RESEARCH FAQS

121 Lincoln Way East, Massillon, Ohio 44646
Phone: 330-833-4061
Fax: 330-833-2925

The Museum is wheelchair accessible. To learn more about additional accessibility initiatives at the Massillon Museum, click here to visit the Accessibility page of our website.

First Floor: Lobby/Receptionist, Gessner Hall, the Foundation Atrium, Aultman Health Foundation Gallery which features changing art and history exhibits; the Museum gift shop, OHregionalities; a vintage Photobooth; a Ceramics Studio; an outdoor garden where the Russell Steam Engine is exhibited seasonally. 
Second Floor: Museum’s Permanent Collection galleries: Massillon History Gallery, Innovators of Massillon Gallery, Albert E. Hise Fine and Decorative Arts Gallery, Photography Gallery, American Indian Gallery, Immel Circus Gallery, Paul Brown Museum, and the Paul Brown Library. Also located on the second floor: Studio M, a gallery for rotating contemporary art exhibitions. 
Lower Level: Fred F. Silk Community Room Gallery, Sensory Room, Classrooms, public restrooms, and drinking fountain.
Third Floor: Offices, Velma B. Erwin Research Room, Archives & Library. 

It's free and open to the public! We do accept donations.
The Museum charges for certain special events, such as classes and Open Studios.

The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 9:30am-5:00pm, and Sunday 2:00-5:00pm. The Museum is closed on Mondays and major holidays.

Two-hour free parking is available on the street and in nearby city lots.

The Massillon Museum was founded in 1933, following the bequest of Frank Lee and Annie Steese Baldwin of their home (the former home of Massillon’s founder James Duncan) along with seed money for a public library and museum.

Yes. The Massillon Museum operated in the same building as the Massillon Public Library until December 31, 1994, when a capital fund campaign allowed the Museum to move to a bigger building with more storage and gallery space. The Museum opened in the current building on May 16, 1996.

This building was built in 1931 by the Swanson Brothers as a dry goods store- first Gensemer Brothers, then Stark Dry Goods, and later O’Neil’s home furnishings department.

• The Museum has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1973, only one of three Stark County museums to have that designation. 
• The Museum was honored by Northern Ohio Live magazine as one of the region’s top three Museums in 2006.
• The Museum earned 15 Ohio Museums Association Visual Communications awards from 2004-2011.
• The Museum received 1 of 10 NEA American Masterpiece grants in 2007.
• The Massillon Museum was voted a finalist for “Best Museum in Stark County” in the Stark County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau “Best of Stark County” Competition.  
• The museum is 2019's Downtown Massillon Association Business of the Year.
• The Massillon Museum was the recipient of 30 Ohio Museums Association Visual Communications awards for catalogs and other printed materials (2004-2019). 
• The museum was honored with 5 prestigious OMA awards; 2018 Best Exhibition Catalog for Moniker, 2017 Best Exhibition for Blind Spot, 2015 Best Education and Outreach Award for The Artful Living Program, 2014 Best Exhibition Award for Imagining a Better World: The Artwork of Nelly Toll, and the 2010 Award of Achievement for its new collections storage facility.
• Presented with the 2012 American Association of State and Local History Award of Merit for the exhibit, Faces of Rural America.
• Selected as the 2012 Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year.
• Recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts “The Big Read” grants, 2008-2019.
• Dedicated to create accessible spaces with ancillary programing for all visitors by establishing the Accessibility Committee serving in an advisory capacity. “Massillon Museum welcomes you to participate in a diverse experience where art and history are for everyone.”

For more information on Massillon Museum membership, please click here.

Annual Island Party in July
Fun Fest co-sponsorship in August
Exhibition openings
Tiger Stripe Ice Cream and display a football hero exhibit at the Massillon Tigers’ kick-off pep rally
For a calendar of upcoming events, please click here.

Brown Bag Lunch Series
History Group
The Museum offers classes in Spring, Summer, and Fall each year for children, teens, and adults. Check out the current class offerings.

The Museum offers gallery talks, workshops, book discussions, and films to augment exhibitions.
The Museum hosts hundreds of students on school tours every year. Visit the Learn tab at the top of the page to explore educational offerings.

The Massillon Museum does not focus solely on art. The Museum has more than 100,000 objects of art AND history.

Yes. The Museum has a large collection of fine arts: photography, paintings on canvas, works of art on paper, glass, and ceramics. The Museum also has collections of photography by Aaron Siskind, Belle Johnson, William Bennett, and Nell Dorr.

Yes. The collection contains a variety of different historic objects donated from local individuals and families. The Museum has more than 60,000 historic photographs that document Massillon and the surrounding area. The Museum also owns the Jewel (a car made in Massillon in 1907-1908), Oscar the skeleton, and a large collection of Native American artifacts.

The Massillon Museum presents 5 exhibits in the Main Gallery each year.
Second floor exhibits rotate every 6 months to a year. The Immel Circus is always on display, but the objects on the walls rotate.
Studio M, in the lower level, changes every 5 weeks.
Learn more about current exhibits.

The Massillon Museum has more than 100,000 objects in 94 different categories. The staff rotates objects in our Main Gallery and Second Floor Galleries on a regular basis so that patrons can see as many of the Museum’s artifacts as possible. With limited gallery space, less than 5% of the collection can be displayed at one time.
Learn more about our collection.

Certainly! The staff would love to help you research your topic. Please make an appointment with the Archivist (Mandy Altimus Stahl) first so that the Museum can provide you with as much information as possible. Learn more about researching at the Museum.

The Massillon Museum’s outstanding collections include photography, costumes, Native American pottery and baskets, the Pease Collection of Ethnological and Archaeological Objects, decorative arts, quilts, and the Immel Circus collection.