Marcus Alonzo Hanna was born and raised in this quaint Columbiana County village. From a small-town upbringing he became one of America’s most influential men during one of its most critical political junctures — by shrewdly guiding William McKinley to the presidency of the United States.

His guidance changed the course of American politics, forever.

Yet, despite his outsized impact in the 1896 election between McKinley and William Jennings Bryan, his wildly successful career as a businessman, his powerful reach as a US senator, and even the street signs at the edges of town reminding people this was his birthplace — despite all of that — most people in Lisbon don’t have a clue who Hanna was.

Barber Brian Davis admits he is stumped as to how Hanna impacted Lisbon’s history, “but I am totally aware of his name.” As he waits for his next customer to arrive for a 10 o’clock haircut, he asks: “Did he found the town?”

Davis, 39, stands by one of three vintage barber chairs; behind him is a wall lined with mirrors and newspaper clippings celebrating the town’s 1995 Division V State Championship-winning football team. For many in Lisbon, a local football victory more than 20 years ago is the history they care most about. “It was the only championship in that sport ever to be held by a Columbiana County school,” Davis says proudly.

Read the full piece HERE.