Restoration Campaign

As we look to the future, Spring Hill trustees, staff, and stakeholders have prioritized the preservation and restoration of the property in an effort to expand programmatic offerings, better utilize our resources, and improve the overall preservation of over 150 years of Ohio history.

Within the last ten years, the smoke house foundation has been restored and the house and carriage house repainted. Within the last five, our parking lot was expanded to accommodate more visitors and events.

In 2020-21, a state capital appropriation enabled us to update the 1821 farmhouse’s entire electrical system, bringing it up to code and lessening the risk of fire. Features of its north façade have been repaired, including columns on the porch. The second floor of the 1903 milk house is now safely accessible. The lawn, fronting Wales Road, has been worked to create a more inviting landscape. The granary barn (circa 1953) has been fully restored, including three new structural beams, new windows and doors, siding, and a stamped “wood” concrete floor.

There is more to preserve, and we need your help.

Thanks to Capital Campaign funds thus far, we have been able to provide matching funds for a Visit Canton Recovery and Destination Enhancement grant to revitalize the electrical connection to the kennel, granary barn and milk house to light up the spaces and utilize them for programs and community events. Introducing electricity to these buildings that have been closed since 1973 allows visitors to explore these little-seen places, and enable us to expand our programming on local agriculture and dairy industry. CC funds have also enabled us to make long-awaited repairs to the milk house wall, retaining wall, and slate roof that have made the building structurally safe and sealed from the elements. In the spring of 2023, we will be preparing the interior of the milk house to become interpretive space on the history of the local dairy industry here in Massillon.

Thanks to additional funding from the 2023-24 state capital bill appropriation, we were able to transition the 1821 farmhouse’s boiler system that utilized radiators to a centralized furnace system. This update greatly reduces water-related disaster risk (pipe bursts) in the historic home, and enables us to better regulate the temperature for the structure and its historic artifacts.

Are you able to help preserve a crucial part of Massillon’s history for future generations? What dollar amount can you provide to keep Spring Hill Historic Home & Underground Railroad Site vibrant and relevant? By making a tax deductible donation to our Capital Campaign, you can play a role in telling our community’s story.

Thank you for your work in the restoration progress:

Happy Heart Concrete & Masonry

AHM Properties

Hilscher-Clarke

Reliable Heating & Cooling

Visit Canton Destination Enhancement

Ohio Facilities Construction Commission