TROLLEYS THAT TRIED – Dalton came within 3 miles of having a trolley

By Editor | July 21, 2026 |

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA McCUNE | DGKN
Paul Davis, a volunteer with Northern Ohio Railway Museum, presented a program, “The Trolleys that Tried to Come to Dalton,” to a nearly full house April 13 at the Dalton Historical Society.

By CHRISTINA McCUNE
DGKN managing editor

DALTON A trolley almost came to the village.

Actually a trolley almost came to the village at least nine times.

Dalton was within about three miles from having a trolley at the beginning of the 20th century.

More than 100 years ago, people were excited about the interurban railway, Paul Davis told the crowd of history buffs April 13 at the Dalton Community Historical Society.

Davis, a volunteer with the Northern Ohio Railway Museum, has presented programs on the interurban and he told the Dalton Community Historical Society he would be happy to do a program on attempts to bring the interurban railway to Dalton, DCHS member Vicki Slater told those in attendance when she introduced Davis.

Davis presented “The Trolleys that Tried to Come to Dalton” and he shared a slide show with photos and newspaper clippings and spoke about investors, plans, maps and some of the major players involved.

“Back in the beginning, in the 1880s, electric railways became successful,” Davis said.

People discovered they could get places quicker than horse and buggy and transporting by rail was cutting edge technology, he said.

“Dalton got wind of this and was not immune from learning about this and mostly basically the farmers wanted to have rail transportation to get to Massillon, Wooster wherever to get their products to market quicker,” he said.

The closest to Dalton the interurban railway came was out of Massillon as far as East Greenville.

Dalton was within about three miles from having a trolley in 1907, he said. Several other attempts were made to get a trolley to Dalton and he found at least nine.

Davis found information online and researched old newspaper articles, trade periodicals and books on the interurban era. At the end of the presentation he spoke about the Northern Ohio Railway Museum and he had a display and information available about the museum.

In the end, financial panics and lack of local investment to attract outside investment in the early 1900s as well as some local opposition kept trolleys away from Dalton. Also, local residents were provided service by some steam railroads.

At the end of the program, Davis showed a video about the Northern Ohio Railway Museum, in which he makes an appearance, and he gave audience members an opportunity to ask questions.

Audience members filled most of the chairs for the free presentation, and the Dalton Historical Society provided refreshments.

Dalton Community Historical Society member Vicki Slater told those in attendance that they can look for more programs to be announced. Slater said she is interested in putting on a program about Lincoln Highway history. For more information about the Dalton Community Historical Society, 115 E Main St., visit the organization’s Facebook page. For more information about the Northern Ohio Railway Museum in Seville, which opens Saturday, March 23, visit www.northernohiorailwaymuseum.org.