From California to Ohio in 4 years: The William McKinley statue's long journey to Canton

CANTON −The bronze statue of President William McKinley is almost ready to take its place outside the Stark County Courthouse.

A pedestal for the statue of the late Canton resident, who served as the nation’s 25th president, is being installed by Coon Restoration & Sealants at Tuscarawas Street and Market Avenue.

The Timken Foundation of Canton, which purchased and relocated the statue from California, and the Stark County commissioners, who own the courthouse property, plan to unveil the statue at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 21. The ceremony also will recognize the formal donation of the statue to the commissioners.

Here's what to know about the statue before it makes its Stark County debut:

President McKinley statue survived the San Francisco earthquake

Robert R. "Bob" Timken, president of the Timken Foundation of Canton, said the foundation's board of trustees was intrigued by the statue’s 117-year history.

“It’s just amazing that this piece has survived as long as it has and we were frankly thrilled with the opportunity to bring it to Ohio,” Timken said.

California rancher George Zehnder, who met President McKinley following one of his speeches in California, commissioned the statue after McKinley's assassination in 1901. He hired Haig Patigian, then not well known but whose work later would be displayed in the White House and Congress, to create the bronze sculpture.

According to published reports, the statue was being forged in a San Franciscan foundry during the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire that killed hundreds of people and left the city in ruins. Officials believed the sculpture had been ruined, but were later surprised to learn that workers from an adjoining business pulled the heavy piece to safety. Zehnder then donated it to the city of Arcata where it was dedicated in 1906.

In 2018, Arcata City Council decided to remove the statue after decades of dispute surrounding the statue and McKinley's imperialist reputation.

Statue’s journey to Canton stretched more than 2,500 miles and four years

In February 2019, the Timken Foundation purchased the statue for $15,000 from Arcata, California, and transported it to McKay Lodge in Oberlin, which repaired years of environmental deterioration and vandalism that had left the bronze discolored.

Roughly a month ago, it was moved to Coon’s office near Louisville to be fitted with a metal base that will attach to the pedestal.

Timken and his parents, Ward J. "Jack" and Joy Timken, told the Stark County commissioners in July 2022 that the foundation’s six-person board of trustees chose to locate the statue at the courthouse due to its proximity to the Saxton House, McKinley's law offices in the First National Bank building and the president's Methodist church.

"It just seemed to be such a natural place to locate him downtown," Joy Timken said at the time.

President McKinley will stand 16 feet tall in Canton

The 8-foot-tall statue, which will be monitored by security cameras, will stand upon a 1-foot polished granite cap with beveled edges that will be similar in color to the floating ball fountain on Canton's central plaza. Its 6-foot-6-inch base consists of flamed granite and has an 8-inch concrete foundation, according to drawings by David Patterson with Motter & Meadows Architects.

A plaque will be mounted to each side of the base. Timken said the plaques will display the history of the statue and commemorate its dedication on the site.

The Timken Foundation has covered the design and installation costs for a statue base.

Reach Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: President William McKinley statue to be unveiled in October