Intro

The William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum is located in Canton, OH where the President’s career began. He was born in Niles. I’m not going to give you the complete history of William McKinley but rather my experience here at the museum.

For further information on President McKinley please go here: https://mckinleymuseum.org/

The Memorial

On a sunny Saturday morning I decided to visit the Memorial because it was 10 minutes from my friends house that I visited Friday night. I parked and looked up the 108 steps to the white brick dome and halfway or so up was a bronze statue of McKinley himself. On each side, were grassy, rolling hills that made the memorial look more towering and pretty against its surroundings.

I started walking up (one of three people as others were running up and down it for exercise (kudos to them because I was dying once I got to the top lol)) and looked at the statue and continued upwards to the top. Once I reached the top I walked around the circle, reading all the historical facts they have placed and looking at all the scenery that lay before me. Looking ahead from the facade side, I saw the Canton skyline, the long grass field with what people were using as a walking/running track on the concrete going round the field. The people looked somewhat tiny. On some sides of the memorial are steps going down to grass areas…kinda neat.

After I looked around on the outside I decided to go inside. The inside reminded me of the sanctuary in the War Memorial in Indianapolis: the tomb in the center, information about people on the side walls (this one was about McKinley and Memorial itself, stained glass on the ceiling, and words of wisdom circulating the inside. William and Ida’s tomb was black with gold rims. Their two daughters are laid to rest behind them with a brick inscribing their names (both of them died in infancy). Wreaths colored red, white, and blue laid at each tomb.

As I left, the door slammed behind me (I thought it would just slowly shut…nope, it made a loud bang! lol).

Down the steps I went and into the Museum.

The Museum

Cost of admission is $13 for adults. Seniors are $12, Students and Children are $11, Children under 3 are free.

My green wristband was put on and I was free to explore! I first went upstairs into the Stark County History Exhibit A&B. There was lots to look at with photos, artifacts, and interactive things. It was neat to see the history of Stark from different era’s. I went into the McKinley Galley adjacent with Exhibit B. In there was all McKinley personal items (my favorite was Ida’s tiara and William’s letters to Ida), a room (I guess living/formal room) with a mannequin of him and Ida. I loved that room; however, I was looking forward to the Street of Shops.

Street of Shops

The Street of Shops is supposed to mimic what life would have looked like in the 1800’s. Dimly lit, there’s rooms like the cabin, dentist, hotel, etc., even more, the mercantile made me feel like I was in either the Walton’s or Little House on the Prairie.

There were lots of people exploring this part of the museum. It’s really fascinating and was my favorite part.

End

Afterwards, I headed into the Discover World which is more geared for kids. It had an animatronic dinosaur, interactive science exhibits like a tornado, shadow catcher, etc. You can also bee’s, snakes, and other living creatures. Now you might be asking “Bella, why would an exhibit like this would be in a Presidential Museum?” Well, here’s my answer! I actually don’t know because I was wondering the same thing, honestly. I guess it’s something fun for kids lol.

There’s also a Planetarium if you’re interested in astronomy. Don’t ask me why that’s there, too because I can’t give you an answer to that, either.

On my way out I went to the gift shop. There were books, shirts, magnets, and many other things. I ended up buying a postcard with an image of the Memorial on it. I will tape it up to my wall in my dorm.

Overall, I really liked my experience and there was a lot of stuff to look at.

  • My favorite part(s): Street of Shops, Memorial, Presidential Gallery
  • My least favorite part: Discover World (half of it was closed that day and I didn’t understand the point of it in the Presidential Museum).

If you’re looking for something to do in Canton or Alliance, here ya go!