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HISTORY, HERITAGE & TRADITION AT FIELDCREST ESTATE

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Our History & Grounds

President Herbert Hoover never set foot on this property. But a non-relative, by the same name, certainly did. The 50-acres that is currently Fieldcrest Estate, and the 150 additional acres that are now Auburn Knolls and other housing options, were once owned by Herbert William ( H.W.) Hoover.

This Hoover, along with his father, William “Boss” Hoover, presided over a leather goods factory in North Canton (formerly North Berlin), Ohio. The leather business was good, but the Hoovers really gained success with their investment in James Spangler’s patented upright suction sweeper.  Invented from a soapbox, broom handle, fan, and pillowcase, and rigged to capture the dust that the broom could not, the first sweepers were mass produced (6 at a time) in the corner of the leather shop.

Through creative advertising and salesmanship (an ad in the Saturday Evening Post offering 10 days free use of the invention), the Hoover Suction Sweeper Company soon found its market both here and abroad.

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H.W. purchased the land, where he and his wife, Grace Louise, established the Hoover Farm. They called it PoHeJa, using the first initials of their children Polly, Herb, James and Jane. The farm was a working dairy farm, selling bottles of milk, embossed with the PoHeJa name, to commercial endeavors like the elite Onesto Hotel in nearby downtown Canton, Ohio and the employee cafeteria at The Hoover Company.

The original farmhouse, built around 1904 and occupied by the Edwin Rheil family before being purchased by HW Hoover, is now the Tea House on the Fieldcrest Estate property.

The chicken coop, a favorite of the Hoover children, is no longer home to prize-winning poultry.  Instead, The Coop Gift Shop, hatched in 2015, is the go-to market for specialty gifts, children’s items, books, jewelry, magical wonders and more than a few surprises. Also housing Stark County’s largest collection of fairy garden merchandise.

The lodge, currently the setting for award-winning Sunday brunches, corporate meetings, and special events like Fieldcrest Estate’s Signature Events, is also original to the property. It was constructed in 1925, patterned after a Colorado lodge and inspired by the various trips that the Hoovers took to Yellowstone and the Canadian Pacific parks. It served as the spot for large corporate and family gatherings, like Thanksgiving & Christmas.

In addition to these structures, the Hoover property also included two barns, attached at the time, by a grand carriage house. This space later served as a caretaker’s apartment and garage, and most currently as the stunning Welcome Center greeting visitors as they make their way up the drive to Fieldcrest Estate.

The Inn, positioned between the Welcome Center and the Lodge, was not part of the original landscape on Easthill Street, but was none the less significant for the important role it played to the Hoover family. Formerly located on Market Avenue, the home was constructed as a single residence and private retreat for visitors such as foreign dignitaries, statesmen, international business moguls and even a handful of United States presidents and statesmen, including George Bush, Sr., Newt Gingrich, and Tip O’Neill. Moved to Fieldcrest Estate in 1988, the Inn (once known as the Hoover House), now includes eight upscale bedrooms with private bathrooms, a common living room, dinette, formal dining room, and a game room with billiards, available for rental by today’s VIPs or anyone wanting a respite from big city commotion.

Although it is no longer part of the Hoover family, Fieldcrest Estate, a privately owned property, continues the family’s respect for nature, preservation of history, and the sharing of experiences to all visitors.

As such, we invite you to go beyond the gates –