Center for Creative Community Development

Massillon Museum

Located in Massillon, Ohio, 50 miles south of Cleveland, the Massillon Museum is a local art and history museum with major collections of photography, costumes and textiles, china, glass and pottery, domestic appliances, and circus memorabilia. The Museum was first accredited in 1972 by the American Association of Museums and has continued to be accredited by the AAM since that time. The Museum was, from its inception, funded by a county intangibles tax that was originally directed through the Massillon Public Library. When it became apparent that the Museum could not continue its quality service to the community within that budget, the Museum director and board members succeeded in working with state legislators to pass legislation permitting Ohio museums to place tax issues on the ballot. As a result, the Massillon Museum passed a tax levy within the city of Massillon and is now supported by property taxes from the citizens of the community.