City of Canton history

Ohio’s capital, after being located in Chillicothe and Zanesville during the early years of statehood, was finally established in newly founded and centrally located Columbus in 1816.

The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 brought settlers from New England.

Madison County, the 23rd county in Mississippi, was named for fourth President James Madison and was created in 1828 out of Yazoo and Hinds Counties.

In 1833, the Madison County Board of Police (a governing body similar to today's supervisors) appointed surveyor John B. Peyton to select a geographical center for a new county seat and to lay it out in blocks.

In 1836, the town was legally incorporated and boasted a population of 400.

The railroad built their line east of Canton and to the benefit of Alliance instead.Canton finally came into its own by 1838 when it was incorporated and became a booming agricultural and industrial center because of the Civil War.

Another version is that in 1848, when Van Zandt County was carved out of part of Henderson County, and Henderson County was heavily in debt.

Thereafter, the Commissioners Court contracted for a courthouse to be built, which was accepted by the Court February 11, 1851, and the county records were moved into the new building.

On December 8, 1852, a patent to the 320 acres of land was issued by the State of Texas to the Chief Justice of Van Zandt County.

In 1853, Enoch Tinnin revisited and pointed out that the surveyor was incorrect in his placement of the town by two and one-half miles.

The 1855 cornerstone was opened and re-laid by the Masonic Order.

Our beautiful Greek Revival Courthouse completed in 1858, only one among seven Pre-Civil War courthouses in Mississippi to be in basically unaltered condition, is the center and glory of the downtown central business district.

There is more than one version regarding how Van Zandt County came to be known as the “Free State of Van Zandt.” One version is, in 1861, 350 county residents attended a mass meeting to protest the separatist actions by the state government.

William McKinley opened (1867) a law office in Canton, from where he later conducted his “front-porch campaign” for the presidency.

Canton owns the completely restored Sheldon School (built 1870). Sheldon is listed as a Michigan State historic site.

Canton's first government office (township hall) was constructed in 1874 at the corner of Canton Center and Cherry Hill.

In May 1877, a county-wide election was held to determine whether or not the county seat should be moved to Wills Point.

In 1888, Canton's manufacturing establishments brought in almost five million dollars in income.

One of the landmarks in Canton was the Dixie Hotel which was built around 1915 by John R. Kellis and Doctor M.L. Cox.

In 1920, organizers founded the first professional football league in the city.

The hotel was closed upon Mamie Maume’s death in 1955.

Canton's population remained relatively stable until the late 1960's when Holiday Park, a new subdivision, was developed south of Joy and East of the yet to be constructed I-275.

To honour the city’s role in organizing the sport, the Pro Football Hall of Fame was established there in 1963.

The 1980's saw a disturbing trend beginning to materialize in Canton.

New housing starts picked up in the latter part of 1983 and continued strong for the balance of the 80's.

The election of 1988 resulted in a new Board of Trustees and the adoption of a number of "community building" goals.

In 2005 IKEA, the world's largest furniture/accessory store announced that would locate its only Michigan store in Canton.