McKinley National Memorial

The McKinley National Memorial is the tomb and monument to William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, buried here alongside his wife Ida and their two infant daughters. The pink Milford granite dome rises over Monument Park on a hill above the city, reached by a formal staircase of 108 steps. The structure was completed in 1907, six years after McKinley's assassination.

The interior is simple and dignified — marble sarcophagi under the high rotunda, with art glass windows filtering the light. The surrounding grounds are well-maintained parkland. The adjacent William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum is a short walk away and is usually visited in the same trip. On a clear day the view from the top of the steps takes in Canton and the surrounding Stark County farmland.

things to do sight
A story
William McKinley was shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo on 6 September 1901 and died eight days later. His assassin, Leon Czolgosz, shook McKinley's hand with his left hand while concealing a pistol beneath a handkerchief in his right. The assassination prompted Congress to formally assign the Secret Service to permanent presidential protection — a duty it had previously held only during wartime.