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Follow the green arrows on the signs as you walk

315 Sixth Street, N.E.

Five years after the Salvation Army was founded in the United States, the Massillon Corps organized and held its first evangelistic service in 1885 in the former opera house.  The service  was so anxiously anticipated that crowds had to be turned away, a trend that continued throughout its early history. 

The Salvation Army served its community—preaching the gospel and meeting human needs without discrimination—based in several locations before erecting its first new building in the early 1950s at the corner of Tremont and First Street Southeast.

The present building, now on land originally set aside for educational purposes by town founders, is the fifth structure on this property.  A small private school was replaced with the Union School.  In 1879, the gothic spired North Street School opened to serve all grade levels until Washington High School opened in 1913 on Oak Avenue Southeast.  Longfellow Elementary and Junior High School was built in 1922.

The Salvation Army broke ground for this new facility on April 16, 2010, despite a torrential rain.   The dedication was held on a cold but kinder day on February 13, 2011.  The building includes worship space and a prayer room, a working clothes closet and choice food pantry, a community conference room, a multi-purpose community room, a state-of-the-art kitchen to accommodate large group meals, and three classrooms—carrying on the tradition of education on this property.

The sign is supported by foundation stones from the 1848 Union School building.


Directions: Continue walking south on Sixth Street until you reach Lincoln Way East.  Look diagonally across the intersection to view First Baptist Church.