. Massillon: 175 years of progress tempered with tradition: a calendar for the year 2001. Massillon: Bates Publishing Co., 2000. Print.
Vogt, Margy. Massillon: Reflections of a community. 2009. 240. Print.
Vogt, Margy. Towpath to towpath. Massillon: Bates Publishing Co., 1998. 244. Print.

The Ohio Secretary of State's Business Filings database and The Better Business Bureau also provided information on incorporation dates, name changes and other details about Massillon-based organizations.

If you have verifiable historical information or documents that may help to complete these records, please contact the research team.

Return to database