The centerpiece of Perry’s history is its 1893 Genoa School at 539 Genoa Road SW. “There also was a major brewery in Richville.”īy 1875, Perry Township operated seven one-room schools. “Thomas Rotch owned two ships that were involved in the Boston Tea Party,” Coates noted. The opening of the Ohio-Erie Canal in the township in the early 1820s led to the founding of Massillon in 1828.Īccording to the club’s archives, members of the Rotch, Wales and Skinner families established Kendall, the township’s first settlement, in 1812. An author and historian, Coates has been working on township history book for seven years.Ĭoates pointed out that a pioneer trail that became Lincoln Way W goes through Perry. “I think Perry is one of the most interesting places in Stark County,” said Carey Coates, first vice president of the Perry History Club. Though sandwiched between Stark County’s two most populous cities, Perry Township has maintained its history and identity.

Oliver Hazard Perry won the pivotal Battle of Lake Erie over the formidable British Navy. Like many local communities, Perry Township was named in honor of a handsome and dashing war hero who never set foot in it.

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