Mills historic tower
Mills Historic Tower Commercial Real Estate Solutions
At The Mills Historic Tower, we are dedicated to preserving the beautiful architecture that defines our city. Built in 1922, this nearly century-old landmark first welcomed Everett Mills as one of its anchor tenants, and it continues to stand as a symbol of Canton’s rich history.
Discover the perfect blend of historic character and modern functionality—schedule a tour of one of our available suites today. Be sure to explore our photo gallery to see the timeless details that make this building truly unique.
READ MORE ON ITS HISTORY BELOW.
Mills Historic Tower History
Mills Tower
Originally constructed in the 1920's as the First National Bank of Canton built at a cost of $1.6 million dollars, the structure took two years and two months to complete and opened September 3rd, 1924. In 1975 it operated as the Central Trust building and one of Canton's most prominent landmarks. At the time of its 100th year in operation, it was the oldest national bank in Stark County.
The 12 story building houses 250 offices and the Canton Club was formerly on the top two floors. Now it's the MMFL Law Firm. The current name of Mills, Mills, Fiely & Lucas has been the name since 1972.
For over 117 years, there has always been a Mills as a named partner.
Eight steel columns, each 53 feet in height and 33 tons in weight, form the steel Skeleton, running across which are steel trusses 11 feet thick. More than 200 tons of steel were used in the building. The base of the building was constructed of Vermont granite and the exterior walls - up to 40 feet tallto the buildings second floor - are Indiana limestone.
The vestibule is lined to the ceiling with pink tinted Rose Travertine marble imported from Italy. The walls and floors are of Travertine marble, used in Canton for the first time. The ceiling is Italian Renaissance style designed by Gentuilomo Studios in New York.
In October of 1975, First National Bank of Canton merged with State Co of Massillon, and was renamed Central Trust Co of Northeast Ohio. In 1991, Central Trust was acquired by Bank One of Akron. Bank One and Chase Bank completed a merger in 2004 and the Chase name was placed on the building.
Chase closed this location on April 19th, 2018, Now the building is known as the Mills Historic Tower.
Everett Mills
The founding father of our firm was Everett Mills who started his career in 1904 in the exact same city block as the current firm location in the building known as the Schaefer Block, which was an office building converted from the old Schaefer Opera House. The Shafer Block entrance faced the W. Tuscarawas Street and is now a part of the entrance on W. Tuscarawas of our current building, which was first named the First National Bank Building. While the firm was known as Amerman and Mills, it was located in the Schaefer Block building until the First National Bank building was constructed in September of 1924, and the Amerman and Mills law firm was one of the first tenants on the 9th floor. We now currently enjoy the top three floors of the old First National Bank building.
Canton Club
The Canton Club was a historic, exclusive, and later public, members-only club for Canton's influential citizens that operated on the top floors of the Chase Tower (now the Mills Historic Tower) from the 1920s until its closure in 2000, only to reopen as a public restaurant and event space in 2005.
The Club was originally incorporated in 1907, before moving to the downtown bank building in the 1920s. The club closed again in 2000 due to declining membership but later reopened in 2005 as a public restaurant and event center.