'Possibly America's ugliest car' and others still shine inside Canton Classic Car Museum

Yahoo

12-05-2025

CANTON ‒ "We're so much more than cars."
That's the promotional claim of Canton Classic Car Museum. Those words don't dispute, however, that there are many interesting motor vehicles housed at the downtown Canton tourist attraction.
A 1937 Ahrens-Fox fire engine. A 1937 Packard hearse. A 1937 Studebaker President police car. And, traveling back even farther in years, we find a 1922 Holmes Victoria Series, a car built in the museum's hometown.
All are featured on display at Canton Classic Car Museum, established in 1978 and located at 123 Sixth St. SW, with the structure bordering Market Avenue S, across from WHBC radio station and The Canton Repository.
Following the coronavirus hiatus, the museum has been reopened for a couple of years now, said General Manager Gary Hussar. A few changes have been made to heighten the nostalgic experience.
"We've got a lot of new lights, LED lights, to make it brighter," said Hussar. "And I moved the stanchions around the cars, so now you can get up close and personal with them."
But, we'll get back to the cars -- admittedly the highlights of a stop at the museum after we take a look at the abundant memorabilia.
More: 200 THINGS THAT PLAY IN STARK COUNTY: Canton Classic Car Museum
Other than the dozens of historical vehicles, most immediately noticeable to the eyes of a visitor to Canton Classic Car Museum is the memorabilia. There is an abundance spread out on the floor, hanging on the walls and shelved in display cases.
"The gorgeous vehicles are complemented by thousands of pieces of historical memorabilia displayed throughout the museum," the facility's website notes.
Hundreds of pieces of old advertising cover the walls behind the motor vehicles. Porcelain advertising signs, and metal product cans accompany them. Auto-related movie posters from the past date nearby vehicles.
A portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt made in 1941 by inmates of Ohio Penitentiary who generated his features by tapping letters on a typewriter is among the political items displayed.
Automobile-related collectibles also include license plates from years past. Photographs depicting car-related scenes are positioned throughout the museum to take visitors back in time in a personal way. Tin signs for Stark County businesses ‒ Noaker's Ice Cream is among them ‒ remind many local visitors of establishments they haunted so many years ago.
If you really want a feel nostalgia for the community, you'll to visit the museum's Canton Room. The space remains pretty much as it has for years, filled with memorabilia of the city and its surroundings. An assortment of artifacts recall Canton-area icons such as Meyers Lake Amusement Park and President William McKinley.
The Canton Room also is the museum home of the 1937 Studebaker President bullet-proof police car once used by Canton's law enforcement officers.
"You can step right up and admire the bullet-resistant window glass that is over an inch thick," the online information suggests. "Each window features a closable Tommy gun porthole."
With that forementioned car ‒ nicknamed the "Bandit Car" by Canton Police of its day ‒ as an example, the more than three dozen motor vehicles are what most visitors come to see.
A vehicle with similar ties to the city's first responders is the 1937 Ahrens-Fox Quad fire engine, in its original unrestored condition that it was in when it was used by Canton's firefighters.
"They (Canton Fire Department) bought three of them new," said Hussar. "They still have one for parades. We have one. And the third was used as a donor car; they used pieces of it to restore the other two."
Nearby is the 1922 Holmes Victoria Series vehicle, one of seven motor vehicles built in Canton (it was manufactured from 1917 to 1922), text information supplied by the museum notes to explain the car's significance to Canton's history.
The Holmes, advertised as "America's Most Comfortable" car, was "the world's only full-sized air-cooled car," its ads also boasted. Looking at it decades after it was built, visitors likely won't take offense that this car once also had the reputation for being "possibly America's ugliest car."
Motor vehicles for which comfort or style wasn't really a factor are the paired 1937 Packard hearse -- powered by a V-12 engine -- and its companion 1937 Packard flower car.
"The flower car," according to online information, "looks much like a 1930s version of an El Camino."
Many of the automobiles on display at Canton Classic Car Museum have distinct stories surrounding them.
A 1932 Lincoln roadster "was the pace car for the 1932 Indianapolis 500" auto race, explains Hussar.
"We also have a 1904 Rambler," Hussar said. "It did the London to Brighton (Veteran Car) Run in 1999."
A 1904 St. Louis auto, manufactured by the St. Louis Motor Carriage Co., is the first successful single-cylinder car. But, it's another "first" that ties the car to Stark County.
"That brand of car was the first to use Timken roller bearings," Hussar explained.
The museum used to display two of the handful of cars that the late Cleveland television personality Neil Zurcher used on his "One Tank Trips" segments: his 1959 Nash Metropolitan convertible and a 1957 BMW Isetta. A couple of years ago, the Nash went back to Zurcher, who reportedly passed it on to one of his children. But, the Isetta remains on display in Canton as a reminder to fans of the travel reporter, who died earlier this year.
One of the cars is the star of two local museums.
A Hupmobile -- the kind of car on which owners of professional football teams sat on the running boards of in Ralph Hay's showroom in 1920 when they began to plan what would become the National Football League -- splits its time between the Canton Classic Car Museum and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"It goes back and forth from here to the Hall every six months to a year," Hussar said. "It's always rotating, but right now it's here."
Reach Gary at [e-mail].
On "X" (formerly Twitter): @gbrownREP
If you go
Canton Classic Car Museum
Where: Museum appears to face Market Avenue S but entrance and parking lot are around the corner at 123 Sixth St. SW, Canton.
When: Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; closed Sunday through Tuesday
Features: Displays of collection of iconic automobiles, vintage toys, car ads and motor vehicle memorabilia, with a gift shop
Cost: Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 60 and older, $11 for students 11-18 with valid student ID, free for children 10 and younger; group price (10 or more in party) is $6.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton Classic Car Museum's winding path through Canton history