
1834 Platting of lots in Nilestown,
later Niles, Ohio. PO1.652 |
President
Wm. McKinley's Birthplace.
Lot #20 has had a long and interesting
history. It was platted by James Heaton in 1834 and was
66 x 181.5 ft. At some point in the next eleven years a two-story
colonial style structure with lap siding was built on the property,
and it was this six-room double house that William McKinley
Sr. and Nancy Allison McKinley rented as a home for
their growing family. William Jr. and a younger sister,
Abigail, were born in the upstairs corner bedroom.
The family moved out of this house and went to Poland, Ohio when
William was nine years old in search of higher education. William
saw his birthplace only once more when he was the governor of Ohio.
He and his mother stopped in Niles and made a short visit to the
house. He subsequently spoke to the large crowd that had gathered
in front of the building from the small second-story porch.
The house existed on that site until a few years before McKinley’s
assassination in 1901. Lot 20 had been divided into Lot 20A and
Lot 20 B&C and had gone through several owners. In one photo
of the house from 1896, a grocery store occupies part of the building.
There were other reliable reports that an ice cream parlor had also
rented space on the site. Niles was growing, however and Lot 20
was too valuable an asset to allow an older, smaller residence to
take up the space that could be better occupied by a more modern
building.
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J.S. Benedict General Store
PO1.697 |
Sometime
before 1875 the house was enlarged and converted into a store owned
by J. S. Benedict. In 1890 the land upon which McKinley’s
house stood on Main Street, was needed as a site for the City National
Bank (later McKinley bank).
It was not known who undertook and
financed the project, but McKinley’s house was cut in two
and the part in which McKinley had been born was moved to Riverside
Park along the Meander Creek, sometime after the park began operating,
possibly as a museum attraction. The second half of the house was
moved to Franklin Alley and used as a shop where the Harris rotary
offset presses were made. |
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City National Bank building, 1894
Photo: Youngstown Museum of Labor and Industry |

City National Bank SO1.37a

Dollar Bank Building, 1895
PO2.117
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View of west side of South Main Street
PO9.4

J.S. Benedict General Store
PO7.93

Close-up view of J.S. Benedict store
PO1.697
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The half-house in the picture was the boyhood
home of William McKinley; later it served as the Harris Company's
first plant. PO1.550
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Riverside Park, was a pleasure resort
located at the intersection of Route 46 and Salt Springs Road south
of town along Meander Creek where it joined the other attractions
such as a dance hall and boating area. PO1.1061 |

Wm. McKinley's birthplace half-house
at Riverside Park, 1895.PO1.708 |
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PO1.699

PO1.700 |
The first image to the left show the condition
of McKinley's home when Riverside Park closed in 1901 and this
half of the McKinley house became a neglected ruin. With the demise
of the amusement park, the McKinley house was occupied by tenants
until 1908.
The second image shows both parts of McKinley's
Home being put back to their original condition as a museum. In
1909, Mrs. Joseph Weiss, nee Lulu Mackey, an
attorney, purchased it and had it moved to her 200 acre estate
at Tibbets Corners. Here are the two halves of William McKinley's
birthplace joined together; the half that had been moved from
Franklin Alley is on the left, the other half , which had been
moved from Riverside Park, is on the right. The house was then
completely restored to its original appearance, both inside and
out, and the site was renamed McKinley Heights.
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PO1.701 |
For years the house attracted many visitors.
There was an admission charge. After the McKinley Memorial was
built in downtown Niles in 1915, the home's popularity waned.
Mrs. Mackey maintained the McKinley Museum until
her death in 1934.
The museum house was burned after midnight April
3, 1937. Prowlers were blamed for the fire.
The 1931 map on the right indicates the museum
location in McKinley heights.
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Because of her admiration for McKinley,
Miss Mackey had been collecting McKinley relics and souvenirs for
years. Pictured below are some of the items on display. Included
are photos of McKinley and his family, a cameo medallion of McKinley
carved in wood, and the rocking chair favored by McKinley when he
conducted the famous "front porch" campaign at his home
in Canton, Ohio. |

Restored McKinley Museum
PO1.202 |

Collection of McKinley relics and souvenirs
PO1.704 |

Postcard of Museum of Wm. McKinley
PO1.694 |
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Moving McKinley Homestead March 8, 1909
PO1.699 |

Collection of McKinley relics and souvenirs
PO1.706 |

During the late 1890's, after McKinley
had been elected President, an effort was made to preserve his birthplace.
PO1.709

All that remained of the McKinley
Birthplace in McKinley Heights after the fire on April 3, 1937.
PO1.712 |
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West side of South Main Street, 1894
PO9.4 |
In
the meantime, the northern half of Lot 20 became a bank building
occupied first by the City National Bank and then by the Dollar
Savings Bank until it moved to its present location, at the intersection
of South Main Street and East Park Avenue, in 1917 . After that,
it became the home of the McKinley Federal Savings Bank and a small
plaque commemorating the site of McKinley’s birth was added
to the building.
Photograph on the left shows the west side of South Main Street
as it appeared at the turn of the century in 1894. Left to right:
Benedict building, old City National Bank building, Clingan building,
Deither-Carter building, Holton building, Harris house, later the
site of the Niles Bank building. (Across Park Avenue) the Swaney
building, IOOF building and the Wagstaff building. |
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Interior view of McKinley Federal
Savings Bank, 1935 before renovations.
Photo: Youngstown Museum of Labor and Industry |

Renovated bank early 1950's
Photo: Youngstown Museum of Labor and Industry
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Bank with demolition for drive-thru, early 60's
Photo: Youngstown Museum of Labor and Industry
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Bank with demolition for drive-thru, early 60's
S11.301 |

Bank with drive-thru completed in 1962.
Photo: Youngstown Museum of Labor and Industry |

Demolition of bank completed. |
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The McKinley Birthplace Home
and Research Center |
In the 1990s, the McKinley Memorial Library Board
of Trustees worked to obtain the land where the original house
was located and constructed the McKinley Birthplace Home and Research
Center. The McKinley Birthplace Home and Research Center is a
reconstruction of the home where President William McKinley, the
last President to have served in the Civil War, was born on January
29th, 1843.
The Center is located at 40 South Main Street,
Niles, OH 44446.
To contact the Center:
330.652.1774 or http://www.mckinley.lib.oh.us/
The McKinley Birthplace
Home and Research Center is now open to visitors. Please check
Website for information.
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