Robert A. Pinn Shooting Range
In 1919, The University of Akron entered into contract with the
United States Army to provide a shooting facility for the purpose
of training members of the Army ROTC. Starting in 1919 The
University of Akron ROTC started competing in sanctioned rifle
matches. The marksmanship program received many national honors
under the guidance of the military. In 1967 the Athletic department
at The University of Akron fielded its first rifle team supported
by the athletic department. The following year, the new shooting
facility located in Shrank Hall South was opened. The ten-point,
50-foot, computerized electronic facility was the first of its type
in the state of Ohio. After many years of reliable service, the
facility has completed several renovations and updates which
involved the replacement of the electronic target carriers, the
shooting stalls, the ventilation system, target lighting, and the
bullet backstop. The facility remains one of the premier shooting
facilities in the state. :In addition to the smallbore rifle
facility the team has access to a separate 8 point, 10 meter air
rifle facility. This allows the team to train and conduct
competitions with up to 18 athletes at one time.
In 1998, the shooting range was named the "Robert A. Pinn"
shooting range. Robert A. Pinn was one of only four African
Americans from Ohio to receive the Congressional Medal of
Honor. Pinn was born on a Perry Township farm near Massillon,
and the sixth of 10 children born to William and Zilphia Penn. He
attended school and worked on the farm until he was 18. Pinn
joined the Army in Massillon, Ohio, and by September 29, 1864, he
was serving as a First Sergeant in Company I of the 5th U.S.
Colored Infantry Regiment, also known as the 127th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry. On that day, his unit participated in the Battle of
Chaffin's Farm in Virginia, and it was for his actions during the
battle that he was awarded the Medal of Honor six months later, on
April 6, 1865.
Pinn returned to Massillon after the war where he worked as a
contractor and teamster. In 1874 he entered Oberlin College and
after graduation served as principal of Cairo High School and
taught school in South Carolina. After teaching, Pinn
returned to Massillon and read in the law office of Robert H.
Folger. Pinn was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1879. Pinn
was married to Emily J. Manzilla, (deceased 1890) and they had a
daughter Gracie R. Pinn (deceased 1938). Pinn died at age 67
and was buried in Massillon City Cemetery, Massillon, Ohio.
In 1973, the Ohio National Guard named its new armory in Stow,
Ohio, in his honor. In 1998, the shooting facility at the
University of Akron was renamed the Robert A. Pinn Shooting Range
in his honor. The range, used by the university's ROTC
component and NCAA rifle team, is one of the premier shooting
facilities in the state of Ohio.
GPS address for the Shooting range is 236 Carroll Street, Akron, OH 44304
Entrance is located off the Lot 36 parking deck, lower level.
The range telephone number is 330-972-5552. (The location of the
range will not allow cell phones to work)
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