by Daniel Jay Grimminger (Author)
In 1806, Rudolph Bair came to Ohio from Pennsylvania and settled on one of the highest points in Stark County and called it Paris. After its establishment in 1814, this town became an important center of business and the arts. As a stagecoach stop on the main road from Pittsburgh to the West, this village evolved into a hub of American culture. By the late 1800s, Paris had dry goods stores, a drug store, two hotels, wagon factories, harness shops, shoe shops, blacksmith shops, a meat market, mills, a vinegar factory, and three churches. Local farmers also came to Paris to do business, worship in Paris's churches, and absorb the latest news. The legacy of this village and its surrounding farmland lives on here in photographs, artifacts, and descendents of early settlers.