Stark County is located in northeast Ohio. Just over 576 square miles in area, the county is home to 17 townships and 20 cities and villages. Although the largest municipality and the county seat is the City of Canton, with the next largest cities being Alliance and Massillon, each individual area of the county has something unique to offer.
Culture and Arts
The cultural focus of the county is illustrated by the Canton Cultural Center for the Arts, located in downtown Canton. This facility houses the offices, theaters and studios of the Canton Ballet, Canton Civic Opera, Canton Museum of Art, Canton Symphony Orchestra and The Players Guild. These organizations combine to stage year-round performances and sponsor events such as the Louise and Mary Timken Young Artist Competition, featuring young artists from high schools throughout northeast Ohio.
Stark County also boasts a variety of museums and galleries. The best known of these is the McKinley National Monument and Museum, honoring the 25th president of the United States. Other attractions include the National First Ladies’ Library, Canton Classic Car Museum, the St. Helena III Canal Boat and Heritage House (Canal Fulton) and the Ohio Society of Military History Museum (Massillon).
Sports
Stark County probably is most widely known for being the home of the National Football League Professional Football Hall of Fame and its annual Hall of Fame Induction and Festival in July/August. Each year, more than 500,000 people will attend various activities throughout the weeklong festival. Events include the Balloon Classic Invitational, Jackson-Belden Food Fest, Community Parade, Timken Grand Parade, National Ribs Burnoff, Enshrinement Ceremony and AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game, which kicks off the NFL pre-season.
If you are a sports enthusiast, Stark County is the place for you. Professional sports teams are available in the nearby markets of Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Columbus. Many area residents are season ticket holders for Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Browns games. Additionally, many enjoy attending the Akron Aeros games, the AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The county also is home to many public and private golf courses, along with numerous areas for water and snow skiing, boating, hiking, fishing, camping and biking in any of the more than 100 municipal, county and state parks.
Leisure Activities
If you prefer leisure activities such as sight seeing, movies, fine dining and shopping, Stark County has it all! The northern portion of the county consists of several historical Amish communities with old-world craft shops and restaurants. The county features several multiplex movie theaters, two major malls (Westfield Belden Village and Canton Centre) and multiple shopping plazas like The Strip, featuring several mega-stores.
Other nearby attractions includes the Akron and Cleveland Zoos, the National Inventors Hall of Fame (Akron), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Great Lakes Science Center (Cleveland) and Geauga Lake's Wild Water Kingdom (Aurora).
