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The
McKinley Memorial is located in central downtown Niles, Ohio. Construction
of the memorial began in 1915 and the building was dedicated in
1917.
Before the McKinley Memorial was built
to honor Niles' native son, William McKinley, the twenty-fifth
President of the United States, a community park, Town Hall, small
businesses, churches, homes and a Civil War Monument were located
on this site.
This park was referred to as 'Niles
Community Park' and also 'Niles Public Park'.
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Close-up of the 1882 Panoramic map of Niles,
Ohio showing the area where the future McKinley Memorial would
be constructed. The church labeled 'F' was the old First presbyterian
Church, in 1892 a newer church would be built on this site. The
church was torn down in 1957 and the corner property was given
to the McKinley Memorial Birthplace Association.
The Church of the Disciples, labeled 'A', was
rebuilt in 1894 as the First Christian Church and was replaced
by a new church building in 1966.
The building marked '2' was the Town Hall which
was torn down prior to the construction of the McKinley memorial.
A new city building was built in 1889 on West Park Avenue and
Franklin Alley which housed the fire and police departments on
the first floor with the Mayor's office and city council chambers
on the second floor.
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View of the First Presbyterian Church
and houses on North Main Street. |

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View of the First Christian Church
and parsonage. |
The
Presbyterian Church and the First Christian Church occupied the
north end of the block on Church Street.
The First Presbyterian Church was
demolished when a new church was built on Robbins Avenue and Crandon.
This corner now stands empty.
A parsonage was built in 1899 at the
south end of the First Christian Church lot. The church was then
demolished in 1966 when the congregation decided to build a new
church on the same site.
Today, this church is the only building
on the McKinley Memorial block. |
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View of the Town Hall and
Civil War Monument. |

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View of the Town Hall and
Civil War Monument. |
Postcard
views of the Town Hall located near the center of the McKinley Memorial
block and the Civil War Monument.
The Town Hall was demolished in 1915
to make room for the McKinley Memorial Building.
The Memorial cornerstone was placed
on November 20, 1915 and the McKinley Memorial was dedicated on
October 5, 1917. |
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The new town hall on West Park Avenue
housed the fire and police departments on the first floor with the
Mayor's office and City Council Chambers on the second floor. |

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The Swaney Building(1905) and the
IOOF Building(1906) and the Wagstaff Building occupied the southeast
corner of the block. |
The
new town hall was located on West Park Avenue opposite from its
previous site in the Niles Community Park.
The buildings on the southeast corner
housed different businesses, including Calvin's Drug Store.
These buildings were demolished in
the 1990s leaving only the McKinley Memorial and the First Christian
Church as occupants on the grounds of the block. |
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View of Community Park, southwest
corner. |
The
main downtown streets had brick pavers rather than dirt at this
time (after 1908) and street lights illuminated the roads and sidewalks.
However, transportation was still mostly by horse and buggy. The
Community Park area was cordoned off with a two strand wire fence
and the Civil War Monument (dedicated in 1882) is visible.
The First Methodist Church is visible
across Arlington Avenue (formerly Mechanic Street). This view is
across Park Avenue near Franklin Alley. |
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View of Community Park with St. Stephen
and First Methodist Churches. |
View
of Community Park looking towards St. Stephen Church taken between
1908-1915.
This view of the public park shows
the Methodist Church on the right. On the extreme right is the porch
of the Town Hall which was demolished when the Memorial was built
and the public park became part of the Memorial grounds.
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View of Community Park after
The McKinley Memorial was built.
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Memorial Day 1922, the remaining members
of McPherson Post #16. |
1882 Civil War Monument
On West Park Avenue, opposite the Niles Post Office and in the
southwest corner of the McKinley Memorial grounds stands a tall
stately Quincy granite monument honoring Major-General James
Birdseye McPherson, one of the real heroes of the Battle
of Atlanta, July 22, 1864.
Today residents of Niles pass their Civil War monument probably
not fully aware of its presence, for as long as anyone can remember,
it has always been there. General McPherson, was the highest ranking
soldier from Ohio killed in the war. General Sherman noted General
McPherson’s heroic qualities in the eulogy.
On December 24, 1878 the McPherson post #16 of the Ohio Department
of the Grand Army of the Republic was organized in Niles with
30 charter members. Josiah Robbins served as their first commander.
The post grew to 150 members, although there were some 250 veterans
from the community who saw service during the Civil War.
The purpose of this group was to instill in the minds of others
the importance of a patriotic devotion to the ideals for which
these veterans fought and to revere the names of those who made
the supreme sacrifice. Regular meetings were held and civic affairs
were always discussed.
Members of the McPherson Post #16
became interested in erecting a monument in honor of Major-General
McPherson. The idea of raising funds for such a monument was presented
to the voters of Weathersfield Township in March 1882.The issue
passed almost unanimously. The monument was selected, a gray granite
shaft surmounted by an eagle. The main shaft bears the inscription
“Erected to the memory of our fallen heroes in the war
of 1862- 1865.
By McPherson Post #16, Department of Ohio GAR
and the Citizens of Weathersfield Township,
General McPherson Killed July 22, 1864.”
Also on each side of the main shaft, just below
the war emblems, are listed one of the following four battles:
Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Look Out Mountain, and Shiloh.
On Saturday, October 21, 1882 the monument was
dedicated, starting off with the cannon being fired. A parade
was formed and marched downtown, arriving at the speaker’s
stand which was erected in front of the Town Hall. At that time
the Town Hall was located on what is now known as North Arlington
Street ,just west of where the McKinley Memorial now stands.
Speakers of the day were the Honorable E.
B. Taylor of Warren and Honorable William McKinley
from Niles. They both paid inspiring tribute to the patriotism
of the private soldier as a power behind the famous generals of
the army. They pointed it out that our nation owed it to her soldiers
to deal generously with them, as they will never be overpaid for
their sacrifices upon the battle field.
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The Civil War Monument Inscription. |

The Civil War Monument. |

The Civil War Cannon. |
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The Mt. Vernon-Walnut tree was planted
as tribute to those who had given their lives in the service to
their country.
The plaque reads:
"IN MEMORY OF THE WORLD WAR HEROES. MT.VERNON-WALNUT TREE PLANTED
NOVEMBER 11, 1919."
The tree was planted one year after
the end of the war on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the
eleventh month of 1918.
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The black walnut tree as it stands
today one hundred years from when it was planted on the McKinley
Memorial grounds.(2019) |
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