JACKSON TWP. – Less than two years after Henry Timken received a patent for the tapered roller bearing, his sons began searching for a location to build a factory.
Gordon Mather, a salesman with Cleveland Axle Co. and a friend of H.H. Timken, invited the Timkens to Canton in 1901. Brothers H.H. and W.R. Timken liked what they saw in the city. They talked with Board of Trade leaders, and by the end of the year Timken Roller Bearing Axle Co. called Stark County home.
The decision 120 years ago to build Timken s bearing factory on Dueber Avenue SW in Canton had a profound impact on the community and the state.