Name/Title
McKinley Project Newspaper ArticleEntry/Object ID
2016.2.65Description
Niles - the Vindictor
McKinley project gets good response
City officials are looking for state or federal funding sources to clear the way for the library's replica of the former president's birthplace.
by Cynthia Vinarsky
Niles - It's too late to save the boyhood home of the city's native son president, William McKinley - the simple, six-room house burned to the ground in 1937.
But city officials and members of the McKinley Memorial Library trustee borad want to build a replica to stand on the original spot at 36 S. Main St., now a commerical section of downtown Niles.
If they succeed, it won't be the first time McKinley's family homestead was memorialized.
Local history buffs tried once in the late 1800s and again in 1910 to restore and display the house to the public - the building was split in half and moved three times before it was destroyed by fire.
History: Library Director Ann Yancura says the city's commerical district was just a block long when McKinley was born here in 1843, and his family's home was closely sandwiched between two stores.
Early records and photos indicate it was a narrow, two-story, wood-frame structure, she said, with three small rooms on each floor and a front door that opened onto the sidewalk. McKinley, the seventh of nine children, lived there for the first eight years of his life.
In 1893, the downtown was booming, and records show the house was moved around the block to Franklin Alley to make room for construction of a new bank and another commerical structure, called the Benedict Building.
What was done: Around the time McKinley was inaugurated the nation's 25th president in 1897, records say, some local historians decided to honor him by dividing his boyhood home in two and moving the main living quarters to Riverside Park.
Located on Salt Springs Road just south of Niles, the park featured a dance pavilion, lawn tennis, steamboat rides on Meander Creek and a historical display centered around the McKinley home.
The other half of the house had been used as a store, so that part was left on Franklin Alley and became a shop for the manufacture of Harris rotary offset presses.
A popular attraction for about five years, Riverside Park closed in 1901 - the same year McKinley was assassinated. The McKinley home was abandoned, along with other park attractions.
Second rescue try: In 1910, Atty. Lulu Mackey Wess of Warren purchased both parts of the McKinley home and had them moved to her 200-arced estate at the northwest corner of what was then known as Tibbetts Corners - the intersection of Robbins Avenue, Tibbetts-Wick Road and U.S. Route 422.
After restoring the house and furnishing it with artifacts and souvenirs, Atty. Wess opened it to the public. Local history sources say the spot became such a popular tourist attraction that residents decided to rename the neighborhood McKinley Heights.
But in April 1937, the house was destroyed by fire. One newspaper account said the fire was started by a vagrant hiding inside the house and trying to keep warm.
Mrs. Yancura said library officials have been planning a replica of McKinley's birthplace home for years, but the original location was never available. The two-story bank building on the spot just became vacant about a year ago, and she said National City Bank Northest, which owns the site, has offered to donate the land and $10,000 towards the demolition.
Planners believe the time is right, Mrs. Yancura said.
She said the hundreds of tourists who visit the McKinley Library and its adjoining museum each year frequently ask where the president's birth home is located.
"Most presidents have either a birthplace home or a later home as a memorial," she said. "It's very unusual that McKinley has no house associated with hime."
Positive response: Although the city has not officially agreed to share the cost of the project with the library board, Mayor Ralph Infante said the response among the city legislators has been positive. He predicted lawmakers will approve an ordinace or resolution supporting the project.
Infante said the city is already looking for a funding source to help pay for demolition of the old bank building on the site.
Engineers hired by the library to do preliminary plans have estimated that asbestos removal and demolition of the building will cost about $60,000. Infante said he's contacted the Ohio Department of Development, hoping to secure some grant money available for revitalizing the downtown area.
The library board plans to foot the bill for building the replica, once the land is cleared.
Relocated: This photo shows William McKinley's boyhood home as it looked in the late 1800s after it was moved from downtown Niles to RIverside Park along Salt Springs Road. The woman and child in the front are unidentified.Collection
BlaneyAcquisition
Accession
2016.2.0Source or Donor
Eileen B. BlaneyAcquisition Method
Gift