Lincoln Highway Historic Byway

Canton Bulldogs Football Team 1922-1923

Canton City Hall Photolothoograph Circa 1887 compliments of Stark County District Library

Four Aces pictured Below

Byway History and Highlights: Four Aces

In 1930 Timken ordered a steam locomotive and christened it Timken 1111 - known as The Four Aces. It was the first steam locomotive completely equipped with Timken roller bearings. Timken launched a major sales pitch by loaning the train to 14 different railroads in 18 months. The train covered 100,000 miles in test runs, proving the durability of Timken bearings in the railroad industry. Timken then sold The Four Aces to the Northern Pacific Railroad; it covered 1.6 million miles by 1955. The incredibly successful demonstration earned Timken orders from three railroads. They were positioned to launch a massive campaign to increase railroad sales, but by then the Great Depression had taken a toll on all industries. The Timken Company began as the Timken Carriage Company in 1898 in St. Louis, Missouri. The company developed a new kind of roller bearing that they first used on their buggies and wagons. Making roller bearings for other manufacturers became the company's focus. Henry Timken patented a tapered roller bearing in 1898 and started a company to produce it in 1899. Henry's sons, Henry H. (H.H.) and William R. (W.R.) Timken, took over the business soon after. As their business grew, they realized their distance from the steel market was resulting in high freight costs and shipping delays. They chose Canton as their new location and in 1901 they broke ground for a new building. The Timken Company became an internation leader in the production of roller bearings, alloy and specialty steels, and related products. Their bearings have been used in all types of vehicles from trains to cars to space shuttles. Timken produced more than 6 billion bearings between 1899 and 2003.

This photograph shows Herbert Pease Croxton in a Jewell automobile in 1906. His father Herbert A. Croxton and his uncle Samuel Wolle Croxton are in the background of the photograph.

Herbert Pease Croxton (1900-1974) graduated from Cornell in 1924 and worked for Air Reduction Sales Company in St. Louis. Upon returning to Massillon, he became the secretary and treasurer for Massillon Rubber Company. Herbert A. Croxton (1871-1940) was the president of Massillon Iron and Steel Company and Massillon Bridge and Structural Company. In 1905, he became the president and treasurer of the Forest City Motor Car Company, the company responsible for manufacturing the Jewell automobile. (After 1907, the name was changed to Jewel). The company produced approximately 1,000 cars between 1906 and 1910. In 1909, Forest City Motor Car Company merged with Keeton Town Car Works to become Croxton-Keeton Motor Car Company. The company folded in 1913. After 1913, Herbert A. Croxton served as a Massillon rubber company executive.