1880s train station in Hartville is owner’s perfect fit

John Tarzan of Canton has always had a deep appreciation for history – a passion that made the Hartville Train Station a natural fit.

The lifelong artist and history buff purchased the Hartville Train Station in Hartville in 2002 and decided to open a train museum and a gift shop selling art pieces made by artists from around Stark County and across the United States. The gift shop is called The Maple Street Art Gallery.

“I thought having both a museum and a gift shop would make it more of a destination location to visit and would entice more people to stop in,” Tarzan said.

The station was empty when he purchased it. The only thing left from the past was the ticket counter at the front of the station. Over the decades, Tarzan has purchased many old trunks, photos, lanterns and other items to fill the inside and return it to what it may have looked like when it was used by passengers. He also added two train cars, a passenger car from 1929 and a caboose from 1924, to the outside of the museum in 2012.

“The passenger car was too heavy and too long to haul here on a truck, so it was hooked to a train and delivered here by means of the railroad tracks. I use the passenger car, which is 90 feet long and weighs 60 tons, as my workshop for doing oil paintings and pottery. I have had a lot of people come by and want to take wedding photos or graduation photos on the steps of the train cars,” Tarzan said.

One of the first things visitors see when walking into the museum is a replica of a photo of President William McKinley, who lived in Canton. Tarzan said McKinley used to ride a train from Canton to the Hartville station to visit the Congress Lake area. Then he would take the train back to Canton.

“It took too long to come from Canton to Hartville by horse and buggy, so he rode the train back and forth. He would sometimes stay in the Hartville Hotel,” Tarzan said.

Another historical photo Tarzan has on display is of Charles (Carl) Diebold with his board of directors. The photo was taken soon after the company was moved from Chicago to Canton and is dated on the back as taken in 1870.

The station itself is divided in the middle; one half was used for seating and the other for storage. Tarzan said passengers would enter the station from the front corner and be seated in the middle of the front half. The back half of the station was built with extra-high ceilings and would be packed with freight delivered by train. While he is painting the outside of the station, he said it looks pretty much the same as it did from the beginning.

While the train station has heating and air conditioning, Tarzan has an old cast-iron wood- or coal-burning stove displayed inside because passengers in the 1880s used something similar to warm the station. He has a life-size mannequin, a station agent made of plaster and wood, on display. The mannequin is shown playing an old game of checkers just inside the doors that were once used to bring in freight.

In addition to train memorabilia, historical artifacts and photographs, the shop is packed with items made by artists from across the country, including jewelry, pottery, limited-edition pewter pieces and much more.

Tarzan was right about adding the gift shop to the museum. It does make it a place for people to visit and enjoy shopping while learning more about the history of what life was like in Hartville and Stark County when train travel was a well-used mode of transportation.

The most interesting part of visiting the train museum was listening to the details and history of the station and artifacts shared by the well-versed curator, Tarzan. Guests will quickly be able to get a sense of just how much Tarzan loves history and the train station.